KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second year in a row, the Washington University in St. Louis women's soccer head coach Jim Conlon and his staff of assistant coaches Taylor Imming, Amanda Kesler and Sidney Conner have been named Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches.
 
This is the third time in Conlon's career that the coaching staff has received this national honor, garnering it in 2018, 2024 and 2025.
 
The Bears won their second-straight national championship and third in program history with another unbeaten season, finishing off the year with a 21-0-3 record. It is just the second time in program history WashU women's soccer finished a season without a loss after accomplishing the feat a season ago as well.
 
WashU outscored its opponents 84-9 in 2025, sitting atop the national poll for much of the season. Additionally, the Bears recorded 63 assists on the season to opponents' five.
 
After winning the 2025 UAA title, the Bears hosted the NCAA Regional, beating Wilmington 7-0 and North Central 5-1. WashU hit the road for the sectional, beating No. 8 MIT 1-0 before beating host No. 4 Messiah 1-0 in overtime.
 
The national semifinal game against UAA foe the University of Chicago proved to be a classic, as the Bears and Maroons tied 1-1 and ended up going 14 rounds of penalty kicks before WashU won the shootout 10-9.
 
The Bears took on another UAA opponent, Emory, in the title match. After the Eagles went up 1-0 in the first half, WashU scored two goals in two minutes during the second half to secure the trophy.
 
Additionally, Conlon reached his 500^th career victory this season and is one win away from 400 wins as a women's coach.
 
All coaching awards are voted on by member coaches in their respective divisions, starting with Regional Staff of the Year. From there, each Regional Coaching Staff of the Year moves to the National Coaching Staff of the Year ballot along with staffs from those schools that reached the semifinals of their respective championships.
 
Conlon, Imming, Kesler and Conner will be honored at the United Soccer Coaches Convention, held in Philadelphia from January 14-17, 2026.

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