Recognized as one of the most successful coaches in NCAA women’s soccer history, Gabe Mejaíl is entering his 27th season at Merrimack. He has led the Warriors to eight Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships, two ECAC titles and ten trips to the NCAA Regionals while compiling a record of 393-166-41 (.689). With 30 years as a head coach under his belt, Mejaíl is the winningest coach in Division II women’s soccer history with 393 career victories. His victory total ranks fifth among coaches in all divisions and his career winning percentage of .694 is also among the all-time leaders. The Warriors returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 for the tenth time in school history and eighth in the last nine seasons. Along the way, they posted a 13-6-4 overall record and 10-4-1 in the conference.
Mejaíl has overseen the development of numerous all-conference performers and 21 of his players have earned All-America honors including (class): Gabrielle Gramprey ’10, Caitlin Hall ’09, Heather Macedo ’08, Hillary McGarr ’08, Lindsay Sheffield ’06, Laurie Lamoureux ’05, Patty Cronin ’03, Rachel McCarthy ’02, Alison Skoglund ’02, Annmarie Yutkins ’02, Lisa Jensen ’00, Sue Cookson ’00, Jen Kusz ’97, Danielle Ouellette '97, Kathryn Barkman ’96, Jessica Lanzo '96, Nancy Daly ’95, Bethann O’Leary ’91, Beth Licopoli ’90, Sue Plante ’90 and Michelle Muise ’88. The Warriors play in conference has been nothing short of dominant, as Merrimack stands at 213-59-18 (.766) in league play since 1985. Over that same time, Mejaíl has coached his club to six Northeast-10 tournament titles, eight Northeast-10 regular season crowns, and nine appearances in the ECAC tournament, including the 1988 & 2000 championships. He has also led the Warriors to ten appearances in NCAA post-season play, including one Elite Eight appearance in 1996.
Along with the victories and championships have come the coaching accolades for Mejaíl. He was named the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year on eight occasions: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1996, 2003 and 2008. In addition he was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Regional and New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) Coach of the Year in 1986, 1989, 1993, 1996, 2002 and 2003 and the National Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1996. Mejaíl also received NEWISA’s Service Award in 1992. Mejaíl started his coaching career at Wheaton College, coaching there from 1979 to 1982.
Born and raised in Argentina, Mejaíl moved to the United States in 1969, gaining citizenship in 1974. He studied urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his degree in 1978. He earned his master’s degree in education from Harvard University in 1989 and now teaches at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School. Mejaíl and his family reside in Reading, Mass.
Paul Athanasiadis enters his tenth year as the associate head coach at Merrimack. He joined the Warrior soccer program in 2001 following nine years as head coach at Marian High School.
During his tenure at Marian, Athanasiadis guided the school to a 135-38-18 record and captured the 1999 Massachusetts State Championship. As a result, he was named Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe, Eastern Massachusetts Coaches Association and the Metro West Daily News. He is a former Massachusetts Youth Olympic Development Program state team coach, and also served as an assistant with the Boston Storm semi-professional team from 1994-95.
Athanasiadis led the Massachusetts Amateur State team to a regional championship in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and a National Championship in 2001. He resides in Lexington, MA, with his wife, Danielle and their three children – Emily, George and Nadia.
Rich Perry enters his fourth season as an assistant coach and goalkeeper coach with the Merrimack College women’s soccer staff.
Prior to coming to Merrimack, Perry spent six years as an assistant soccer coach at Littleton Middle School and also served as an assistant coach for the Massachusetts State Select Team in 2006 and 2007. Perry currently coaches with the Inter-Bandits Club team where he has been since 2005.
Perry began his coaching career as a volunteer at his alma mater, Dickinson College, in 1993, while also volunteering his time at the local YMCA, both as a coach and league administrator.
He coached the junior high school girls’ soccer team in Bedford in 1993 and the boys in 1994, and later assisted with the varsity team in 1995. Perry returned to Littleton and coached from 1996-98 before moving onto Lasell College in 1999, where he served as an assistant in 1999 and 2000.
Perry is currently a system administrator at Navisite Corporation, where he has worked since 2003.
A 2002 graduate and former NSCAA Division II All-American Warrior goalkeeper, Alison Skoglund returns to Merrimack College for her third season on her second stint as assistant under Head Coach Gabe Mejail. In 2004, she helped the women's squad to a 15-5-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. In the interim, she was an assistant coach at Salve Regina under Head Coach Kerri Scroope for two seasons.
Prior to her coaching career, Skoglund, a Regional All-American and Northeast-10 Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, left her mark on the Merrimack College record books as the record-holder for wins in a season (19). Bringing vast on-field experience back to campus, she is third all-time in goalkeeper minutes in a season (1,950) and fourth all-time in career minutes (5,760). She also ranks tops in the past decade for career saves (425) and third all-time. She finished her career with 54 wins, good for second all-time behind Sue Plante '90 (57).
