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Ian Stone
The winningest coach in St. John's women's soccer history, Ian Stone is entering his 30th season on the sidelines in Queens, holding a career record of 266-218-65 (.544).
Stone is one of six active NCAA Division I women's soccer coaches to spend 30 years at the same school and the winningest active coach in the BIG EAST Conference.
Stone enters the 2023 campaign with many impressive accolades, including 21 winning seasons, 20 postseason tournament appearances and four NCAA Tournament berths (2009, 2013, 2015, 2021). In addition to his teams taking home a number of championships (1994 BIG EAST Tournament, 2002 ECAC Championship and 2015 BIG EAST Regular Season), Stone has also earned a number of individual coaching accolades. He has twice been named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year (2006 and 2015) and has twice taken home NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year honors (2009 and 2015). Stone is also a four-time winner of the St. John's Athletic Department's Herbert V. Hess Coach of the Year Award, winning in 1998, 2008, 2016, 2021.
A coach that values his team's classroom and character development, Stone's squads received 17 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Awards.
He also boasts a player resume that includes 47 All-BIG EAST players and 13 BIG EAST All-Rookie team members, including the 2002 Rookie of the Year Kaitlyn Schmidt, the 2013 Newcomer of the Year Rachel Daly, and two-time offensive player of the year Zsani Kajan. Stone has also mentored 16 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honorees. He also coached the 1994 BIG EAST Tournament Most Valuable Player in Cristin Burtis.
In 2022, Stone led the Johnnies to a 7-5-7 record and earned a win in the BIG EAST Tournament for the second-straight year. A stout defensive unit, the Red Storm logged seven shutouts and allowed just 17 goals across 19 matches. Red Storm players racked up accolades as Brooke Boyd and Jessica Garziano both earned All-BIG EAST and United Soccer Coaches' All-East Region honors. Freshman Emily Riggins garnered a spot on the conference's all-rookie team and Katherine Turner and Melina Couzis were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team for a stellar postseason performance.
Stone wrapped up his most successful season at the helm for the Red Storm in the fall of 2021. Boasting a 13-7-3 record, the Johnnies reached BIG East Tournament championship match for the first time since the 1994 championship season. Earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, St. John’s downed Brown 1-0 before taking down Samford in a shootout, 3-0, to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the first time in program history.
Individually, Jessica Garziano was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team and Athina Sofroniou found a place on the BIG EAST All Freshman squad.
Most notably, Kajan was unanimously selected as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, the second time in her career she earned the accolade. Following the year, Kajan was tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team as the Budapest, Hungary, native recorded 17 goals in 23 games this year to lead the league and rank inside the top-five among Division I opponents. Kajan continued to make history as she was selected eight overall by OL Reign in the 2022 NWSL Draft.
From 2014-21 spring season, Stone’s players combined to earn eight major BIG EAST awards. Diana Poulin earned three-straight Goalkeeper of the Year honors (2014-16), Georgia Kearney-Perry won back-to-back BIG EAST Defensive Player Year awards (2014-15), Rachel Daly took home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors (2013 and 2015) on two different occasions and most recently, Kajan was named the top offensive player in the conference following the 2019 campaign.
Daly and Kearney-Perry, arguably the two greatest players to ever lace up their cleats on Belson Stadium, were honored at the conclusion of the 2015 season with a pair of NSCAA All-America Team nods, as Daly became the first player in program history to earn a spot on the First Team and Kearney-Perry found a place on the Second Team. Kajan, who joins Daly and Kearney-Perry as one of the Johnnies’ most elite players, earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team. The Budapest, Hungary, native became the first player in program history to find a spot on the organization’s top team.
One of Stone’s most notable season came in 2015, as the Red Storm shattered school records and reached unprecedented levels of success. The Johnnies broke program marks for wins (15) and shutouts (12), while claiming the Red Storm’s first-ever BIG EAST Regular Season title with a 7-1-1 mark in conference play. Despite falling to Butler in the BIG EAST Semifinals, the NCAA Selection Committee rewarded the Red Storm’s body of work with the program’s third-ever at-large selection to the Tournament and the first NCAA home game at Belson Stadium in program history.
