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Western Michigan University

Western Michigan Athletics
 1903 W. Michigan Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49008
Division 1 Michigan Midwest
Public Large Competitive team
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Coaches

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Lewis Robinson

Lewis Robinson was named head women's soccer coach on June 30, 2022.


Since taking over the program, Robinson has posted 30 wins, including 21 in Mid-American Conference play. He collected his first win with the Broncos on Sept. 22, 2022, in a 2-0 victory over Northern Illinois.


In just three seasons, he has helped WMU produce 12 All-MAC performers, including eight First Team honorees. Academically, the Broncos have had 37 Academic All-MAC selections under his tutelage. He also helped Jen Blitchok become the first All-American in program history.


Robinson helped guide the Broncos to more history in 2024, winning the MAC regular season championship for the second consecutive season, while also claiming the tournament title. That led to WMU's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. The Brown and Gold lost just two games all season and became the first team in MAC history to go undefeated in conference play in back-to-back seasons. The 2024 squad broke the program record, going unbeaten in 16 straight games.


With that team success, Robinson was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Jen Blitchok earned the league's Offensive Player of the Year award as well. Along with that, the Broncos secured four All-MAC selections in Blitchok, Madi Canada, Heidi Thomasma and Abby Werthman. June Mullen was named to the league's All-Freshman Team. Blitchok, Canada, Thomasma and Werthman were also named to the All-Region Team.


In the classroom, the Broncos had 11 Academic All-MAC selections to go along with six players on the CSC Academic All-District Team. Blitchok was named a First Team CSC Academic All-American following the season. She is the first player in program history to earn Academic All-American honors multiple times.


WMU had a historic 2023 season, highlighted by the program’s first ever regular season MAC championship. Robinson helped the Broncos post a 12-4-3 overall record and 8-0-3 MAC mark. Western Michigan became just the fifth team in conference history to finish the regular season with an undefeated record. With that, the team broke the record for longest unbeaten streak in program history (11 games).


Thanks to the team’s success, multiple individuals received awards, including Robinson. He was named the MAC Coach of the Year following the regular season. Along with that, Lauren Boafo was named the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year and Mira Pierre-Webster was selected as the MAC Defensive Player of the Year.


The Broncos had six All-MAC performers as well, including Boafo, Pierre-Webster, Jen Blitchok, Abby Werthman, Jenna Blackburn and Brielle Gomez. Additionally, Madi Canada and Bria Telemaque were named to the All-MAC Tournament Team.


During his first season with the Broncos (2022), Robinson brought the squad back to the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time since 2019. Along with that, Robinson coached two All-MAC performers and had another named to the All-Freshman Team.


Robinson is the eighth head coach in program history, joining WMU after four seasons at the helm at Aquinas College. He won two Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championships, made three appearances in the NAIA National Tournament and achieved the program’s first-ever Top 10 national ranking.


He also has extensive experience at the youth level, where he was the executive director of Midwest United FC. Under his guidance the program won eight state championships, two regional championships and two National Championships. Robinson served as the head girls soccer coach at Grandville High School, turning the program into a powerhouse with three district championships, two regional championships and one state finals appearance.


Robinson was also head coach of both the men’s and women’s Grand Rapids FC teams, which competed in the USL and the UWS Minor League and served on the Michigan Olympic Development Program for seven years.

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Paige Eli

Paige Eli was named assistant women's soccer coach on Jan. 5, 2023 after spending eight seasons at Davenport University, the last four as head coach of the Panthers.


Eli's second season with the program (2024) was even better that the first, as the Broncos won the MAC regular season and tournament championships. That led to the Brown and Gold's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2015. Eli helped the Broncos collect a 13-2-6 overall record, and Western Michigan became the first team in MAC history to record back-to-back undefeated seasons in conference play. The team also broke the record for the longest unbeaten streak in program history, going 16 consecutive matches without a loss.


The 2024 squad had four All-MAC selections, and Jen Blitchok became the first All-American in program history. She led the nation in points and was named a First Team Academic All-American as well. Blitchok was joined by Madi Canada, Heidi Thomasma and Abby Werthman on both the All-MAC and All-Region Teams.


In her first season with the Broncos (2023), Eli helped guide the team to its first ever MAC regular season championship. WMU was just the fifth team in MAC history to have an undefeated conference record (8-0-3). With that, the team broke the record for longest unbeaten streak in program history (11 games).


Not only did the team have success under her guidance, but six players were named to the All-MAC Team, while two others were able to win specialty awards. She played a key role in developing Mira Pierre-Webster into the MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Laurren Boafo into the MAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Along with Pierre-Webster and Boafo, Jen Blitchok, Abby Werthman, Jenna Blackburn and Brille Gomez were All-MAC selections.


Prior to taking over at the helm for DU, Eli was an assistant coach for four seasons and helped guide the program during the transition into Division II and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Panthers qualified and played in the GLIAC Tournament in each of the four years with Eli as the head coach.


Eli played and graduated at Davenport University, playing four seasons and racking up 29 goals and 22 assists. In her youth career she played with the Doncaster Rovers Belles and represented England at the U17 and U19 National Team levels, while playing in the 2008 U17 World Cup.

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Nathan Van Ryn

Nathan Van Ryn was named women's soccer assistant coach in July 2022 by Lewis Robinson.


Van Ryn's third season with the program (2024) was even better that the second, as the Broncos won the MAC regular season and tournament championships. That led to the Brown and Gold's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2015. He helped the Broncos collect a 13-2-6 overall record, and Western Michigan became the first team in MAC history to record back-to-back undefeated seasons in conference play. The team also broke the record for the longest unbeaten streak in program history, going 16 consecutive matches without a loss.


The 2024 squad had four All-MAC selections, and Jen Blitchok became the first All-American in program history. She led the nation in points and was named a First Team Academic All-American as well. Blitchok was joined by Madi Canada, Heidi Thomasma and Abby Werthman on both the All-MAC and All-Region Teams. In net, WMU's goalkeepers were able to post 11 shutouts. The team allowed just 17 goals all season.


Van Ryn was key in helping the Broncos to their first ever MAC regular season championship in 2023. WMU was just the fifth team in MAC history to have an undefeated regular season. With that, the team broke the record for longest unbeaten streak in program history (11 games).


Outside of the team’s success, Van Ryn played a big role in helping Lauren Boafo become the MAC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2023. He also helped with the development of Mira Pierre-Webster, who was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Along with Boafo and Pierre-Webster, Van Ryn coached four other All-MAC selections in Jen Blitchok, Abby Werthman, Jenna Blackburn and Brielle Gomez.


In 2022, Van Ryn helped WMU’s new coaching staff pick up its first win of the season in a 2-0 victory over Northern Illinois on Sept. 22, 2022. The Broncos would go on to make the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2019. Along with that, WMU had two All-MAC selections and an All-Freshman Team honoree.


Van Ryn was an assistant coach and goalkeeper coach under Robinson at Aquinas College for three seasons spanning 2019-21. He helped lead the team to the NAIA National Tournament three times, was a member of the 2021 Regional Coaching Staff of the Year and helped Aquinas to a top-10 goals against average in 2012. He also spent time as the goalkeeping director at Midwest United FC.


He played four seasons at Calvin University, where he was a First Team All-American as a senior in 2017. That year he was also named the Hero Sports DIII Men's Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year and the Player of the Year. He helped Calvin to the DIII National Championship game in 2016 and the National Semifinals in 2015. Van Ryn graduated ranked 19th all-time in career goals against average across all NCAA Divisions.

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