Sewanee: University of the South

Sewanee, TN 37383

Tennessee Southeast

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Greg Cathell

Greg Cathell enters his fourth season at the helm of the women's soccer program at the University of the South in 2023. He is the 11th head coach in the program's history since becoming an NCAA sanctioned sport in 1988.

In his seven-year head coaching career at Centenary (La.), Rensselaer (N.Y.) and Sewanee, he has posted a 73-42-16 career record.

In 2022, Cathell led the Tigers to its second SAA Regular Season Title in program history with a thrilling 2-1 win over Centre College on Oct. 22, defeating the Colonels for the first time in the regular season since 2014.

After knocking off Millsaps and Rhodes in the SAA Tournament, the Purple and White made it back to the Championship match for the second straight season. Despite falling to the Colonels in penalties, the Tigers finished seventh in the region.

Sewanee was well represented on the postseason awards from the SAA. Eight were named to the All-SAA Team, the most in program history. Led by SAA Defensive Player of the Year Kate Thomson and Newcomer of the Year Kylene Monaghan, the league's head coaches voted Cathell as the Coach of the Year.

In Region VI, three were named to the All-Region team, the most since four in 2005.

The program also succeeded in the classroom, as four were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® selections and 24 were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll.

The 2021 squad saw themselves back in the SAA Tournament Championship for the first time in program history after defeating Centre College, who won the previous nine SAA Tournament Championships, on their home pitch, in penalties. The squad recorded an 11-5-3 overall record that season, matching the program's third-best win total in history. The squad finished ninth in Region VI, according to the NCAA.

The Purple and White racked up the postseason awards in 2021, as five were named to the All-SAA Team. In addition, Sewanee saw two athletes named to the All-Region Team for the first time since 2016.

In the classroom, Sewanee set a program record with 31 selections to the SAA's Academic Honor Roll, and the team achieved the Team Academic Award by the United Soccer Coaches.

In his first season with the Tigers, the program played one official game in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to his arrival on the Domain, Cathell spent the last three seasons as the head coach for the Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, posting a 29-21-3 record. He turned a program around that saw a total of 20 wins in the first five seasons in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).

Cathell led the Ladies to their best finish in program history in the Division III era in 2019, finishing with a 16-3 record and a 10th place ranking in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll. Additionally, the 16 wins tied a school record, also set in the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

The 2019 season also saw one student-athlete from Centenary, Migui Boldrin named an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. Additionally, she was named the SCAC Offensive Player of the Year.

In his time with Centenary, he coached 11 selections to the All-SCAC Team.

Prior to his time in Shreveport, Cathell served as an assistant women's soccer coach at Siena (N.Y.), an NCAA Division I program. During the 2016 season, he coached seven All-Conference Players, as well as the 2016 Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, the team earned a 9-7-3 record and a second seed in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament, earning the highest seed for the program in 12 seasons.

For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Cathell served as the head women's soccer coach at NCAA Division III Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y. His teams excelled both on and off the pitch, as the Engineers boasted a 19-12-8 record in two seasons. Cathell's squads also received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Academic Award both seasons, and he coached the first women's soccer Athletic and Academic All-American at Rensselaer.

For four seasons prior to his stint with the Engineers, Cathell served as the assistant women's soccer coach and head recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division III Salisbury University. He helped recruit a freshmen class that went a combined 34-17-6 over three seasons, including two Regular Season Capital Athletic Conferences Championships and two trips to the CAC Tournament Championship game, with one CAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Cathell also recruited and coached the first Seagulls women's soccer player to earn CAC Rookie of the Year accolades.

From 2003-08, Cathell coached soccer at Delmar High School in Delmar, Del., with stints as both the boys and girls head coach. In 2008, he garnered both the State of Delaware Coach and Small School Coach of the Year honors.

Cathell earned a four-year NCAA Division I baseball scholarship student-athlete at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES) and was named All-Conference in 2003 and All-Tournament Team in 2006.

He graduated from UMES in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education with a social studies concentration. Additionally, he received a Master in Education; post-secondary education from Salisbury University (Md.) in December of 2012.

Cathell holds his national coaching diploma and advanced regional coaching diploma from the NSCAA.

Greg is married to his wife, Mia, and they have three children, Hope, Ty and Eli.

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Laszlo van Straelen

Laszlo van Straelen enters his first season with the women's soccer program at the University of the South in 2023.

Prior to his arrival on the Domain, van Straelen served as an assistant coach with the men's soccer program at Hampden-Sydney College (Va.). During his time with the Virginia Tigers, he was the lead in practice sessions for both field players and goalkeepers and was essential with the operations of the program.

Along with his work on the pitch, he assisted the program with the team's overseas trip to Costa Rica, ID Camps and film exchange.

Along with his work at the college level, van Straelen also served as head coach for the FC Richmond U14 Magic Classic and the DCXI Juniors. During the fall of 2021, he also served as head coach of the Maret Middle School boys team.

His playing days saw him compete collegiately at Guilford College (N.C.), where he was a four-year letterwinner as a midfielder. Playing in 32 games with 22 starts as a midifelder, he netted one goal. A two-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee with the Quakers, he was a two-time member of the All-Academic Team by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).