2014 proved to a successful season for St. John's women's soccer. Led by a dominant defensive core that included BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Georgia Kearney-Perry and the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Diana Poulin, the Red Storm compiled an overall record of 11-7-2, including a 6-2-1 mark in conference action. In addition to compiling the Red Storm's then-best-ever winning percentage in BIG EAST play, Stone's team also turned in a conference GAA of just 0.70, allowing only three goals in the first eight games of league action. After setting a program record with seven All-BIG EAST honorees, Stone saw his squad advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament before falling to Georgetown in penalty kicks.
In addition to their All-BIG EAST accolades, Stone's players received a litany of other awards following the 2014 season. Kearney-Perry and Daly were named to the NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Northeast Region First Team, while Poulin and Emily Cubbage found a spot on the NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Northeast Region Second Team. Daly became the first player in program history to be named NSCAA Scholar All-America, earning a second team nod. Cubbage also found a spot on the NSCAA Scholar All-East Region Second Team.
The 2013 campaign marked a season for the record books as Stone led his squad to the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win with a 3-1 victory over UCF on Nov. 16. Following a 6-0 run to open the season, the Red Storm finished the season with an impressive 12-6-3 record that included a 4-3-2 mark in BIG EAST play where the team finished fourth overall, falling to eventual champion Marquette, 2-0, in the semifinals.
History wasn't finished there; however, as Stone mentored the program's first-ever NSCAA All-American and BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year in Rachel Daly. The sophomore led the nation in goals scored with 23 on the year, earning Second Team All-American accolades after being named a member of the NSCAA All-Northeast Region First Team as well as the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year. Stone also saw three other All-BIG EAST honors in 2013, as Georgia Kearney-Perry earned first team honors, Amy Marron was selected to the second team and freshman Diana Poulin found a spot on the third team. Kearney-Perry was also picked as a NSCAA All-Northeast Region Third Team selection.
Off the pitch, Stone saw four of his 2013 squad members earn NSCAA Scholar All-East Region Honorable Mention accolades while Kristina Quan received a BIG EAST Postgraduate Scholarship.
In 2012, Stone's squad finished 6-10-1 overall and 2-7-1 in BIG EAST play. Once again, Stone boasted a student-athlete on the All-BIG EAST squad, as junior Amy Marron was voted to the third team. Junior Sarah Ashmore was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District I First Team, while Marron and Runa Stefansdottir were awarded NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-East Region accolades. Additionally, Kristina Quan, Morgan Ritter and Ashmore received NSCAA/adidas All-East Region honorable mention.
In the classroom, Stone had three student-athletes selected to the St. John's University President's Society: Lauren Ferris, Casey Marks and Quan, the most in one induction class for women's soccer. The 2012 squad had 22 student-athletes named to the BIG EAST All-Academic team and for the fourth-straight year (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), Stone's women's soccer team boasted an exceptional multi-year APR score that was recognized by the NCAA with a score of 997.
The 2011 season marked the return to the BIG EAST Championship for St. John's, as Stone led his squad to his 10th conference tournament. Stone had three players honored by the conference as Jen Leaverton and Marron were named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team and Caitlyn McLaughlin was selected as a BIG EAST All-Rookie selection. The Red Storm finished 9-9-1 overall and fifth in the BIG EAST American Division with a 5-6-0 record. St. John's had key wins over Connecticut, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall and in-state rival Syracuse. The Red Storm was ranked as high as sixth in the NSCAA Northeast Regional rankings.
Off the field, Leaverton was named to the NSCAA Scholar Athlete East Region team for the second-consecutive season, and was named as a Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District First team honoree. She was also a Lowes® Senior CLASS Award candidate, Stone's second in as many seasons.
