WOMEN’S SOCCER
Huntington University athletic director Lori Culler has announced the hiring of David Lewis as the Forester women’s soccer coach. Lewis is the program’s eighth head coach since its inception in 1997.
Lewis comes to HU after spending 28 years at the helm of the Houghton College women’s soccer program where he guided the Highlanders to an average of over 14 wins per year. He accumulated a career record of 402-122-39. He is just one of 25 women’s college coaches across all divisions of NAIA and NCAA to reach the 400-win plateau.
“I want to thank Dr. Emberton, Dr. Coffey, Lori Culler and members of the Search Committee for this opportunity,” said Lewis. “God is faithful and I entrust myself and the women’s soccer team into His hands – trusting that He will enable us to glorify Him with excellence on and off the field.”
His résumé includes 12 trips to the NAIA National Championships which includes a string of nine years in a row from 2003-2011. Lewis guided his team to the Elite Eight in 2005 and 2006 and six times landed a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
Lewis held the national record for career coaching wins in NAIA women’s soccer history (326) from 2005-2014 and is among the Top 10 women’s soccer coaches in career winning percentage (.777). While Houghton transitioned to NCAA Division III in 2012, during the soccer team’s run in the NAIA, Lewis was recognized six times as the NSCAA NAIA Northeast Coach of the Year, and nine times as the conference/divisional coach of the year.
“We are very blessed to have David join our coaching staff,” said HU athletic director Lori Culler. “He brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and success from his 28 years as Houghton College’s head women’s soccer coach.
“His résumé speaks for itself with an outstanding coaching record and 12 NAIA National Tournament appearances during his tenure which creates great excitement and enthusiasm for the future of our program. But we are also looking forward to tapping into other areas of his expertise that he brings in cross-cultural short-term sports ministry trips and techniques for integrating faith in athletics.”
During Lewis’ tutelage at Houghton, he coached 13 conference players of the year and 12 region players of the year. His players earned 84 first-team all-conference awards and collected 75 All-American badges.
Strong academics and character development have also been a hallmark of his teams as evidenced by winning 18 NSCAA Team Academic Awards over the course of his career at HC. In 2005 at the NAIA national tournament banquet, his squad was recognized as the first-ever recipients of the Buffalo Fund Five Star Team of Character Award.
Lewis’ coaching background includes serving ten years as an assistant and head coach at the high school level, serving as a clinician at numerous soccer camps and actively participating in short-term sports ministry mission trips. He holds USSF and NSCAA Advanced National Coaching Licenses.
As a player, Lewis earned All-Conference, All-District and All-American honors and played two seasons with Athletes in Action in the former Western Soccer League.
Lewis is an ordained minister and holds a BA in Religion/Philosophy from The King’s College as well as Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.