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Sammy Lane
Under Sammy Lane, the Hutchinson Community College women’s soccer team continues to accomplish feats that programs 20 years its senior have yet to achieve.
With the first 18 seasons of Blue Dragon women’s soccer now in the books, HutchCC has put together 18-consecutive winning seasons, five Jayhawk Conference championships, 15 trips to the regional semifinals, six berths in the Region VI championship game, three Region VI championships and one berth in the District B title game.
The reason behind the program’s instant success – Lane and his intense desire to place Hutchinson women’s soccer among the elite of national junior college women’s soccer teams.
Lane was hired as Hutchinson Community College’s first soccer coach on Jan. 13, 2005. He hit the recruiting trail running and hasn’t stopped yet.
Through the first 18 seasons, Lane has compiled a 247-67-7 record. Lane’s teams are 152-37-8 in Jayhawk Conference play and 24-18 in the postseason.
From 2008-2012, Lane’s Dragons posted an 87-9-2 record. During that stretch, Hutchinson put together a 21-game winning streak and a 29-game home field unbeaten streak (28-0-1). On September 12, 2012, the Blue Dragons started a four-week run as the No. 1 team in the NJCAA Division I women’s soccer poll, the highest ranking in program history.
Hutchinson women’s soccer has produced 14 NJCAA All-Americans, including four first-team selections (Melissa Hetherington, 2011; Danielle Sheehy, 2012; Jen Rogers, 2013; Siobhon Wilson, 2014). Hutch soccer has had 96 All-Region VI players, including 49 first-team all-region players. HutchCC has had 122 All-Jayhawk Conference performers, including 78 first-team selections.
Lane has been the Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year eighth times, the latest coming in 2022. HutchCC has had seveb Jayhawk Conference Offensive Players’ of the Year: Alicia Robinson (2010, 2011), Danielle Sheehy (2012), Jen Rogers (2013), Jordan Downing (2016), Esther Karhayu (2020/21) and Hadlie Lowe (2021 and 2022). Lane has coached six conference Defensive Players of the Year (Finola Corley, 2010, Bekah Ramstack, 2011; Siobhon Wilson, 2014); Madison Pollack (2016); Chiara Soergel (2019); Lexi Jack (2022).
Hutchinson’s record-setting 2011 team was led by a pair of All-Americans – Hetherington (first team), Robinson (2nd team) – who helped Hutch set a team record for goals scored. That team went 17-3, won the conference championship and defeated Butler 1-0 in double overtime in the regional title game. That meant that Hutchinson earned the right to play host to the District B Tournament. HutchCC dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Laramie County in the semifinals. The 2011 season marked a third-straight Jayhawk Conference championship and back-to-back regional crowns. Lane was named the conference’s Coach of the Year for the fifth time in seven seasons.
Lane was within one victory in 2010 of taking his program to its first NJCAA national tournament, advancing all the way to the District B championship game for the first time in team history. The 2010 Blue Dragons finished the season 21-1, winning back-to-back conference titles and its first regional crown since 2007.
Lane was named the Jayhawk Conference coach of the Year for the second-straight year and for the fourth time in six seasons. Freshman Alicia Robinson was named the league’s top offensive player and sophomore Finola Corley was tapped the league’s top defensive player. Eleven Blue Dragons earned all-league and all-region honors and Robinson was named a second-team NJCAA All-American.
The 2009 Blue Dragons ran the table to win the program’s first Jayhawk Conference championship. The Blue Dragons went 16-1-1 in 2009, losing in the Region VI semifinals 1-0 to eventual NJCAA national runner-up Johnson County. The 2010 Blue Dragons set numerous offensive and defensive records, outscoring opponents 122-4. A record nine Blue Dragons earned postseason accolades and goalkeeper Mandy Stapleton was named honorable mention NJCAA All-American.
A year that Lane didn’t win a postseason honor might have been his best coaching job at Hutchinson.
The 2007 Blue Dragons were only 10-5 entering the postseason, finishing fifth in the Jayhawk Conference. Hutchinson then proceeded to avenge three regular-season losses to Coffeyville, Butler and Johnson County to capture the program’s first Region VI championship, defeating Johnson County for the first time in program history, 2-1 in the regional title game.
From there, the Blue Dragons were just mere seconds from penalty kicks in the District B semifinals against Laramie County at Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho. But the Lancers scored with 36 seconds remaining in the second overtime for a 2-1 victory over HutchCC, ending the Blue Dragons’ magical postseason run. Hutch’s final 2007 record was 13-6.
Lane’s inaugural class of Blue Dragons in 2005 had 17 players (15 freshmen and 2 sophomore transfers) all from the state of Kansas, including five from the Hutchinson/Reno County area and seven more from Wichita. That first team went 10-9, earning a 2-1 Region VI first-round victory at Barton County to advance to the Regional Final four. Johnson County ended Hutchinson’s first season with a 3-0 win in the regional semifinals. Lane was named the Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year and Jennifer Mossman was the Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year.
The 2006 Blue Dragon team was the best offensive team by far in the short history of the program. The Blue Dragons went 14-4 overall and earned their first win over Region VI power Butler in a 1-0 victory over the Grizzlies in the regional semifinals. HutchCC lost 2-1 to Johnson County in the team’s first appearance in the Region VI championship match. The 2006 team produced the program’s first All-American in Mossman.
The 2008 Blue Dragons set a record for wins, going 17-2-1, reeling off 14-straight wins to start the season. Hutchinson fell to Johnson County in the Region VI semifinals.
Prior to coaching at HutchCC, Lane was the head women’s soccer coach at McPherson College, but that school dropped the program after the 1997 season.
A native of Ireland, Lane graduated from high school in 1986 and came to America to play soccer at Sterling College. After a career as a player and coach with the Wichita Wings indoor professional soccer team, Lane turned to coaching youth teams in Wichita.
Lane was the youngest assistant coach in the National Professional Soccer League. He served as the assistant coach and goalkeeper coach for the Wichita Wings from 1998 to 2001. The Wings’ record was 56-64 in his tenure and the team made the NPSL playoffs in each of those seasons.
As his time with the Wings was winding down, Lane became the head trainer for girls at the River City Soccer Club in Wichita in 2000.
Lane currently leads several youth teams that are nationally ranked nearly every season. He also is the head coach of the FC Wichita women’s program.
Lane played for legendary Wichita Wings’ player/coach Kim Roentved as the back-up goalkeeper from 1993 to 1998. He played at Sterling College all four years as a goalkeeper, earning all-KCAC honors three times.
The Warriors lost only two KCAC games from 1986-88, going undefeated in 1987 and 1988. Lane was the team and KCAC Most Valuable Player in 1986. Lane also played tennis at Sterling College.
Lane graduated from Sterling College in 1991 with a degree in business administration.
Lane was born on Sept. 30, 1968 in Ireland. He and his wife, Amber, have no children.
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