Similarly, in 2010, the off-the-field success of his individual players included a Lowes® Senior CLASS Award finalist and a CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American in Nicole Pasciolla, three NSCAA Scholar All-Region honorees in Pasciolla, Leaverton and Raelynne Lee and two student-athletes that were inducted into the prestigious St. John's President's Society with Leaverton and Lindsey Hall. The squad also received St. John's Community Service Award for the third time after volunteering more than 300 hours of community service. Pasciolla was honored by the St. John's athletic department as she won the Rickard F. McSwiney Award, recognizing her athletic contribution and exceptional character. On the turf that season, Pasciolla and Kristin Russell were named to the All-BIG EAST squads and Stone tallied his 150th win as head coach with a 1-0 victory over James Madison at the JMU/Comfort Inn Harrisonburg Invitational on Aug. 27.
The then-highlight of Stone's consistently successful career at St. John's was the 2009 season as the Red Storm earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, compiled a 13-6-2 record and posted the third-most wins in program history, one victory short of tying the then-record set in 1994. The Red Storm also tied school-records for BIG EAST wins (six, 2007), home victories (eight, 2007) and shutouts (10, 2008).
Stone guided St. John's to its first-ever NSCAA Top 25 Poll appearance in 2009, eventually rising to No. 17 on Sept. 28. The program also received its highest ranking in history in the Soccer America Poll, when it was listed as No. 11 on Oct. 5. The Red Storm recorded three victories over Top 25 opponents, nabbing 2-1 victories over then-No. 12 USC on Aug. 30 and then-No. 12 Indiana on Sept. 13, and posting a 1-0 win over then-No. 16 UConn on Sept. 24. The Red Storm also advanced to the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals, losing a closely-decided contest in overtime. For his efforts, Stone was named the BigAppleSoccer.com Coach of the Year and earned NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year accolades.
Amanda Pasciolla, Nicole Doran, Nicole Pasciolla and Sarah McGrath earned All-BIG EAST accolades in 2009, while Amanda Pasciolla and Kelly McConnell were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and Raelynne Lee was bestowed one of the highest honors on campus by being named to the prestigious President's Society. The squad won the BIG EAST Team Excellence Award for academic achievement.
Stone continued to build off each year's successes as his 2008 squad set new school-records in shutouts (10) and goals against average (0.593) and made its third-straight BIG EAST Tournament appearance.
The 2007 campaign was also a success as the Red Storm posted an 11-5-3 overall record and set new program-records in BIG EAST wins (six) and home victories (eight). Stone's 2007 Red Storm opened up the season with an eight game (6-0-2) unbeaten streak and was ranked as high as third in the region in the NSCAA poll, after being consistently ranked for 15 weeks. Another highlight of the 2007 campaign was the Red Storm's defeat of then-No. 18 UConn on Oct. 26. The victory was only the second in history for St. John's over the Huskies, with the first coming on Nov. 5, 1994, in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals. The 2006 campaign featured the Red Storm advancing to the BIG EAST Quarterfinals and posting another successful season with a 10-5-4 record; while the 2005 season saw the Red Storm win six games, including the Columbia University tournament title, while senior Holly Ryder was named to the All-BIG EAST second team. On Oct. 15, 2004, Stone tallied a marquee personal and program achievement as the Red Storm topped BIG EAST rival Pittsburgh and, in front of his home crowd at Belson Stadium, he reached the 100-win plateau.
Stone's squad concluded the 2004 season with a record-setting fourth-consecutive appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament, after beginning the season with a program-best six-straight wins. In addition, the Red Storm took home two tournament titles with wins at the BAE Systems Army Classic and the St. John's NYC Nike Classic, the first-ever tournament hosted by the Red Storm women's soccer program. That year marked the second-straight season that Stone's team topped a nationally ranked opponent, as St. John's shut out the then-No. 18 Villanova Wildcats.
