Women's Soccer Coach Karen Waterbury Honored

Longtime Plattsburgh State Women’s Soccer Coach Karen Waterbury ’87 was honored in Liverpool, N.Y., on May 11 with the 2015 State University of New York Athletic Conference Retiree Award. The award recognizes individuals who served the conference as either a coach or administrator for 15 years or more.

For 24 years – exactly two-thirds of the total program history for the Plattsburgh State women's soccer team – Waterbury served as the head coach of the Cardinals, leading them to heights never before reached. Her accomplishments speak for themselves: a 278-151-32 record while leading the Cardinals along with a 279-164-33 career mark, one SUNYAC crown (1998), three NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament appearances, two SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors, 86 All-SUNYAC players, 27 all-region performers and one All-American.

Waterbury chose to step down as the program’s head coach following the Cardinals’ 2013 campaign to accept a new role as the department’s associate director of recreational sports.

"My time coaching at Plattsburgh was terrific and being able to play for the program and then coach here was a very rewarding series of events. Thinking back, we had some great games and a number of talented players who represented Plattsburgh State with pride and professionalism both on and off the field," Waterbury said.

"I’m very fortunate in the fact that I’ve never been to work a day in my life," she said. "Seeing the SUNYAC grow into a highly competitive league while being a small part of that growth is very rewarding and I’m eager to continue this new chapter in my life."