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Ray Goon
Head Coach Ray Goon enters his 27th season as head coach in 2023 and has overseen the program since June of 1996 when Drexel reinstituted the women’s soccer program. He has seen Drexel’s rise from restarting a varsity program to competing for a championship in one of the top conferences in the nation.
2022 was a landmark season for DU, which finished second in the CAA standings while earning multiple All-Conference honors and set numerous program records. Drexel started the year 7-0-3, enjoying the second longest winning streak to begin a season in CAA history and was one of the last 10 teams nationally without a loss. Delaney Lappin was named the CAA Attacking Player of the Year and set a school record for goals in a season with 12 and points in a year with 27. Annalena O’Reilly was the Midfielder of the Year with Lily Dunbar earning Second Team honors and Elise Duffy selected as All-Rookie. For his and the team’s effort, Goon was named CAA Co-Coach of the Year.
In 2021, the Dragons continued to make strides in a very competitive Colonial Athletic Association as well as with a tough non-conference schedule. Drexel placed three players on All-Conference teams as Morayo Adenegan, Delaney Lappin, and Annalena O'Reilly were all selected to the CAA Third Team, tying for the second most All-CAA players in a single season for the program. Drexel also posted scoreless streak that spanned from August 26 to September 12, lasting 344:35, the sixth longest such stretch in team history. During the span, Miyuki Schoyen was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week, just the third time ever a Dragon won the award. Drexel went 4-3-1 in non-conference play, including a 1-0 win at Seton Hall, the first victory for the Dragons against a Big East program since 2019.
2020 saw Drexel navigate a condensed schedule in the spring due to the pandemic, playing eight games. Arguably, the most memorable contest was a 10-1 win against Delaware State, in which the Dragons set a program record for goals with 10 and had the second most single-game assists in school history with nine. Seven different players scored in the contest, including a hat trick from Delaney Lappin, helping her to All-CAA Rookie Team honors. Drexel also went toe-to-toe with nationally ranked Hosftra, earning a 1-1 draw against the Pride. In addition to Lappin, Maggie Daeche earned Second Team All-Conference accolades and Lauren Curry was selected to the Third Team.
In 2019, the Dragons notched a third victory in four years over city rival La Salle, blanking the Explorers in early September. Drexel added wins over a pair of Big East schools in St. John’s and Seton Hall and battled Monmouth, a 2019 NCAA Tournament participant, to a scoreless draw at Vidas Field. Libby Baeza earned preseason goalkeeper of the year honors from the CAA and a spot on the All-CAA third team. Maggie Daeche garnered second team all-league honors, and Kylie Kutz made the CAA’s all-rookie team.
The Dragons qualified for the Colonial Athletic Association Championships for the third straight season in 2018 and for the fourth time in the last five years. The team had the top scoring defense in the CAA, allowing just 19 goals in 19 games. Drexel defeated Maryland, 1-0, for the program’s first victory against a Big Ten team. The Dragons also earned a tie with No. 25 Princeton. Kiera Hennessy became the second women’s soccer player to be named the Mary Semanik Award winner as Drexel’s top women’s student-athlete.
In his time at Drexel, Goon has helped develop 10 First Team All-CAA selections. He has also had 13 players named to the Second Team and 12 more named to the Third Team. Goon has also seen 11 of his players named to the CAA All-Rookie Team.
In 2017, the Dragons posted an 11-7-1 (6-2-1 CAA) record and a second-place finish in the league for the second-straight year. The defense allowed only five goals in conference play and totaled nine shutouts on the year. Under Goon’s leadership, six Dragons were named to the All-CAA teams, including three named to the First Team. The 11 wins were the second highest win total in program history.
The previous season, Drexel picked up its first-ever victory in the CAA Championships. Drexel’s win against James Madison put the Dragons in the CAA championship game for the first time in school history. Goon’s squad finished the regular season tied for second place in the CAA after going 9-7-4 overall and 4-2-3 against conference opponents. The defense, led by CAA Co-Defender of the Year Christiana Ogunsami, allowed only four goals in conference play and totaled 11 shutouts on the year. Drexel had five players garner All-CAA honors. Goon earned recognition as the CAA Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
In 2015, Goon had one of his players selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year for the first time. Vanessa Kara scored 11 goals and had 25 points, both Drexel single, season records at that time. The prior season, Goon led the Dragons to their second CAA playoff appearance. Drexel went unbeaten in eight consecutive games through the middle of the season during which time the defense maintained a six-game shutout streak. The Dragons took six matches to overtime and played a total of 11 overtime periods over the course of the year. One of those games resulted in Drexel’s first-ever victory over William & Mary on the Tribe’s home turf. Under Goon’s direction, Melissa Chapman earned First Team All-CAA for the third consecutive year making her the first women’s soccer player in program history to accomplish this feat. She was also named the Mary Semanik Award winner as Drexel’s top women’s student-athlete.
The 2012 season was one of the most memorable years for the program since the move to the CAA. Goon’s squad set the school mark by winning 13 matches on the way to a 13-3-3 season. Goon’s team finished 7-2-1 in CAA play and had 22 points. Both the seven wins and the 22 points were the most-ever by a Drexel women’s soccer team. Drexel earned the second seed and a bye in the CAA Championships. It was the first time the Dragons ever qualified for the playoffs since joining the league back in 2002. For his efforts, Goon picked up the 2012 CAA Coach of the Year Award. In addition, Eve Badana was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and was joined on the CAA First Team by Melissa Chapman, giving the Dragons two First Team All-CAA performers for the first time. The Dragons led the league in goals against average, least goals allowed and shutouts. They were undefeated at home (6-0-1) for the second straight season.
Goon took over the program prior to the 1997 season. He was assigned the task of navigating the Drexel program from club status to a member of the competitive America East conference. During Drexel’s five years in the America East Conference, three student-athletes were named to the All-America East team and two more were named to the league’s All-Rookie Team.
Goon arrived in West Philadelphia via Philadelphia University where he posted a 28-9-2 record across two seasons as the head women’s soccer coach. His team captured the 1995 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC) championship and earned the program’s first postseason bid with an appearance in the ECAC Championships. His efforts earned him 1995 NYCAC Coach of the Year, NSCAA Division II Regional Coach of the Year and Philadelphia Oldtimers Association Coach of the Year distinctions.
Prior to his stint at Philadelphia University, Goon was an assistant women’s coach at Rutgers University. He was also the head men’s coach for two seasons at Brookdale (N.J.) Community College and an assistant men’s coach at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Goon also served on the coaching staff for the women’s New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania Olympic Development programs.
A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in economics, Goon was a member of the Scarlet Knights’ team that went undefeated during the regular season, advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 17-1-2 mark. Goon was the recipient of the Alfred Sasser Award at Rutgers and was an all-state honoree as a senior back. He pursued professional soccer as a member of the Houston Dynamos of the United Soccer League before entering the coaching ranks.
A New Jersey native, Goon and his wife, Karen, reside in Mount Laurel.
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