Claire McLain is entering her 12th season as head coach of the Utica College women’s soccer team. Under her guidance 50 student-athletes have earned Empire 8 All-Conference recognition. She led the Pioneers to two straight Empire 8 Conference Tournament appearances (2006 & 2007), including a conference championship game appearance in 2006, falling just one win shy of the program's first NCAA Division III Tournament bid. That same year she guided the Pioneers to a second place finish in the ECAC Upstate Championships. She helped Utica to double-digit victories in two straight seasons (2005 & 2006), including a career-high 12 wins in 2005.
In 11 full seasons, McLain has compiled an overall record of 68-105-13. She has three winning seasons under her belt to go along with 22 Empire 8 conference victories.
She also helped coach future Pioneer Hall of Fame goalie Ashley Kaufman. In
Claire McLain four seasons Kaufman posted a school-record 18 shut outs on the pitch and compiled a 31-23-3 overall record for the Pioneers. Coach McLain also guided Pioneer stand out Danielle Smith to Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year honors in 2006.
McLain is the Odyssey Soccer Development Academy (Oneida, NY) Director of Coaching and she currently maintains her United States Soccer Federation “C” Coaching License. She was a member of the Antigua Women’s National Team Coaching Staff and she has also been involved with the Region I Olympic Development Program as well as the NYSW Olympic Development Program.
In 2005, the Pioneers won eight of their first nine games on their way to posting a 12-6 overall record. McLain helped her team to a 9-1 record at home and they also registered nine shut outs over the course of the season. Three of their six losses were by just one goal.
In 2006, McLain and the Pioneers won six of their first eight games en route to an 11-8-2 overall record. The Pioneers won a school-record four Empire 8 games that season and earned a bid into the conference tournament. They defeated a tough RIT squad in the semifinals to advance to the program’s first conference tournament championship game. In the finals, the Pioneers squared off against Nazareth College (a team they had beaten 2-0 in the regular season), but UC lost a heartbreaker, 2-1, in overtime, narrowly missing out on an automatic NCAA bid. They went on to win their first two games in the ECAC Upstate Championships before falling to Williams Smith College on penalty kicks in the championship game.
In 2014, the Pioneers posted five wins and one tie. Three of Utica’s losses were by just one goal. Junior Krystine Alvear was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference squad, while classmate Kelly Heimerle was voted as the Pioneers' Sportswoman of the Year.
In 2013, the Pioneers posted three wins and added two ties. Three of the Pioneers losses were by a slim one goal margin. Senior Sarah Southwell was an Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team selection, while classmate Deanna Didio was voted as the Pioneers' Sportswoman of the Year.
In 2012, McLain guided five student-athletes to All-Conference status while the entire team came together as one of 16 teams to be honored with a combined team grade point average of a 3.0 or better including four members who were named to the President's List. On the field, UC opened up the season with four straight victories as it outscored its opposition 9-1, including three-straight shutouts to start the year, however fell upon hard times down the stretch losing 11 of its next 13 contests.
In 2011, Coach McLain led three Pioneers to All-Conference accolades, while placing six student-athletes on the 2011 Empire 8 Fall President’s List, more than any other team in the 25 sport department. She recorded her 50th career win on Sept. 8, 2011 as the team defeated cross-town rival SUNYIT 6-1 under the lights at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
McLain was elevated to head coach at UC in 2004 after spending one season as a graduate assistant under former Head Coach Jessica Critchlow.
McLain played intercollegiate soccer at the University of New England, where she earned the Coaches Award in 1998 and 1999 and also served as team captain in 1999. In four seasons as a student-athlete at UNE, McLain guided the Nor’Easters to a 47-19-5 overall record. As a sophomore she helped guide the program to a 14-3-2 overall record, a MAC Championship and a second straight appearance in the NAIA Regional Tournament where they won a first round contest. She registered four goals and added three assists over the course of her collegiate career. In her senior season she played in all 18 games and paced the Nor’Eeasters to a 12-5-1 overall ledged, including a near perfect 11-0-1 mark in Commonwealth Coast Conference action. Upon graduation she continued to help develop the program as she spent two seasons as an assistant women’s soccer coach at her alma mater.
A 2000 graduate of the University of New England, McLain earned a Bachelor’s Degree in exercise physiology and recently earned her Master's Degree in organizational communication from Utica College. She currently resides in Onieda with her husband Chris, and three children Maeghan, Gavin and Caitlin. Her husband Chris is the Associate Head Coach of the women's soccer program at Division I Colgate University.