Originally from Takoma Park, Md., van Straelen graduated from Guilford in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management, and he holds a D Coaching License with the United States Soccer Federation.

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Tony Pacella

Tony Pacella enters his ninth season as the head men's soccer Coach of the University of the South in 2022.

He is the 11th coach in the program's history, and he has complied a 53-62-11 career record with the Purple and White.

Along with his duties with the men's soccer program, he also oversees Sewanee's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

In eight seasons with the Tigers, he has coached 23 All-Conference honorees and 107 to the league's Academic Honor Roll.

Returing to a normal capacity in 2021, Sewanee posted an 8-8-2 overall record and made it to the semifinals of the SAA Tournament thanks to the help of an own goal by 2-seeded Rhodes in the quarterfinals.

Four Tigers were named to the All-Conference Team and a program-best 18 student-athletes were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll.

Despite playing just two matches in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers recorded an unbeaten season. 11 student-athletes were honored on the SAA Academic Honor Roll.

The 2019 campaign for Sewanee was a masterful one for Pacella and the program. The team's 11 overall wins and five conference dubs are each the highest in the Pacella-era. Sewanee's 11-5-1 record is one of the best finishes for the program since 2004. Additionally, the No. 3 seed the Tigers secured in the SAA Tournament ties a conference-best.

Pacella also earned recognition from the coaches as he was named the SAA Coach of the Year for the first time in the history of the conference and the first since 2001.

Sewanee captured five All-SAA selections, the most the Tigers have placed on an All-Conference Team since the SAA was formed in 2012. Additionally, two were named All-Region.

The success did not stop on the pitch, as a program-best 17 athletes were named to the SAA Academic Honor Roll, with two players were listed on the USC Scholar All-Region First Team laurels.

The 2018 season saw the squad finish with a 7-9-1 record and a quarterfinal finish in the SAA Tournament. Three players were named All-Conference for Sewanee, and Kyle Johnston earned an All-Region selection by the USC.

The 2017 season was the best for the men's soccer program, finishing at the .500 mark for the first time since 2013 when the team finished 8-8-2. Finishing as the No. 3 seed in the SAA Tournament, it is the highest finish in Sewanee's short history with the conference.

Winning four conference matches is the most since the 2011 season, and the team finished the season with a conference winning percentage over .500 for the first time since 2003 (.667).

Four Tigers were honored All-Conference during the 2017 season.

Increasing his win total each season, Pacella recorded a 7-10-2 record in 2016, and two were named to the All-SAA Team.

In his first two seasons (2015-16), Pacella immediately raised the bar with one of the toughest schedules in the southeast. Over the past two years, Sewanee has won 11 games and have close in others with a combined 12 losses by a single goal.

In 2015, the Tigers finished 6-12-2 overall and the No. 8 seed in the SAA Tournament.

In the quarterfinals, the Tigers defeated No. 1 seeded Oglethorpe 0-0 (4-2 PKs). A day later, Sewanee topped rival Rhodes when Ramsey Seagle ripped in a late shot in the 87th minute.

Unfortunately, Sewanee's magical run ended when No. 2 seeded Millsaps won on its home field by a 2-1 decision in the championship match.

In Pacella's first year in 2014, the team earned a 5-10-2 record. Pacella came to Sewanee from Amherst College, where he served as the assistant men's soccer coach for the Jeffs (now called Mammoths).

At Amherst, Pacella helped the program to a 35-1-5 record during his time as an assistant. During that time, Amherst also won back-to-back NESCAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships.

Under Pacella's leadership, Amherst earned two consecutive trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals and was ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA poll in 2013.

Individually, the Jeffs boasted eight All-Americans, 18 All-NESCAC Academic selections, and 10 All-NESCAC honors.

Prior to his time in Amherst, Mass., Pacella served as the assistant men's soccer coach at Temple University in Philadelphia

A native of Sinking Spring, Pa., he was a four-year starter and two-time all-conference selection at Elizabethtown College, where he graduated in 2011 with a degree in business administration and a concentration in finance.

He served as the men's soccer team's captain during his junior and senior seasons, earning the school's Best Male Athlete honor in 2011. In addition to his all-conference recognition, Pacella was a two-time NSCAA Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection.

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Luc Patberg

Luc Patberg enters his third season with the men's soccer program at the University of the South in 2023.

Prior to his arrival on the Domain, Patberg served as an assistant men's soccer coach at his alma mater in Rockhurst University (Mo.) for the past two seasons. He was the head coach of the reserve team for the Hawks and assisted with the recruiting efforts of the program. Additionally, he organized the team's drills and training stations and the program's traveling.

The son of Sue Patberg, head women's soccer coach at Emory University, he has also interned at Georgia State University's sports marketing department and Emory as a facilities and recreation intern.

During his college days, he played two seasons at Rockhurst as a defender in for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Prior to that, he played two seasons at Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.).

Patberg earned a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Rockhurst University in 2019 and a Master of Business Administration in 2021.