North Knoxville News

Kelsey Cameron, the Trevecca Nazarene University women's soccer head coach for the last six years, announced she accepted the women's soccer head coaching position at Belmont University earlier this week. Cameron, who shared the news with the Trojan squad on Wednesday, became the program's fifth coach in 2017 and proceeded to become the winningest coach in TNU women's soccer history.

Trevecca athletic director Mark Elliott said, "While coaching changes are always difficult, we are happy for Kelsey and Andrew for this new opportunity. Kelsey is an excellent leader and a great representative of our Christian-Scholar-Athlete model. She will personally and professionally be a blessing to the Belmont University community."

Elliott, who met with the team along with Cameron on Wednesday, has already started the search for the next head coach of the Trojan women's program.

Cameron is an alum of the University of Kentucky where she was a star soccer player. She arrived at Trevecca following a successful stint as an associate head coach at Lipscomb University.

Kelsey Cameron said, "I want to thank Mark Elliott and the Trevecca Athletics Department. I am so grateful for my time here. The last six seasons have allowed me to learn and grow as a head coach, and do it within an Athletic Department that prioritizes the spiritual and holistic development of the athletes. It has been an honor to work in an environment where "Christian, Scholar, Athlete" are the top priorities, in that order, as we recruit, coach, and lead these young women. Finally, I. want to thank all the players I had the privilege of coaching. Thank you for your time, work, and belief in me and this program. It has been an honor to coach each and every one of you."

CAMERON FILE (history)

First Season | 2017-2018

50-37-18 Overall

43-23-12 Conference

In 2018-2019, Cameron led Trevecca to 13 wins, equally the second most wins in a season at Trevecca. That team won 11 conference matches, the most in program history.

Coach Kelsey Cameron became Trevecca's all-time winningest women's soccer coach (full story) with a 2-1 win over Lake Erie College on September 17, 2022.  

Every Cameron squad produced a winning record in league play. 

CAMERON ERA | YEAR-BY-YEAR (history)

In her final season on the Hill, 2022-2023,  Cameron became the winningest coach in program history and the first to reach 50 wins. The team was picked fifth in the preseason Great Midwest coaches' poll, which is where they finished. Trevecca started 4-1-1 in conference play. In addition, the 5-2-1 overall start to the season is tied for the best in program history – equal to last season's start. Trevecca was ranked as high as No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll during the season. They started the season 6-2-2 overall. Delayna Holman capped a great career by setting the school record for clean sheets (26) and saves (409) while placing second all-time with 37 career wins. She was No. 1 in career saves among active NCAA Division II keepers as the season concluded. Her 409 career saves are the most in Great Midwest history.

The 4-0 start in conference play by the 2021-2022 team is the best conference start in program history. One better than the 2012 and 2018 teams which each began 3-0. In addition, the 5-2-1 overall start of the season also was the best in program history. At one point the Trojans were 7-3-3 overall and 6-1-2 in conference play. The team eventually advanced to the Great Midwest playoffs and won the quarterfinal on PK to advance to the semifinals and finished 9-7-4 overall and 8-4-2 in conference play.  

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trojans would see their fall 2020 season pushed to the spring of 2021. In a shortened season and through much adversity, Cameron guided the Trojans to a 4-5-2 overall (4-3-2 Great Midwest) finish. Through their first five matches, the Trojans earned 10 points and were in the hunt for the league's top position. As the calendar turned to April, however, the Trojans dropped points and ultimately finished sixth in the league, one spot below their preseason predicted placement of fifth. In the end, it was Cedarville who defeated the Trojans, 2-1 to put a wrap on the most unique season of Trevecca women's soccer to date.  Cameron guided a first-team All-G-MAC selection in Makena Schlosser in addition to a trio of third selections in Delayna Holman, Danyel Joy, and Abbigail Legg.

Cameron tested her Trojans early in the 2019 season, collecting one of the toughest pre-conference schedules in the country. After receiving negative results against #8 West Florida and #12 Lee, the Trojans opened up G-MAC competition with a 3-1 home win over Kentucky Wesleyan. On the year, the Trojans tallied a 7-9-3 overall record with a 7-6 mark in G-MAC contests. Trevecca entered the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament as the number five-seeded squad. The Trojans were paired with the number four seeded Ohio Dominican Panthers, a team they had beaten just one week prior, and split contests with during the regular season. The year came to a close in the G-MAC quarterfinals for the Trojans when neither team collected a goal during 110 minutes (FT + 2OT) and the Panthers pulled through 3-2 in the shootout. Leah Hoffman and Makena Schlosser were named to the Great Midwest's Second Team all-conference while Gigi Ariola earned a place on the honorable mention squad. 

During the 2018 campaign, Cameron directed the Trojans to an impressive 13-4-2 overall record and a 12-2-2 showing in Great Midwest Conference (G-MAC) play. The conference finish put the Trojans in second place for the postseason in which they hosted Davis & Elkins. After a 2-0 result over Davis & Elkins, the Trojan's season ended in the G-MAC semifinals with a 2-1 OT loss to Walsh. The 17 conference wins and the 21 overall wins in her first two seasons are the most by any previous Trevecca coach in their first two seasons. Cameron's 12 conference wins this season are the most by any coach in program history. Cameron coached the Trojan's defense to over 640 minutes of shutout soccer in October. During the unbeaten mark, the Trojans combined for six goals, five wins, and one tie during the streak. At the end of the season, Cameron was awarded the G-MAC Coach of the Year for her 13-win effort.

In her first season as Trojans head coach, Kelsey Cameron guided the Trojans to six conference wins, the most by a first-year head coach in school history. Her 8-6-3 overall record also garners top honors as the best record by a first-year head coach in history.

Her first collegiate coaching victory came on September 2, 2017, with a 3-1 win over Shorter University, her first Great Midwest Athletic Conference win followed days later, on September 6th, against Kentucky Wesleyan College and her first home victory came against Sewanee on September 9th, all within a week's timeframe.

Her Trojans enjoyed another three-game winning streak in mid-October outscoring Lake Eric College, Davis & Elkins College, and Alderson Broaddus University by a combined score of 8-2.

Cameron's first season as a head coach came to an end in the Great Midwest quarterfinals against Walsh, 2-0. Cameron coached Hannah Barney and Sophia Callis to G-MAC first-team honors as well as Diana Corzine to the second team.

Original source can be found here