Reis Achieves Historic Milestone

Wheaton College head women's soccer coach Luis Reis became the sixth active coach and 12th overall in Division III women's soccer history to reach the 300-win milestone when his nationally-ranked Lyons defeated host Clark University in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game on Saturday.  Reis accomplished the milestone in just 372 games.  Joe Russo at The College of New Jersey did so in 350 matches. 
  
Boasting the fifth-highest winning percentage among all Division III women's soccer coaches with a minimum of 10 years as a coach, Reis entered the year with an astounding 285-49-18 record, good for an .835 clip.  He is in elite company, ranking eighth in winning percentage among all NCAA women's coaches and fifth for active Division III coaches. 
  
"I congratulate Coach Reis on his 300th women's soccer coaching victory," said Director of Athletics and Recreation John Sutyak '00.  "This is an extremely rare milestone in collegiate soccer and the success he's had as head coach speaks to his countless hours spent dedicated to recruiting strong scholar-athletes and developing talent." 
  
Taking over a program that had just five winning seasons in 18 years, Reis made an immediate impact in 1997, leading the team to its most wins in school history to that point, a New England Women's 8 Conference (NEW 8) Tournament championship and the team's first Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament appearance. 
  
Reis built a program that has compiled a record of 274-38-20 (.855) in the last 14 years with at least 15 wins in each of those seasons.  The team has earned 12 straight NCAA Tournament bids, advancing to the Final Four in 2004 and the Elite Eight in 2002 and 2003. 
  
Wheaton captured three straight NCAA Tournament regional titles from 2002-04 under Reis' tutelage.  He was also at the helm for the program's lone ECAC Tournament title in 1999.  Reis has found unmatched success in the NEWMAC, putting together a string of 11 consecutive regular season crowns (1999-2009) and seven tournament championships (2000-04, 2006-07). 
  
From October 17, 2000, to October 11, 2008, his teams compiled a 91-game conference unbeaten streak, which is the third-longest such stretch in NCAA soccer history regardless of division or gender.  The Lyons have posted a 131-12-8 all-time mark against NEWMAC competition, including a 116-10-7 record in regular season play. 
  
Reis was named New England Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and NEWMAC Coach of the Year on three occasions each.  He was also voted New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) Coach of the Year four times.