Milestone victory for Winchester's Scanlon
Winchester soccer coach Chris Scanlon is applauded after recording his 500th career win. (JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF) WATERTOWN - As the Winchester girls' soccer team took the field yesterday, most of the players were unaware of the game's historical significance. The girls defeated an inexperienced Watertown team, 11-0, but the real story was that their coach, Chris Scanlon, became the first girls' soccer coach in the state to record 500 victories.
It took 29 seasons and one game for Scanlon to reach the mark. His teams have lost only 38 times and had 52 ties, putting his win rate at 85 percent. Scanlon, 57, has won 26 league championships and seven state titles, and had 10 undefeated seasons and two national No. 1 rankings. An impressive résumé, and he can list most of it off the top of his head.
"I get joked a lot about my memory being good for that, and I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but some of these memories will be seared in my mind forever," he said. "I may look old and feel old, but I still have a passion for the game and a passion for this team. And I am just as excited about coaching these players as I was coaching back in the '90's, back when we won four state championships. I feel good about that; that's what keeps me going."
Looking back, Scanlon's fondest memories are of the girls who left him to become collegiate players and All-Americans. This year, a captain on the University of North Carolina's team is recent Winchester graduate Katie Brooks. And Scanlon lists the 1985 NCAA championship game played at UMass as special, as there was a Winchester girl on both the UMass and the UNC teams.
Scanlon is also proud to be able to coach three girls this year whose mothers also played for him: Christine Casey, whose mother was his first captain in 1978, Kathryn Hibbard, and Ashley Grevelink.
"It is a thrill to have players' children now on the team. It makes me feel very old, but also very proud," he laughed.
Scanlon describes himself as passionate and determined on the soccer field, as he coaches and preaches work above all else.
"I believe more in work rate than anything else, because you can control it. Talent is fleeting," he said in giving a reason for his success. "Maybe sometimes we work harder. We aren't more talented, that's for sure."
The talent of this year's team was shown last night, as the Sachems jumped out to a 9-0 halftime lead. Sophomore forward Kayla Austin netted four goals and two assists to lead the scoring, while freshman forward Stephanie McCaffrey scored a pair of goals. After the game, Winchester athletic director Tom Murray presented Scanlon with a mounted soccer ball and plaque to mark the occasion.
"He's an institution here, and a lot of younger coaches can really look to him and they can learn a lot from him," Murray said.
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