Alfred University Women's Soccer

  Hired at AU: Fall 2017 Prior to AU: Assistant Coach at Alfred University (2012-2017) Head Coach at Medaille College (2011) Assistant Coach at Medaille College (2007-2010) Playing Career: Medaille (2004-2007) Alma Mater: Medaille '07 Craig Yanni has been on the coaching staff of the women’s soccer team at Alfred University since 2012. He has served as an assistant in charge of coaching goalkeepers from 2012-2017 and transitioned into the Head Coach position in the fall of 2017. Under Yanni's leadership, the Saxons have reached the Empire 8 postseason in each of the previous six seasons.  During the 2020 season, Yanni led the Saxons to their first Empire 8 Tournament victory in program history. In the 2021 season, Coach Yanni and his Saxons broke the program record for most Empire 8 Conference wins in a season while at Houghton College in a 3-0 shutout on October 20. In the same season, Abigail Austin '22 was named as a Regional All-American for the first time in school history since 1996. Yanni additionally coached the likes of Nyah Solly '24, who led AU's defense to a .975 GAA across a four-year span. Solly set the program record with 73 games started for the Saxons, earning Regional All-American honors following the 2024 season.  Yanni has found continued success from his work with goalkeepers over the years. From 2022-25, Yanni coached Kiani Barnard-Pratt '26, who currently owns records in the career GAA (0.95), single-season GAA (0.57 in 2024) and career shutouts (28). Barnard-Pratt was named as a two-time All-ECAC and All-Empire 8 talent, earning 2022 Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year honors. In 2013, Yanni coached Samijo Scheer '14 who went on to make 152 saves that year, ranking fifth all-time for saves in a season. With the graduation of Scheer, Yanni began developing a 2014 first-year, Sammy Jo Shanahan. Shanahan now stands as the program record holder in career saves (611) and ranks second in saves in a season (182); a feat she completed during her first-year campaign. Shanahan has been named to the All-Empire 8 Team twice. Yanni has extensive coaching experience at the collegiate and high school levels. He was head coach at Medaille College in Buffalo, NY, for the 2011 season. As the Head Coach during that season he coached the Mavericks to an 8-11 record following a 3-15-1 season the year before.  He was also an assistant at Medaille for four years (2007-10), serving as goalkeepers coach for three of those seasons (2007-10). Yanni is a 2007 graduate of Medaille College, where he played on the men’s soccer team before earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration. At Medaille, he earned several honors, including Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) First Team All-Conference; AMCC Academic All-Conference; and NSCAA/Adidas All-East regional academic honors. In 2009, he earned a master’s degree in business administration, also from Medaille.    National Team Accolades: 2024 Team Ranked #7 in Nation for Save Percentage (0.899) Conference Championship Appearances: 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 ECAC Tournament Appearances: 2018, 2019, 2021   All-Region Honors: 6 Empire 8 All-Conference Honors: 29 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District: 15   Alfred University Overall Record Empire 8 Record Postseason Year-End Finish 2025 7-10-2 (.421) 3-6-2 (.364) 0-1 Empire 8 Championships Quarterfinalist 2024 7-3-6 (.625) 3-3-5 (.500) 0-1 Empire 8 Championship Quarterfinalist 2023 4-6-7 (.441) 2-1-5 (.562) 0-1-1 Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist 2022 6-7-5 (.472) 3-2-4 (.556) 0-1 Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist 2021 11-5-5 (.643) 5-1-2 (.750) 1-1-1 Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist  |  ECAC Quarterfinalist 2020     1-6 (.143) 0-5 (.000) 1-1  Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist 2019 8-7-5 (.525) 2-3-2 (.429) 0-1-1  ECAC Championship Quarterfinalist 2018 11-8 (.579) 3-5 (.375) 0-1  ECAC Championship Semifinalist 2017 7-9-3 (.447) 3-3-2 (.500) 0-1  Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist Overall Totals 62-61-33 (.503) 24-29-22 (.467) 2-9-3 (.250) --    

Hired at AU: Fall of 2018 Alma Mater: Alfred State '16, Alfred University '18 Mitchell Porter joined the Alfred University women's soccer coaching staff as an Assistant Coach in the Fall of 2018.  Prior to Alfred University, Porter was a four-year member of the men's soccer program Alfred State College. Porter was tabbed as an USCAA All-American Honorable Mention Player following the 2016 season. During his time with the Pioneers, Porter registered 21 goals, with five of them being credited as game-winners. He additionally totaled nine assists, bringing his total to 51 points. Mitchell graduated with his bachelor's degree in sports management, later joining Alfred University as a graduate assistant under current Head Coach Craig Yanni.  Since joining the Saxons coaching staff, the women's soccer program has reached the Empire 8 postseason in six consecutive seasons from 2020-25. The Saxons additionally competed in the ECAC Championship Tournament as part of the 2018 and 2019 seasons.  In 2020, Porter and the Saxons clinched their first Empire 8 postseason victory in program history. The following year, the team broke the program record for the most Empire 8 victories in a single season. Porter and the Saxons staff have coached multiple standout student-athletes throughout the years, including Regional All-Americans in Abigail Austin '22 and Nyah Solly '25. Austin was named as part of the All-Region Third Team as part of the 2021 season, while Solly earned Second Team honors in 2024.    

Hired at AU: Summer of 2026 Before AU:  - Men's Soccer Goalkeeper Coach at Alfred State College (2014-17) - Varsity and Junior Varsity Head Coach at Arkport-Canaseraga High School (2018-24) - Women's Soccer Goalkeeper Coach at Alfred State College (2025-) Alma Mater: Alfred State '15 Nick Smith joined the Alfred University women's soccer coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach prior to the 2026 season.  Smith is familiar with Alfred University and the Empire 8 Conference, spending one year at Keuka College before transferring to neighboring Alfred State College. During his time with the Pioneers, Smith was a member of the men's soccer and baseball programs. As part of the men's soccer team, Smith served as the starting goalkeeper for three years.  After graduating from Alfred State College in 2015 with his bachelor's degree in sport management, Smith remained with the men's soccer program as the goalkeeper coach until 2017.  Following his time with Alfred State, Smith was hired as the Arkport-Canaseraga Varsity and Junior Varsity Head Coach from 2018-24. Smith later returned to Alfred State College as the women's soccer goalkeeper coach as part of the 2025 season, as the Pioneers finished the campaign with an 11-6-1 record, advancing to the second round of the AMCC Tournament.