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Chris Adams
Chris Adams begins his third full season at the helm of Georgia Southern women's soccer in the Fall of 2023, embarking on a journey to help the Eagles defend the first regular season conference championship in program history. Adams was the Sun Belt Conference's Coach of the Year in 2022, the first Georgia Southern women's soccer coach to earn a league coaching honor since 1996.
The Eagles went 8-4-5 overall and 7-1-2 in the Sun Belt during 2022, earning the league's regular season title on the final day of the regular season with a 1-0 win at Georgia State. That capped a remarkable league run that saw Georgia Southern give up just two goals total in ten matches, recording seven shutouts. Georgia Southern allowed just 12 goals all season long for a school-record 0.71 goals against average, besting the previous record of 0.95 set in 2000 and 2012. The Eagles also set a school record for the fewest losses in a season (4), besting the old record of 5 set in 2000 and 2002. During the year, the Eagles put together a scoreless streak that stretched 564 minutes and 35 seconds and covered six straight shutouts, both new records. And the six-match win streak the Eagles ended the 2022 regular season on was the longest since the 2000 campaign.
In addition to Coach Adams' Sun Belt honor, Sade Heinrichs was named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and three Eagles - Heinrichs, forward Elis Nemtsov and goalkeeper Katie Oakley - earned All-Conference honors. The Eagles also cracked the Top 100 in the end-of-year RPI rankings, checking in at No. 98.
In Coach Adams' first full season in Statesboro, the Eagles went 11-7-4 and advanced to the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament final, putting up the most wins (11) since 2014 and the most shutouts (7) since 2012. As a result, Georgia Southern's RPI ascended from 288 at the end of the 2020-21 season to 120 at the end of 2021.
Adams' 2021 squad featured three All-Sun Belt Conference performers in midfielder Marcela Montoya, forward Elis Nemtsov and defender Sade Heinrichs, and five student-athletes earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors during the campaign. Georgia Southern went into the tournament as the No. 4 seed and knocked off Coastal Carolina, 1-0, and ULM, 2-1, to reach the tournament final, where they fell to second-seeded South Alabama by a 1-0 score.
Adams was named the sixth head coach in Georgia Southern women's soccer program history on Nov. 24, 2020. He hit the ground running, coaching the Eagles in three Spring matches in 2021, defeating Stetson by a 2-1 score for his 200th career collegiate coaching victory.
Adams came to Statesboro after serving as the head coach of the University of North Georgia women's soccer for the last18 seasons. During his time at UNG, Adams reached double-digit wins in 11 straight seasons and made the postseason a regular occurrence with six trips to the NCAA Tournament in the past nine years and making the Sweet 16 in 2016.
In the past five seasons with the women's team, the Nighthawks posted a combined record of 86-23-11 with back-to-back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament from 2014-16. In 2017, UNG claimed the top spot in the Peach Belt Conference tournament, after being named co-champions of the regular season. The program achieved the highest ranking in program history, climbing to No. 2 in the NSCAA Division II Top-25 national ranking in 2015.
In 2014, UNG was ranked as high as sixth-nationally during the regular season and finished the year as the highest-scoring team in NCAA Division II with a 3.58 goals per game average, while also leading the nation in total points, total goals and points per game. The Nighthawks made their deepest run to date that season falling to Lenoir-Rhyne in penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Adams joined the UNG coaching staff as the head men's and women's soccer coach in 2003. In two seasons at the helm of the men's program, Adams led North Georgia to a 19-17-2 mark and was named the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Coach of the Year in 2004. He led North Georgia to a third-place finish in the conference and their first NAIA Regional Tournament appearance in program history.
In addition to his collegiate coaching pedigree, Adams also has a successful head coaching experience on the professional level as he led the 2011 version of the Atlanta Silverbacks women's team to the United Soccer League's W-League Championship with a 6-1 victory over the Ottawa Fury.
He began his coaching career in 1995 while an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, where he helped build the first women's soccer team. In the first year of competition, the Lady Bulldogs went 10-5-3 overall and posted a 3-3-2 mark in SEC action. In his three seasons with Georgia, the Lady Bulldogs compiled a 39-19-4 record and 14-8-2 in conference play.
Following graduation, Adams accepted a job at Jacksonville State University as the lead assistant. He returned to the Peach State in 1999 to manage the soccer program at YWCO in Athens. After directing the program for two years, Adams began teaching at Clarke Central High School in Athens, where he coached the boys' and girls' soccer teams.
Adams holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National "A" License, a USSF National Youth License, and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National License.
The Athens, Georgia, native graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in physical education and health with an emphasis in coaching. He also earned his Master of Science in physical education and health at North Georgia.
Adams and his wife Melissa have two daughters, Gracen and Anna.
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