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Laurie Darling Gutheil
There are few mentors who have the credentials that Laurie Darling Gutheil possesses. Darling Gutheil, who stands fourth among active NCAA Division II coaches with 408 victories entering the 2023 campaign, is in her 28th year at the helm of The College of Saint Rose women’s soccer program. She has completely overhauled the program and developed it into among the most prestigious collegiate entities at any level. The Golden Knights are not only perennially successful on the pitch, but also in the classroom and within the community.
Darling Gutheil’s qualifications saturate the NCAA record book. She owns the second highest winning percentage (.767) among active female head women’s soccer coaches at any level and stands third within that demographic in career wins. In addition, no NCAA Division II female mentor has accumulated more victories.
Her name permeates Northeast-10 Conference annals as well. Darling Gutheil owns the highest overall winning percentage (.762) among league coaches and the highest regular-season winning percentage (.805) with a 233-45-30 mark. Saint Rose has also qualified for the NE10 Championship Tournament in each of its 22 competitive years of league membership.
2022 proved to be a season of many accomplishments, including Darling Gutheil earning the 400th victory of her career in a 4-1 home triumph over Queens on 10/15/2022. Overall, the team won 19 games while winning both the Northeast-10 Conference regular season and Conference Tournament Championship for the third consecutive season. Eight players were named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference honors, while four players earned United Soccer Coaches All-American accoldades. Mia Klammer and Sanna Rein were selected as first team recipients, while Pia Bozic and Lauren Amerena were named to the respective second and third teams. Additionally, Mia Klammer was named the East-Region Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association and was also honored by the Northeast-10 Conference with the prestigious women's soccer Sport Excellence Award. The combination of excellence in the classroom and on the field again garnered United Soccer Coaches 23rd consecutive United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award. 2022 also marked the Golden Knights 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 20 years.
2021 was an outstanding season with an overall record of 18-2-4. The campaign ended in the NCAA national championship losing in double overtime. The team earned the NE10 Conference Tournament Championship and the NCAA East Region Championship. The combination of excellence in the classroom and on the pitch as well as sound sportsmanship resulted in the team earning the prestigious United Soccer Coaches Pinnacle Award designation. This is the second such designation awarded in as many seasons. The coaching staff was selected as the East Region coaching staff of the year for the second straight year. Four players were awarded All- America Honors while 9 players were selected to the NE10 All Conference Ranks. Goalkeeper Marika Laurendeau was the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All America Player of the Year.
Legacy
The run to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship, the first national team title in Golden Knights annals, coupled with seven NCAA Tournament national semifinals appearances within the past 12 competitive years, a league record 10 NE10 Championships from 2007-11, 2013-14, 2019, 2021, and 2022; in addition to 21 consecutive United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards underscore her impact.
Saint Rose is furthermore one of only two schools, along with Franklin Pierce, to win five consecutive NE10 Championships Tournaments (2007-11). Additionally, the Golden Knights are one of only two league schools to register 200 regular-season conference victories.
Darling Gutheil has guided the program to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances within the last 20 years. She has led Saint Rose to a 334-58-38 (.821) record during that span and has twice been recognized as the United Soccer Coaches National Coach of the Year within the past 14 seasons. She has furthermore been honored as the United Soccer Coaches East Region Coach of the Year throughout five of the previous 14 years.
Such accolades have become prevalent thanks to Darling Gutheil’s stewardship. Throughout the past 18 competitive years, Saint Rose has had 68 student-athletes earn 118 different All-Conference awards while 23 student-athletes have earned 54 different All-America awards for their play on the field. Eighteen have been recognized with either Academic All-America or Scholar All-America awards. Fifteen of those were honored both academically and athletically.
In addition, Darling Gutheil organized European summer tours in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2019 to afford those teams a broader historical and cultural understanding, while providing them the opportunity to play competitively against club teams in England, France, Monaco, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Slovenia.
2011 National Championship
Naturally, the 2011 campaign stands out like none other throughout Darling Gutheil’s illustrious career. The Golden Knights came from behind with a pair of second half goals to upend two-time defending national champion Grand Valley State (Mich.) in the title game. In the process, Saint Rose tied a school record with 24 victories, just one shy of the then NCAA mark, set a school standard with 90 goals, while allowing a mere 13, and finished first in the county in goal scoring offense and 10th in goals-against-average.
