The 2009 season marks the fourth year for Van Zile (formerly McCardell) at the helm of the Monmouth University women’s lacrosse program. Van Zile’s program has known nothing but succes, has she owns a 41-17 record and an even more impressive 22-2 Northeast Conference mark.
Last year Van Zile’s team posted their third consecutive season with 13 plus wins en route to making their 11th straight trip to the NEC Tournament. Six Hawks earned a spot on the all-conference team while her second full recruiting class also produced NEC Rookie of the Year Rachel Feirstein, marking the third Hawk in four seasons to earn the honor. Academically, for the second straight year, Van Zile’s team was honored by the IWLCA after registering a team grade point average of 3.3. Two players, Brittany Scott and Monica Johnson, were recognized individually by the coaches association for their efforts in the classroom.
In her second season, Van Zile led the Hawks to their first back-to-back Northeast Conference Championships, coming back to defeat Mount St. Mary’s in Emmittsburg to earn a NCAA Tournament bid. Under her direction, the Hawks set school records for wins, finishing 15-5, while also setting program marks in goals, assists and points. Individually, the Hawks had six players named to All-NEC teams with senior Katie Degen earning Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career. Degen and senior Carolyn Raveia were named Second Team All-Region by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association. Van Zile’s first recruiting class as head coach included 2007 NEC Rookie of the Year Megan Brennan. Four players were honored individually by the IWLCA, while Raveia was named NEC Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Van Zile’s first season was nothing but success as she led the Hawks to a 13-7 record and the Northeast Conference title. Under her direction, Monmouth reeled off 11 consecutive wins, the longest streak in the country, picking up the Hawks second Northeast Conference Championship along the way. 2006 marked the second time in school history that MU was in the NCAA Tournament and the first time a tournament game was hosted at Kessler Field. Van Zile’s squad had seven All-NEC selections, including four first team selections. The first year coach also guided attacker Jeanette Stott to the Northeast Conference Player of the Year Award, the fourth time a Hawk has won the award.
In two years as an assistant coach at MU, Van Zile saw nine different players earn All-Northeast Conference status, including Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors. A driving force behind the midfield and defensive success of the Hawks in the previous two seasons, she coached the team to a 7.67 goals-against average in 2005, placing Monmouth tenth in the nation.
In December of 2006, Van Zile became a graduate of the NCAA’s Women’s Coaches Academy, one of only a few NEC coaches to do so.
In her four years at Notre Dame, she started all 63 games and was named co-captain her senior year. Van Zile earned All-Big East honors in 2003 and as a junior led Notre Dame to a 13-5 record and a No. 7 ranking in the season ending polls as the Irish advanced to the quaterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. During her sophmore campaign, Notre Dame posted a 10-5 ledger and a final ranking of 18th in the nation. Van Zile finished her career with fifteen goals and five assists.
Van Zile was a member of the United States Under-19 National Team in 1999 and co-captained the squad that won the World Championship in Perth, Australia. She earned Most Valuable Player honors in the win over Australia.
Van Zile excelled in the classroom as well as on the playing field, earning Academic All-Big East honors all four years and graduated with a 3.1 grade-point average.
A two-sport athlete at West Chester Henderson High School in Pennsylvania, Van Zile was a three-time All-Ches-Mont league selection in both field hockey and lacrosse. She guided the squad to three consecutive state titles in lacrosse in 1996, 1997, and 1998. As a senior, she was named to the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association High School All-America squad. She represented the Philadelphia region at the USWLA National Tournament in both 1998 and 1999.
Recently she completed her master’s degree from Monmouth University in educational counseling. She is married to Scott Van Zile, who is a member of Monmouth’s football coaching staff.
