Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Wilber Calls It a Career

After 45 years, 657 wins, 37 postseason appearances and 2 national championships, the 5-time national coach of the year is retiring.

by Ken Debolt and Mackenzie Larsen '12

All good things must come to an end, but truly great runs seem like they'll go on forever.

Following the 2024 season, William Smith Soccer Head Coach Aliceann Wilber P'13, L.H.D. '22 announced she had coached her final game. It was her 44th season (45th year) leading the Herons.

Since coaching William Smith’s first varsity contest in 1980, Wilber has led the Herons to 657 wins—more than any active coach in NCAA women's soccer. She has guided the program to the NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament a record 34 times, advanced to the national semifinals 12 times, and played in the national championship match six times, capturing the 1988 and 2013 national championships. Since the Liberty League was founded in 1995, William Smith has secured 19 conference titles.

"I will cherish the vastness of the connections and friendships made and kept throughout my career at William Smith," Wilber says. "The range is extensive—from administrators and staff, assistant coaches and coaching colleagues to all of our student-athletes. Throughout my years at HWS I have acquired a face full of lines, a head full of memories and a heart full of love. Any of myself that I have given, has been given back to me tenfold."

Wilber's impressive list of accolades includes five United Soccer Coaches National Coach of the Year Awards, 14 Regional Coaching Staff of the Year Awards and 15 Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year Awards. Her desire to share credit and uplift others led her to push the Liberty League and United Soccer Coaches to change their awards from Coach of the Year to Coaching Staff of the Year.

"Aliceann made Herons Soccer synonymous with excellence. Her mentorship of generations of William Smith women has been both remarkable and resolute." - President Mark D. Gearan

"Aliceann made Herons Soccer synonymous with excellence," President Mark D. Gearan says. "Her mentorship of generations of William Smith women has been both remarkable and resolute. She has an innate ability to build deep and lasting connections with her players, inspiring them to seek excellence in themselves and others. Her influence on women's soccer can't be overstated. I very much prize her good counsel, her humor and integrity, and most of all her friendship."

Wilber's impact on her players inspired many of them to go into coaching as a profession or as a community service. In addition to countless youth and scholastic coaches, she mentored the current head coaches at Gustavus Adolphus (Laura Burnett-Kurie '08), Ithaca (Mindy Quigg '89), Macalester (Madeline Buckley '15), RPI (Bre Nasypany- Cicero '11), Stevenson (Tati Korba '00) and Plattsburgh State (Whitney Frary '13).

"Aliceann is William Smith Soccer. She built one of the most successful Division III women's soccer programs in the history of the sport. As great a coach and mentor as she has been to hundreds of William Smith women over the years, she is an even better person." - Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Brian Miller

"Aliceann is William Smith Soccer," says Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Brian Miller. "She built one of the most successful Division III women's soccer programs in the history of the sport. As great a coach and mentor as she has been to hundreds of William Smith women over the years, she is an even better person. She truly cares about her players and makes the effort to remain in their lives long after they hang up their uniforms."

A perennial national championship contender today, Wilber and William Smith took some lumps in the early years. In 1980, the Herons ended the first season 4-6-0. In 1985, the team climbed over .500 for the first time, posting an 8-6-1 record. The Herons haven't suffered a losing season since.

By 1987, the team earned its first NCAA tournament bid and made an impressive debut. A year later, Wilber's tactical skills and player management were on full display when, in the 126th minute, Ann Haggerty ’93 beat the UC-San Diego goalie with a shot from 14 yards out to give the Herons the title.

Twenty-five years later, Wilber added a second national championship trophy with one of the most dominant teams in her tenure. The Herons rattled off 23 consecutive victories, the final 16 by shutout, to return to the pinnacle.

Wilber's final season may have been one of her finest coaching efforts. Early season struggles left the team with a 6-3-3 record in mid-October. But through the strength of the culture she built and the commitment of everyone within the program, the Herons rattled off a 12-match unbeaten streak that propelled them to the national championship match.

A long-time member of United Soccer Coaches, Wilber serves as the chair of the Division III Women's All-America Committee. She previously served on the organization's board of directors and as the Division III Northwest All-Region Chair. United Soccer Coaches presented Wilber with the Bill Jeffrey Award in 2002 and the Women's Soccer Award for Excellence in 2020.

In recognition of her tremendous commitment to the sport, Wilber was inducted into the Heron Hall of Honor in 2002 and the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2022, she received an honorary degree from HWS. In 2025, Wilber received the NCAA’s Pat Summitt Award. Thanks to the generosity of Trustee Calvin R. "Chip" Carver Jr. '81 and his wife, Anne DeLaney, the new William Smith Soccer Team Room was named in Wilber’s honor in 2023.