| Chris Neal's Honors at UNCW |
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Neal enters his eighth season as the head women's soccer coach at his alma mater. He was named as the Seahawks' skipper in July 2018 and has led the squad to a 53-44-14 overall record through seven seasons, including a 29-23-10 mark in Coastal Athletic Association play.
The success also includes a pair of regular season championships (2020 & 2021), the first ever regular season titles in the program’s 30-year history. Neal’s overall coaching record, as a head coach at three different programs since 1998, is 179-142-49. He has been named Coach of the Year in both the CAA (2021) and in the Southern Conference (2012).
In addition, Neal is preparing players for the pros and has mentored the first two athletes in program history to be picked in the National Women's Soccer League Draft. Goalkeeper Sydney Schneider was the first-ever selection in 2021 when she was taken with the No. 29 overall selection by the Washington Spirit. The Spirit came back to the Seahawks' roster in the 2022 event, when Audrey Harding heard her name called with the No. 38 overall pick.
Since Neal's arrival in 2018, the Seahawks have earned an impressive 31 All-CAA conference honors including 2019 Goalkeeper-of-the-Year Sydney Schneider, 2020 Rookie-of-the-Year Blair Barefoot, 2020 Goalkeeper-of-the-Year Blair Barefoot, and 2021 Defender-of-the-Year Sophie Trepohl. Also since 2018, six Seahawks have earned All-Region honors and in 2021 Audrey Harding was named the program’s first ever Academic All-American. In 2021, the squad finished with a program-record tying six student-athletes earning All-CAA recognition.
In 2018, Neal, spent the spring season as the chief assistant coach at Arkansas (SEC) following a 10-year stint as the head women's soccer coach at fellow CAA member Elon.
"We want to welcome home a native Wilmingtonian, a UNCW graduate and a true Seahawk," said Jimmy Bass, UNCW Director of Athletics. "Chris is a high-caliber head coach with a tremendous commitment to academic excellence. Our student-athletes are going to really enjoy playing for Chris and we're all looking forward to what the future holds."
The experienced Neal is just the third coach in the 26-year history of the UNCW program, following Keith Cammidge and Paul Cairney.
"This program has experienced tremendous success, in both the CAA and NCAA, and I am determined to build on that legacy," Neal said.
Before his brief stop in Fayetteville, Ark., Neal was the winningest head coach in Elon women's soccer history with a 90-76-31 record. He was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2012 after leading the Phoenix to their first SoCon championship appearance until overseeing Elon's transition to the CAA in 2014.
Before arriving at Elon, Neal worked as an assistant coach at UNCW from 2001-07, helping the Seahawks compile a 70-55-8 record.
Neal earlier enjoyed a successful stint as the head men's soccer coach at Pfeiffer in Misenheimer, North Carolina. In three seasons at Pfeiffer (1998-2000), Neal piloted the Falcons to a 36-22-4 (.613) ledger and their first-ever NCAA Division II ranking (No. 13). In 2000, the squad advanced to the CVAC Tournament Championship match that ended in a 1-1 draw with Longwood advancing in a penalty kick shootout. Neal also served two campaigns as a graduate assistant men's coach at Augusta State (1996-97) and the Jaguars improved from a 7-8-0 in 1996 to 14-6-0 in 1997.
From 2001-2008, Neal gained experience as a coach educator, serving on the coaching education staff’s for both US Soccer and the NSCAA (now United Soccer Coaches). In these roles, he served as the NSCAA State Director and organized and taught a variety of courses for thousands of coaches from all levels.
From 2001-2005, Neal was a volunteer assistant for the men's and women's soccer teams at UNCW. In 2003, Neal, along with Dr. Colin Barnes, created and founded the Port City Soccer Club for local youth players and served as the Director from 2003-2005. Prior to the creation of the Port City Soccer Club, he served as the first full-time Director of Coaching for the Cape Fear Youth Soccer Association, now known as the Wilmington Hammerheads.
Neal earned his B.A. Degree in Political Science from UNCW in 1995 and M.A. in Education from Augusta State in 1998. He holds the United States Soccer Federation "A" license and the NSCAA "Premier" diploma.
A goalkeeper by trade, Neal played locally for the ’72 Wilmington United and Cape Fear Breakers club teams. He also was a letterman in goal for the New Hanover High School Wildcats.
Neal and his wife, Amy, have a daughter, Josi, and son, Rex.
Chris Neal Year-by-Year History
| Year |
Position |
Record |
Conf. Record |
| 1995 |
Student Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
9-10-0 |
2-5-0 CAA |
| 1996 |
Graduate Assistant Coach (Augusta State Men's Soccer) |
7-8-1 |
2-3-0 |
| 1997 |
Graduate Assistant Coach (Augusta State Men's Soccer) |
14-6-0 |
4-3-0 |
| 1998 |
Head Coach (Pfeiffer Men's Soccer) |
12-7-1 |
6-4-1 |
| 1999 |
Head Coach (Pfeiffer Men's Soccer) |
11-9-0 |
8-3-0 |
| 2000 |
Head Coach (Pfeiffer Men's Soccer) |
13-6-3 |
8-2-1 |
| 2001 |
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Men's Soccer) |
3-15-0 |
0-6-0 CAA |
|
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
10-8-1 |
0-4-1 CAA |
| 2002 |
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Men's Soccer) |
9-9-0 |
2-7-0 CAA |
|
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
11-8-0 |
3-6-0 CAA |
| 2003 |
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Men's Soccer) |
10-7-3 |
4-4-1 CAA |
|
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
9-8-2 |
3-4-2 CAA |
| 2004 |
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Men's Soccer) |
12-6-2 |
5-3-1 CAA |
|
Volunteer Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
10-7-1 |
1-7-1 CAA |
| 2005 |
Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
8-10-1 |
4-6-1 CAA |
| 2006 |
Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
13-6-0 |
8-3-0 CAA |
| 2007 |
Assistant Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
9-8-2 |
5-5-1 CAA |
| 2008 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
8-8-3 |
4-6-1 SoCon |
| 2009 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
12-5-2 |
7-3-1 SoCon |
| 2010 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
12-8-1 |
6-5-0 SoCon |
| 2011 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
8-8-4 |
6-3-2 SoCon |
| 2012 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
7-9-6 |
4-3-4 SoCon |
| 2013 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
13-3-6 |
5-1-4 SoCon |
| 2014 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
5-12-0 |
1-8-0 CAA |
| 2015 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
9-8-2 |
1-7-1 CAA |
| 2016 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
7-9-3 |
2-5-2 CAA |
| 2017 |
Head Coach (Elon Women's Soccer) |
9-6-4 |
2-3-4 CAA |
| 2018 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
9-6-1 |
3-5-1 CAA |
| 2019 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
10-6-1 |
6-2-1 CAA |
| 2020 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
7-3-0 |
4-0-0 CAA |
| 2021 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
11-4-1 |
7-2-0 CAA |
| 2022 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
7-7-3 |
3-4-2 CAA |
| 2023 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
5-9-3 |
4-5-3 CAA |
| 2024 |
Head Coach (UNCW Women's Soccer) |
4-9-5 |
2-5-3 CAA |
