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Phil Casella
Phil Casella embarks on his seventh season as head coach of the Wagner women’s soccer program in 2023.
This past season proved to be one of Coach Casella's finest on Grymes Hill, as the Seahawks rattled off eight overall wins while winning five Northeast Conference (NEC) matches. The eight wins are tied for the fourth-most in Wagner history, which matched the 1997 squad while the five league victories are tied for the most in program history with the 2014 team that advanced to the NEC semifinals.
Coach Casella's offense was spearheaded by All-NEC First Teamer, Madison Carr, who tied for the NEC lead with nine goals while finishing among the top five in points with 18. On a national level, Carr ranked 77th in goals per game at 0.50 while ranking 80th in shot accuracy, converting at a 56.1 clip.
On the defensive side of the pitch, the Green & White were a revamped unit, anchored by All-NEC Rookie Team selection, Kayla Barbosa, and freshman goalkeeper Sam Hughes. The Seahawks recorded five clean sheets on the season with Hughes accounting for three of those as she ranked 78th in the country in saves per game at 5.09 while ranking among the top 100 in save percentage at 80.0 percent.
With Carr and Barbosa being named to their respective All-NEC teams, they are the fifth and sixth players, respectively, to earn all-league honors under coach Casella.
The Green & White opened the 2021 campaign with back-to-back victories over Rider and Saint Peter's, outscoring their opponents 6-2 over the first two games. Wagner closed out the year winning five of their final eight matches while outscoring the opposition, 12-6, in those contests.
In 2019, the Seahawks earned a non-conference, shutout win over Delaware State. The team also earned its first win over Iona College in its last four matches dating back to 2014. 2019 was also a year full of close battles from beginning to end, with three matches ending in ties, one match ending with an overtime game-winner, and seven matches decided in regulation by a single goal.
The Seahawks in 2018 posted a pair of non-conference triumphs over Delaware State and Rhode Island, with the win over the Rams marking Wagner’s first-ever against an Atlantic 10 opponent. At season’s end, freshman Luisa Barone was named to the All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie Team, becoming the eighth player in program history to do and the first under Coach Casella’s tutelage.
The Green & White also earned the New York Metro Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NYMISOA) Bob Blitz Sportsmanship Award, marking the third time the Seahawks have received the honor and the first since 2002.
In year one under Casella, the women’s soccer team posted two road wins over members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Rider, and Saint Peter's, respectively. They also concluded the 2017-18 academic year with the highest team grade-point average among all Wagner athletic teams, combining for a 3.63 overall GPA. With a majority of his team filled with freshmen and sophomores, Casella’s inaugural season resulted in three overall victories but saw the continued development of his goalkeepers, who went on to lead the Northeast Conference (NEC) in saves with 126.
A 1997 graduate of fellow Northeast Conference (NEC) rival Fairleigh Dickinson and former assistant coach for the Knights, Casella took over the Seahawks’ program after spending four seasons as an assistant coach and worked with the goalkeepers during the 2015 campaign at Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
At Mississippi State, Casella helped guide the Bulldogs to their best SEC record in 13 years in 2015, highlighted by an upset of 20th-ranked Kentucky. Academically, Mississippi State compiled a 3.56 overall GPA in 2014, ranking as the highest in program history. As part of his coaching duties, Casella also oversaw the Bulldogs’ recruiting efforts, match analysis, as well as equipment.
Casella was an assistant coach at FDU from 2000-06 and helped the Knights to a 7-2-1 NEC record in 2002 before winning the 2003 ECAC Championship with an undefeated 6-0-3 regular-season record. Under Casella, the Knights also reached the NEC semifinals in 2002, the program’s third season of NCAA play.
In 2006, Casella served as an assistant coach at Fordham University, where he was involved with scouting and recruiting. The Rams went 14-7 overall and reached the Atlantic 10 Conference finals under Casella’s direction.
In addition, the Seahawks’ head coach had numerous stints in amateur and youth soccer, most recently coaching the Long Island Fury of the Women’s Premier Soccer League in 2012-2013 and the New York Fury, whom he coached to an East-Mid Atlantic Conference regular-season championship with a 7-2-1 record in 2011.
Casella owns a United States Soccer Federation’s National “C” Coaching License and is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). As a player, Casella played for the North Jersey Imperials of the United States Interregional Soccer League from 1996-1998.
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