Greg Ashton - Women's Soccer Coach - Davidson College Athletics

Greg Ashton

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
grashton@davidson.edu
Phone:
2818

Entering his 13th year for the 2016 season, head coach Greg Ashton has done nothing to disappoint the Wildcat faithful in his 12 years at the helm of the women’s soccer program. Davidson has made a name for its self nationally after a successful run in the Southern Conference that included three regular season titles and fourth tournament titles. The Wildcats moved to the Atlantic 10 in 2014.

Ashton enters the 2016 season with a career coaching record of 184-112-29 (113-104-27 at Davidson), while he guided the 'Cats to a 64-31-11 record in SoCon play.

Davidson has been very successful under Ashton when playing at Alumni Stadium, compiling a 60-39-15 record during his 12 years at the helm. The 2010 team went for the first time in program history unbeaten at Alumni Stadium with a 5-0-3 record. The 'Cats also set a program record with a 13-game home unbeaten streak (10-0-3) with a win and tie in the first two home games of the 2011 season. The streak had started in the final three home contests of the 2009 campaign.

In its second year in the Atlantic 10, a young Davidson squad finished with a 3-7 mark and went 7-12 overall. Ashton brought in 11 first-year players, with the majority of them seeing a good amount of action on the field and contributing right away. The Wildcats rattled off a three-game win streak, the longest since 2009. The streak started in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 double-overtime victory at Wofford, scoring the winning goal with a second left on the clock. The win ran the ‘Cats' unbeaten streak to 12 games vs. the Terriers.

Senior Jenni Isaac earned a spot on the A-10 All-Academic Team for the second straight year and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team. Davidson as a team earned the Women's College Team Academic Award from the NSCAA for the 21st year in a row.

It was a new beginning for the 2014 campaign as Davidson was making its inaugural debut in the Atlantic 10 after a 20-year run in the SoCon. The Wildcats finished 5-12-2 overall and 2-5-1 in league play. They played their first ranked opponent since 2010, hosting No. 5 Virginia Tech, which reached the College Cup in 2013. Davidson also faced five new opponents in 2014, including A-10 members VCU, St. Bonaventure and UMass. On Oct. 3, the 'Cats collected their first-ever A-10 win with a 2-0 victory on the road against St. Bonnies.

Junior Jenni Isaac earned a spot on the A-10 All-Academic Team, while the team earned the Women's College Team Academic Award from the NSCAA for the 20th year in a row. In addition, eight Wildcats were honored with a spot on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

The 2013 season was a memorable 10th season for Ashton as he won his 100th game at Davidson after the Wildcats earned a 4-3 decision on the road at Francis Marion, Oct. 13. Davidson reached the SoCon Tournament for the 10th straight season, finishing seventh in the league standings at 4-5-1 and had a 6-11-4 overall record. Freshman Ashley Finke became the program's fifth player to earn a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team since 2009. Davidson as a team was honored once again for its hard work in the classroom as the Wildcats garnered for an 19th straight year the Women's College Team Academic Award from NSCAA. In addition, seven players were honored with a spot on the SoCon All-Acaemic Team in 2013.

During the 2012 season, Davidson went 7-10-3 overall with a 5-5-1 mark in SoCon action. The young Wildcat squad consisted of 19 first and second-year players. The Wildcats reached the tournament for the ninth time under Ashton, but their bid for another SoCon title came up short when they were eliminated by Furman 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Julie Calhoun gave Ashton yet another all-league player when she was named to the All-SoCon Second Team. Davidson as a team was honored once again for its hard work in the classroom as the Wildcats garnered for an 18th straight year the Women's College Team Academic Award from NSCAA. Rachel Locke, Julia Singley and Lauren Swany were each named to the SoCon All-Academic Team.

The 2011 Wildcats compile a 9-9-2 overall mark and 7-4 in SoCon play as they broke in 11 first-year players. Three of the incoming freshmen made an immediate impact. Becca Fisher led the way as she became the third Wildcat under Ashton to garner SoCon Freshman of the Year honors after pacing the team in goals and points, while tying for the team-lead in assists. Fellow classmates Stephanie Piperno and goalkeeper Rachel Locke were also key first-year contributors and earned a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team with Fisher. Piperno was right behind Fisher in scoring, while Locke stepped into the starting lineup Sept. 11 at Navy and never looked back, compiling an 8-6-1 record with three shutouts. Davidson's season came to an end in the first round of the league tournament, falling 2-1 to rival Furman at home.

In 2010, Davidson went 6-8-6 overall and 2-4-5 in league play. The six ties were a program record, breaking the previous mark of three set during the 1997 and 2008 campaigns. Ashton also led the program to its 100th SoCon win with a 1-0 triumph over Chattanooga, Oct. 24. Ashton had two players earn spots on the All-SoCon Second Team, while two other of his players, Allison Drutchas and Callan Elswick, earned prestigious postgraduate scholarships from the NCAA and Southern Conference for their excellent work on the field as well as in the classroom. The pair were also named to CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District III Teams, with Drutchas earning first-team honors. Davidson as a team was honored for the 16th straight year with the Women's College Team Academic Award from the NSCAA for the 2009-10 season.

