THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran Women's Soccer Head Coach Frank Marino and his staff were honored with their 2023 United Soccer Coaches Coaching Staff of the Year award at the annual convention this past weekend.
The convention was held in Anaheim was the Marino and his staff of Shannon Pennington, Brenton Frame, Chloe Montano, and Tony Castro in attendance to accept the award. Cal Lutheran President Lori Varlotta and Vice President of Enrollment Management & Student Success Matt Ward were also there to support the Regals coaching staff.
This year, the team had the best start in program history and the second most wins with 19. They were the SCIAC regular season co-champions and made the first-ever trip to the Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship game. They were the first unranked team to make it to the Final Four and championship game, let alone win the championship. Marino got his 200th win in the first game of the NCAA Tournament and is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a record of 203-63-44.
The team rolled through the NCAA tournament defeating Carleton in the first round and No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer in the second. After knocking off Hardin-Simmons in the Sweet Sixteen, the Regals stunned No. 1 Christopher Newport in the Elite Eight. They took down Tufts in the Final Four and capped off their championship by defeating No. 2 WashU.
The team had three All-Americans, four All-Region honors, including three on First Team, the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year, six All-SCIAC honorees, and six College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees.