Following the 2004 season, Natasha Lee was recognized with several postseason awards, including second team All-BIG EAST honors and third team NSCAA/adidas All-Northeast Region accolades. Kaitlin Schmidt received the Dr. Peter Vitulli Award, given to the St. John's student-athlete who demonstrated the most courage, perseverance, dedication and spirit of self-sacrifice in seeking to attain the highest ideals of sportsmanship.
The 2003 season marked Stone's 10th at the helm of the St. John's women's soccer program, and the team finished 9-9-1 overall to qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament for the third-straight season. On Oct. 12, the team knocked off nationally-ranked Boston College in a 1-0 win at Belson Stadium. Two players, Courtney Rett and Schmidt, were named to the 2003 All-BIG EAST second team and the SoccerBuzz Northeast Region third team. The incoming freshmen class was ranked No. 11 in the Northeast.
In 2002, Stone led his squad to its most successful season since 1994. The Red Storm, with an 11-6-4 record, captured its first-ever ECAC Championship after making its second-consecutive appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament. Playing one of its toughest schedules in program history, St. John's posted a 3-1-3 record against NCAA Tournament teams from the previous year, including a tie against then-No. 14 Villanova and a shutout against Rutgers. The Red Storm appeared in the Northeast Regional rankings throughout the year, reaching as high as No. 3.
Stone's student-athletes received individual honors as Kaitlin Schmidt was named 2002 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, becoming the first St. John's player to earn a major conference award. Courtney Rett was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-Northeast Region First Team and Dominica Reina was named to the Verizon All-Academic District I first team and represented St. John's on the Academic All-America ballot. Goalkeeper Tina Fogg received the ECAC Most Valuable Player trophy, while classmate Jen Taylor was a Verizon All-Academic District I third team honoree.
The 2002 season marked the opening of the Red Storm's new home, Belson Stadium, a state-of-the-art stadium featuring a FieldTurf playing surface situated on a raised platform with parking underneath. Stone earned his first victory at Belson on Oct. 15, 2002, with a 1-0 shutout victory over league and regional rival Rutgers.
The 2001 Red Storm posted a 6-11-0 overall record, while going 3-3-0 in BIG EAST Northeast Division play. For the second time in the program's history, the St. John's women's soccer team qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament. The Red Storm fell to nationally-ranked and eventual BIG EAST Champion, Notre Dame, 2-0, in a hard-fought quarterfinal match.
In 2000, St. John's posted a 12-9-0 record and, for the second-consecutive year, advanced to the finals of the ECAC Tournament. Courtney Rett was selected to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team.
Stone's 1999 team finished with a 10-6-3 record as SoccerBuzz named the squad the fifth-most improved Division I program in the nation and chose Stone as the runner-up for Northeast Region Coach of the Year. Stone guided the Red Storm to the University of Maine Black Bear Invitational title with victories over New Hampshire and Maine. The team also reached the ECAC Tournament final, falling 1-0 to Villanova.
In Stone's inaugural season, 1994, he converted a roster that went 4-10-1 the previous season into a 14-4-1 squad that won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship Title. The run to the program's first BIG EAST Championship title included a win against then-No. 3 Connecticut in the semifinals and a victory over Boston College in the final.
Stone's dedication to St. John's Vincentian Mission has been evident throughout his tenure. In 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2015 the women's soccer team received the Athletics Department's Community Service Award, which is given to the team that exemplifies the qualities of the Vincentian mission by taking part in activities that extend it beyond its academic and athletic arenas. His teams have participated in countless community service projects over the past 20 seasons, including breast cancer walks, the Score For A Cure initiative that began in 2011 and several other service activities.
