Recognized as one of the most successful coaches in NCAA women’s soccer history, Gabe Mejaíl has completed 25 seasons at Merrimack. He has led the Warriors to eight Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships, two ECAC titles and nine trips to the NCAA Regionals while compiling a record of 351-137-30 (.719). With 29 years as a head coach under his belt, Mejaíl is the winningest coach in Division II women’s soccer history with 386 career victories. His victory total ranks third 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 2008 for the ninth time in school history and seventh in the last eight seasons. Along the way, they posted a 12-5-2 overall record, 10-3-1 in the conference, which featured a 5-0 blanking of Saint Rose, who advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Mejaíl earned his eighth Northeast-10 Coach of the Year honors for his efforts.
Mejaíl has overseen the development of numerous
all-conference performers and 19 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, Kathryn Barkman ’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 203-55-17 (.786) 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 nine 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. 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.
