|
 In
the somewhat short 13-year history of varsity women's soccer at the University
of Minnesota Duluth, Greg Cane has taken a club-level team and
created a program that has proven it can compete on a national level.
Cane enters the 2007 season, his 14th at UMD, with a 141-70-21 record (for a .653 winning percentage)
with the Bulldogs.
After debuting in 1994 as a varsity sport with a 2-4-1 record, his Bulldogs
won at least 10 games per year and captured five of the first seven
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2003).
In addition, UMD laid claim to the the NSIC Conference Tournament Championship
on four occasions (1997, 1998, 2001 and 2003) since 1997. Cane, the 2004 NSIC Coach of the Year, piloted
the Bulldogs to their first-ever national ranking in 1999 and were ranked
as high as eighth in 2000. UMD took a giant leap that fall by
advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time
in club history.
No stranger to successful programs, the 46-year-old Cane also handled
the head coaching duties for the UMD women's tennis team from 1995-1997.
Under his watch, the Bulldogs produced a 30-15 overall record and
won three NSIC titles. In his first season, UMD set a school single-season
record for victories and winning percentage with a 15-2 mark as the Bulldogs made their initial appearance in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. For his efforts, Cane was named the NSIC Coach of the Year.
| Year |
School |
W
|
L
|
T
|
Pct
|
|
1990
|
St.
Scholastica |
0
|
7
|
0
|
.000
|
|
1991
|
St.
Scholastica |
3
|
9
|
1
|
.269
|
|
1992
|
St.
Scholastica |
3
|
9
|
0
|
.250
|
|
1993
|
St.
Scholastica |
7
|
10
|
0
|
.412
|
|
1994
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
2
|
4
|
1
|
.357
|
|
1995
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
13
|
4
|
1
|
.750
|
|
1996
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
10
|
9
|
1
|
.525
|
|
1997
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
11
|
4
|
2
|
.647
|
|
1998
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
11
|
5
|
0
|
.706
|
|
1999
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
14
|
3
|
1
|
.806
|
|
2000
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
17
|
2
|
2
|
.857
|
|
2001
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
15
|
4
|
1
|
.775
|
|
2002
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
15
|
5
|
2
|
.762
|
2003 |
Minnesota Duluth |
14 |
14 |
3 |
.757 |
|
2004
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
3
|
8
|
4
|
.333
|
|
2005
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
8
|
11
|
0
|
.421
|
|
2006
|
Minnesota
Duluth |
8
|
8
|
3
|
.500
|
| Totals |
17
years |
154
|
105
|
22
|
.587
|
| Men's
Coaching record at St. Scholastica (1985-93) |
| Totals
-- 9 years |
106
|
53
|
12
|
.655
|
A native of Duluth and Duluth Cathedral High School graduate, Cane played varsity soccer for three seasons at the College of St. Scholastica. After graduating in 1983 with bachelor's degrees in both secondary education and history, he remained at his alma mater to coach the men's soccer contingent. In his nine years with the Saint men, Cane rolled up a 106-53-12 while winning two National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Championships and five NAIA Disctir 12 titles. The 1988 NSCAA Coach of the Year Award recipient averaged 12 wins a year and endured just two losing seasons at the Saints' helm. He was later instrumental in establishing the St. Scholastica women's soccer program in 1990 and posted an overall mark of 13-35-1 in his four years of coaching the women.
Cane and his wife, Patti, reside in Duluth while their daugher, Amanda (19) is a sophomore at Cane's alma mater St. Scholastica.
|
 A name synonymous to those in the Duluth area soccer circles, Kelly Grgas-Wheeler will embark on her fourth season as a Bulldog assistant coach in 2007.
Grgas-Wheeler, who received her NSCAA National Diploma in June of 2007, joined the Bulldog staff in 2004 with five years of previous coaching experience tucked under her belt. That
included a three-season assistant stint at the University of Texas
El Paso, an NCAA I instititution. While in El Paso,
she helped mold the Miners into one of the most potent offensive clubs in
the nation. In 2002, UTEP led the nation in goals scored and goals
per match while setting school records for wins, points and shots.
Her responsibilities with the Miners also consisted of scheduling, game management
and recruiting .
Before
accepting the UTEP post, Grgas-Wheeler was an assistant coach at Cochise
College (Ariz.) for two years. There she was in charge of the two-year
school's practices, recruiting, and academic advising for soccer
student-athletes.
She
also gained a year of collegiate assistant coaching seasoing at
her alma mater, Ottawa University (Kan.) in 1999 after completing
a four-year career as a multi-sport athlete.
.
As
a student-athlete at Ottawa, Grgas-Wheeler was a three-time All-Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference first team selection, and, in 1998, received the league's Player
of the Year award. She was also voted the team's Most Valuable Player
three different seasons while rewriting the school's record book. She
left Ottawa owning all-time marks for goals, assists and points.
Grgas-Wheeler also attained all-conference recognition in basketball at Ottawa.
Locally,
Grgas-Wheeler has spent the past seven summers in the Duluth area
as a Gitchi Gummi Club soccer coach. She is graduate of Duluth
East High School and resides in Duluth.
|
|
 Kari Stellmaker, a Duluth, Minn., native, enters her first season as the Student Assistant Head Coach the University of Minnesota Duluth women's soccer team. A graduate of Duluth East High School, Stellmaker spent two years (2004-05) in a Bulldog uniform, accumulating 59 saves in 13 games while backstopping UMD between the pipes.
Stellmaker, an undergraduate student majoring in education at UMD, will manage the goalkeeping duties during the 2007 season. Also, in the summer, she is an assistant coach for the Gitchie Gummi soccer program.
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