Four different student-athletes garnered All-American honors and eight earned All-Conference plaudits. Carmelina Puopolo (’14) was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year while Christina Cuffari (’12) was recognized by the NE10 with two of the most prestigious awards the conference bestows upon any student-athlete. Cuffari was honored as both the NE10 Woman of the Year and its Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete.
2015-19
In 2019, Saint Rose won at least 20 games for the eighth time in school annals, captured its eight NE10 Championship, ninth league regular-season title, was recognized as an NE10 Program of the Decade, had four student-athletes named All-American, and had a staggering nine players garner All-Conference honors with NE10 Player, Defensive Player, Goalkeeper, and Rookie of the Year all representing Saint Rose. The Golden Knights wound up ranked fourth in the United Soccer Coaches Final National Poll and finished eighth in the country in overall scoring production. In addition, All-American Nina Predanic (’20) was bestowed with the NE10 Woman of the Year Award. The combined academic, sportsmanship and winning percentage successes resulted in the team earning the prestigious Pinnacle Award Designation in the inaugural year of said award.
In 2018, Saint Rose advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where it fell at eventual national champion Bridgeport. In addition, Predanic was named an All-American and Scholar All-American by the United Soccer Coaches.
Five years ago, the Golden Knights finished tied for second in the NE10 with a starting group that usually consisted of seven sophomores.
In 2016, Saint Rose finished fifth in the NE10 with a starting lineup that regularly featured at least five freshmen, including Predanic who was honored as the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
The 2015 Golden Knights campaign would have been stellar for most any other program in the country. A 15-3-4 record, a plus-38 goal differential, an eighth NE10 Championship Finals appearance within a nine-year span, and the program’s 13th NCAA Tournament berth in a 14-year period augmented the program’s impressive lineage. However, a disheartening 0-0 NCAA Tournament first round draw that allowed Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University) to advance on penalty kicks after Saint Rose had engineered a 32-1 shot advantage brought an early end to the season.
2012-14
In 2014, the Golden Knights made their sixth NCAA Tournament National Semifinal appearance within a seven-year stretch, where they were upended on penalty kicks by eventual national champion Grand Valley State (Mich.). Saint Rose finished 21-1-3 overall and wound up fifth in the country with a 0.382 collective GAA and were fifth in scoring offense at 2.48 goals per game.
The 2013 campaign halted the team’s string of five straight NCAA Tournament national semifinals appearances. Regardless, the Golden Knights finished 20-1-2 with the lone blemish coming in the NCAA Tournament East Region Final (round of 16). They won their sixth NE10 title within the past seven years, qualified for their 11th NCAA Tournament within a 12-year span, and finished second in the country with a 0.213 team GAA.
The 2012 charge to another NCAA Tournament national semifinals appearance provided the finishing touches on yet another outstanding season. Saint Rose won its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament East Regional Championship, before falling 2-1 in double-overtime to eventual national champion West Florida. They also won a share of the NE10 regular-season championship, thus finishing atop the league standings for the seventh consecutive year, and recorded at least 20 victories for the fifth straight time.
Four different student-athletes earned All-American accolades, six were named All-Conference in the NE10, and the squad was ranked #1 in the nation in five separate United Soccer Coaches national weekly polls. Additionally, Puopolo was recognized as the Daktronics/Ron Lenz National Player of the Year. Saint Rose also wound up seventh in the country in scoring offense (2.76) and 12th in GAA (0.572). Furthermore, midfielder/back Kyra Meli was honored with the prestigious Elite 90 Award.
2001-2010
A staggering five All-American awards were bestowed upon Saint Rose student-athletes in 2010. The Golden Knights spent most of the season as the nation’s top-ranked squad and finished 23-1-1 overall. Furthermore, back Kelly Guerin (’11) was honored with the Elite 90 Award. Guerin was also chosen for an NE10 Sports Excellence Award and earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She was additionally named a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American along with three of her teammates.
In 2009, Darling Gutheil directed the Golden Knights to a 24-1 overall mark and again finished one victory shy of tying the NCAA Division II single-season record. Saint Rose became only the third team in NE10 history (1985) to win three consecutive postseason league titles and its lone loss was an overtime decision to none other than eventual national champion Grand Valley State (Mich.).
