Cissell to Be Inducted into William Jewell Hall of Fame
10/2/2015 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
(LIBERTY, Mo.) – UMKC women's soccer head coach Chris Cissell will be one of five notables inducted into the William Jewell College Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 3 at Yates Gill College Union on the Jewell campus in Liberty, Missouri.
Cissell spent 12 years coaching soccer at William Jewell College. He coached the women's team all 12 years and was the head of the men's team his final nine years with the Cardinals. His combined record at Jewell was an outstanding 282-106-22.
During his tenure at William Jewell, he took the women's team to as high as ranked No. 3 nationally, and the men were ranked No. 1 in the nation for two weeks in 2007. His teams won eight conference titles and made nine national tournament appearances including three trips to the Final Four (two with the men and once with the women). Those three trips made him the only collegiate soccer coach in history to take a men's and women's program that far in the NAIA National Tournament.
Cissell was named Conference Coach of the Year seven times, Midwest Region Coach of the Year four times, NSCAA Midwest Coach of the Year three times and NSCAA/Adidas Men's National Coach of the Year in 2006 while at the helm of the Cardinals program.
Also being inducted into the WJC Hall of Fame on Saturday is the 2003 women's soccer team, which was coached by Cissell. The team is considered to be the best in the history of William Jewell Women's Soccer. They won the Heart of America Athletic Conference title with an overall record of 21-1-1. The Cardinals finished the regular season 18-0-0 and were the first women's team (in any sport at Jewell) to reach the Final Four of the NAIA National Tournament. They were the highest scoring team in the nation at any level and finished the year ranked third in the nation.
The UMKC women's soccer team, under the direction of Cissell, is off to the best start in program history (7-3-0) and are at the top of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) standings. The 'Roos continue their quest to repeat as WAC regular season champions on Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m. when they host Utah Valley at Durwood Soccer Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
