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Jess Reynolds, the only coach in Saint Joseph's program history to lead the Hawks to the Atlantic 10 Tournament, returns for her 10th season at the helm of the women's soccer squad. In nine seasons, Reynolds has turned around a team that posted a single A-10 win in the year before she arrived, to a highly-competitive club that has since made three postseason appearances, and came within a victory of the postseason in 2009. Bringing in several highly-touted recruits and transfers in 2003, Reynolds led the Hawks to their first winning season in four years. Saint Joseph's went 9-8-1 overall and set a program record for Atlantic 10 wins with a 7-4-0 record and qualified for its first A-10 Tournament. The seven-game improvement from 2002 to 2003 ranked among the best in the nation as Reynolds guided three players to All-Conference or All-Rookie recognition, including 2003 A-10 Rookie of the Year Megan Schutt. In 2004, Reynolds guided the Hawks to new heights as Saint Joseph's earned the team's first postseason victory. Highlighted by a 1-0 win over La Salle in the A-10 Championship Opening Round, the Hawks posted a 9-11-1 overall record and finished 6-4-1 in conference play. Having graduated the Hawks' top scorer and goalkeeper, Reynolds' coaching ability shined in 2006 as Saint Joseph's fought into the final weekend for a playoff spot. Despite falling shy of the program's fourth-straight postseason appearance, Reynolds coached the Hawks to a single-season best 33 goals, while helping senior Ali Wean become the squad's first ever A-10 Offensive Player of the Year. Wean also became the second Hawk under Reynolds to earn A-10 First Team All-Conference honors, and the first SJU player to be named to SoccerBuzz.com's Mid-Atlantic Third Team after scoring a single-season record 14 goals. Compiling one of the toughest schedules in the region in 2007, Reynolds' young club responded, going 3-4-1 at home and had a pair of freshmen leading the way on offense. Boosted by the 17th-best ranked recruiting class by SoccerBuzz.com in 2008, Reynolds guided the Hawks to the fifth most-improved record in the nation at 8-7-4. Additionally, Saint Joseph's surpassed the previous record for consecutive victories, stringing together five straight in 2008. Individually, several Hawks posted career years, while freshman Jen Pfeiffer excelled under Reynolds' guidance. Pfeiffer became just the second SJU player - and second under Reynolds - to earn Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and All-Freshman Mid-Atlantic Team honors. Last season, Reynolds pushed her team to the brink of a postseason berth as the Hawks remained in contention for the postseason heading into the regular season finale. While SJU finished two points shy of its goal, the Hawks finished with a program-best 1.07 goals-against-average, with junior Lauren Sawyer earning All-Conference honors and Christine Neal garnering All-Rookie accolades. Away from the sidelines, Reynolds has also been instrumental in guiding the team's previous trips to Brazil, Norway, California and Colorado the past four seasons and has directed off-season camps to help raise money for the team, as well as local charities. Prior to coming to Saint Joseph's in August of 2001, she spent one year as head coach at West Chester University, where the Golden Rams compiled a record of 10-9-1. In addition to her responsibilities of handling the soccer team, Reynolds also coordinated all aspects of West Chester's extensive summer camp. A four-year starter at Delaware, Reynolds earned her undergraduate degree in education in 1997 and is currently enrolled in Saint Joseph's master's in educational leadership program. Reynolds returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach in April of 1999 and also served as an assistant women's soccer coach at Temple for one season. She presently serves as head coach of FC Delco Storm U-17 and assists with the FC Delco U-12 squad. A native of Swarthmore, Pa., Reynolds played her high school soccer at Strath Haven. She currently resides in Philadelphia. |
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