More than half of the student-athletes Stone has coached at St. John's have been named BIG EAST Academic All-Stars and have appeared on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. In 2002, Theresa Bulman was the first of Stone's 12 student-athletes to be inducted into the President's Society, the most prestigious honor awarded to a St. John's student. Since then, Erin Henderson (2005), Kelly McConnell (2009), Nicole Pasciolla (2009), Raelynee Lee (2010), Jen Leaverton (2011), Lindsey Hall (2011), Lauren Ferris (2013), Casey Marks (2013), Kristina Quan (2013), Sarah Chaides (2016) and Naya Lipkins
(2021) have also been inducted into the President's Society. From 2000-2002, a women's soccer player was awarded the Elizabeth Lapchick Award, presented annually by St. John's University to the male and female student-athletes who improved the most academically during their years. In addition, the Rickard F. McSwiney Award, given to the female student-athlete who `best typifies the St. John's woman,' was presented to women's soccer players following the 2001, 2002, 2007, 2010 and 2012 seasons. In 2016, Emily Cubbage was presented by the BIG EAST with the extremely prestigious Michael Tranghese Award, which included a $5,000 scholarship for postgraduate study.
Stone came to St. John's by way of the city of Bristol, in the county of Avon, England. He reached a high level of success in the youth ranks, playing for the nationally renowned Bristol Boys team, which produced many professional English Premier League players. Stone went on to captain his county team and was identified as one of the top 60 schoolboy players in the country. He was affiliated with the local professional club, Bristol Rovers, as a youth player and reached the national semifinal with his team.
He graduated with honors from the West London Institute of Education (now called Brunel University) in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and English. During Stone's collegiate playing career, the team won the British Collegiate Championship three-consecutive years, 1986-88. He captained the team his senior year and set the school record for goals scored in a season. While at West London, he also captained the National Collegiate team and played on the reserve team of the Premier League club, Chelsea. Stone comes from an outstanding soccer background, having grown up in a family rich with soccer tradition. His late father, Roger Stone, was associated with Bristol City as a young player and also managed the Somerset County Women's Soccer Chairman and Boys' Youth Team.
His first soccer coaching experience in the United States came under the tutelage of Gary Book at the Noga Soccer Camps in Long Island. He began working full-time at Noga in 1991 and continued there for the next five years, until his position at St. John's was upgraded to a full-time appointment in 1996. At Noga, he gained top coaching licenses in the United States Soccer Federation "A" license and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National Diploma.
Stone also coached at Herricks High School in Long Island for two seasons. The team won the 1992 Nassau County Class A Championship and the1993 Nassau County Conference I title.
Outside of St. John's, Stone was an age group coach in the Eastern New York South Girls Olympic Development Program and was previously the head coach of the Youth Soccer Olympic Development Region 1 East U-17 squad.
In summer 2010, he was elected head coach of the ODP Region 1 East team after serving five years as a member of the team's senior staff. His team represented the U.S. in Russia for tournament play. He is also the head coach for the Eastern New York Under 12 team. Stone served as an assistant coach for the Region I East U-17 squad from 2007-10, including their run as the 2007, 2008 and 2009 ODP Interregional champions.
In June 2005, he led the Eastern New York South Under-16 girls team to the 2005 U.S. Youth Soccer Region I Championship.
In mid-March 2005, the same team won the 2005 U.S. Youth Soccer ODP National Championship in the Under-15 Division, having won the Region I title the year before. At one point, the team won 14-straight games in ODP play in its respective age group. His ODP team also reached the National Final in 2002, before losing in overtime. Stone also coached the two-time Region I Champion HBC Magic from 1999-2002.
In the spring of 2009, Stone was selected to coach a U-19 team that represented the United States in an international tournament in Russia. He led his squad to the championship game, where it lost a close contest to the Chinese U-19 National Team in penalty kicks.
Stone also coached the New York City Open women's team from 2006-08 at the Empire State Games. He led that team to a bronze medal in 2006, marking the first time in the 30-year history of the Empire State Games that a NYC Open women's team has medaled. He improved the team to a silver medal in 2007 but topped the feat in 2008 when his NYC Open squad won the gold.
Stone is currently pursuing a master's degree in school counseling from the St. John's School of Education.
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