The season proved to be an appropriate encore to the 2008 campaign. The Golden Knights set a then school record with 20 wins (20-4-2) after advancing to the NCAA Tournament national semifinals. Senior forward Kailey Egbert (’10) was also recognized with the NE10 Woman of the Year Award.
Meanwhile, the 2007 squad won the first NE10 Championship Tournament in any sport by a Saint Rose team throughout its eight-year tenure as a league member. In addition to the aforementioned NCAA Tournament bid, Saint Rose set then school records for wins (19), shutouts (15), and assists (57); and was the last team in the country (all divisions) to allow a goal. The Golden Knights also advanced to the NCAA Tournament regional final for the third time in five years.
In 2006, Darling Gutheil was honored as the NE10 Coach of the Year for the second time in five seasons. The Golden Knights advanced to the NCAA New England regional final for the second time in program history and wound up ranked #13 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches.
The 2005 squad finished 13-3-5 and went on to win the ECAC Championship after tying Assumption in the NE10 semifinals where the Golden Knights did not advance on penalty kicks. In 2004, Saint Rose once again advanced to the NCAA Tournament before falling 1-0 to eventual national semifinal participant Franklin Pierce in a New England regional semifinal.
The 2003 squad was the first Saint Rose team to advance to the NCAA New England regional final. The campaign marked another first for the program with back Kerri Stone’s (’04) selection as a United Soccer Coaches All-American. Stone, a three-year captain and a 2010 Saint Rose Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who was recruited out of Colorado by Darling Gutheil; was one of only four NCAA Division II players throughout the country to be named to both the United Soccer Coaches All-America and Scholar All-America squads. Stone was also honored by the ECAC with the prestigious Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award as the conference’s premier NCAA Division II female student-athlete.
Darling Gutheil garnered her first NE10 Coach of the Year award in 2002 after Saint Rose made its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and wound up ranked #22 in the country according to the final United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Golden Knights went 10-7-1 and finished sixth in the conference with an 8-5-1 mark in 2001. They also earned the top seed in the ECAC postseason tournament, but fell 2-1 to Pace University in a semifinal match despite outshooting the Setters by a 15-3 margin. Saint Rose was ranked as high as fifth in the United Soccer Coaches New England region poll and closed out the year ranked sixth in the region. The Golden Knights were honored with their first United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award that year as well.
Getting Started
Darling Gutheil inherited a program that had gone through three coaches in three seasons and had won only three matches in 1995, the year prior to her arrival. Her presence paid immediate dividends as she guided Saint Rose to a four-game improvement during her inaugural season. Darling Gutheil has since parlayed that 7-10 mark in 1996 into a 389-108-40 career record on the strength of eight 20-win seasons throughout the past 12 competitive years.
The Golden Knights went 8-9 in 1997 and recorded their first winning season in four years with a 9-8 slate in 1998. Darling Gutheil then directed the Golden Knights to a breakthrough campaign in 1999 when Saint Rose posted an 8-9 mark despite losing six one-goal games. However, the College finished 6-3 in the East Coast Conference (formerly the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference), which foreshadowed its rise to prominence.
College Career
Darling Gutheil earned a bachelor’s degree in History, along with completion of education coursework to gain teaching certification for grades 6-12, in 1995 from Hartwick College where she also minored in psychology and gained induction into the school’s History and Psychology Honor Societies. She furthermore graduated with Departmental Distinction in history in recognition of academic excellence.
A four-year starter on the Hawks’ soccer team, Darling Gutheil was presented with the President’s Award in the spring of 1995 as the institution’s top senior female scholar-athlete. She furthermore garnered All-State accolades as a senior, served as a team captain and was named the club’s Most Valuable Player.
A history teacher at South Glens Falls High School, Darling Gutheil holds a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from Sage graduate school where she was inducted into the National Honor Society in recognition of an overall grade-point-average at or above 3.90.
In 2015, 2018, 2020,and 2021 the Capital Area School Development Association presented her with a Scholars Recognition Program Achievement Award in recognition of the significant impact she has made on the education of students. Darling Gutheil was also nominated for the New York State Board of Regents Louis E. Yavner Teacher Award by Holocaust Survivor Jack Ratz in 2007 in recognition of outstanding contribution to education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.
Personal
Darling Gutheil resides in Queensbury, N.Y. with her husband and assistant coach Jason Gutheil.
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