The 2009 season was a milestone season for Ashton and the women's soccer program as they earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament after winning the program's fourth SoCon Tournament Title. The 'Cats finished with a 12-10-1 overall mark, while closing out league play at 7-3-1. Ashton and the Wildcats rode a six-game unbeaten streak to clinch the fourth and final seed in the SoCon Tournament, and then captured a 1-0 victory over No. 1-seeded UNC Greensboro to earn a trip to the finals. Taking on College of Charleston in the finals, Davidson played 108 minutes of shutout ball until netting the game-winner in the 109th minute to send the 'Cats to the NCAA Tournament, where they faced off against No. 8 South Carolina. Though Davidson lost 4-0 to the Gamecocks, the Wildcats still finished with their sixth straight winning record, all under Ashton. Davidson placed five players on the All-SoCon First or Second Team, including Kyri Bye-Nagel who was named to the first team for the third straight season. The Wildcats also put four players on the SoCon All-Tournament Team, which included tournament MVP Amanda Flink.

The 2008 season saw Davidson hit the 10-win mark for the fifth straight season as it closed at 10-6-3 in Ashton's fifth year. The Wildcats had another successful year in SoCon play as well, finishing fourth with an 8-3-0 mark.

His fourth season was one for the record books. Davidson tied the school record for wins in a season with a 14-5-1 mark that included eight- and six-game unbeaten streaks. The 'Cats also finished second in league play with an 8-1-1 record and advanced to the SoCon tournament semifinals for the third time in the past four years. In addition, the 2007 squad tied the school record for shutouts with 10.

The 2006 campaign saw Davidson go 11-7-2 and finish second in the conference with a league mark of 7-3, after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll.

After an outstanding first year that saw him win Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors while taking the Wildcats to the SoCon finals, Ashton guided Davidson to the school’s first undefeated mark in league play, and its third regular season SoCon title in 2005. The Wildcats also achieved its highest ranking, ninth, in the Soccer Buzz and NSCAA/adidas Southeast Regional poll over the last five years, and a program-best 14-game unbeaten streak. All those accomplishments earned him his second straight coach of the year award as the Wildcats fashioned a 14-5-2 overall mark in 2005.

Ashton’s athletes have also shined under his tutelage with five different players earning all-league honors including Mel Smith, who was the 2005 Freshman of the Year, and standout forward Kara Koehrn, the 2005 Player of Year. Koehrn also was a NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-American and CoSIDA Academic All-District performer.

With the arrival of Ashton in 2004, Davidson ushered in a new era of Wildcat women’s soccer. He led the 2004 squad all the way to the tournament finals, earning the native New Zealander with his first SoCon Coach of the Year award. The Wildcats earned recognition as the NCAA’s 16th-most improved women’s soccer program, doubling the number of wins collected in 2003 with an overall record of 12-9-1 while posting a league mark of 7-3-1 to finish fifth in the final SoCon standings.

Eventually falling to rival Furman in the finals, Davidson made history as the second-lowest seed to ever contend for the SoCon Tournament title in the championship game.

Formerly the head coach at Division-III Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Ashton arrived at Davidson with a remarkable record of success. Twice during his four-year tenure at Trinity Ashton took the Tigers to the NCAA D-III semifinals. His team also won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference crown three times.

Trinity finished the 2003 season with a 16-1-1 record and an 8-1 mark in the SCAC. The conference defeat was Ashton’s lone loss in the SCAC in four seasons, having won 35 straight during his career there.

In 2002, he led the Tigers to a 21-2 record, accumulating the most victories ever during a single season in the school’s history. Ashton was named Coach of the Year for the SCAC and the NSCAA South Region. He finished his tenure at Trinity with an impressive overall record of 71-8-2.

He has coached five All-America honorees, and each of his four Trinity teams received an NSCAA Team Academic Award for excellence in the classroom.

“Greg’s record of success in a highly-selective academic setting makes him a great fit for Davidson,” Athletics Director Jim Murphy said.

Before he became head coach at Trinity, Ashton served as the assistant there for five seasons, during which time the Tigers won the conference title and played in the D-III playoffs four times. Trinity also reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA D-III Tourna-ment twice.

Ashton, who earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas-San Antonio, also holds a business degree from Auckland (New Zealand) Tech. He played soccer professionally in New Zealand from 1985 to 1992, and he represented his country as a Youth National Team member beginning with the U-15 team through the U-19 squad.

Ashton is married to Cheri Lofquist with their son Lars and they reside in Cornelius, N.C.

Year	W	L	T	Pct.	School
2000	19	2	1	.886	Trinity
2001	15	3	0	.833
2002	21	2	0	.913
2003	16	1	1	.916
2004	12	9	1	.568	Davidson (7-3-1 SoCon)
2005	14	5	2	.737	(9-0-1 SoCon)
2006	11	7	2	.600	(7-3-0 SoCon)
2007	14	5	1	.725	(8-1-1 SoCon)
2008	10	6	3	.605	(8-3-0 SoCon)
2009	12	10	1	.543	(7-3-1 SoCon)
2010	6	8	6	.450	(2-4-5 SoCon)
2011	9	9	2	.500	(7-4-0 SoCon)
2012	7	10	3	.425	(5-5-1 SoCon)
2013	6	11	4	.381	(4-5-1 SoCon)
2014	5	12	2	.316	(2-5-1 A-10)
2015	7	12	0	.368	(3-7 A-10)
Total	184	112	29	.611	16 years (12 at Davidson)