Colette Gilligan is in her 18th year as the head women's soccer coach at Hamilton College. Her Hamilton teams have a 148-86-35 record (.615 win pct.) and have advanced to the postseason 14 times, including four trips to the NCAA Division III championship and six NESCAC championship appearances. She has been selected the East Region Coach of the Year twice (2004 and 2007) by the United Soccer Coaches and was honored with her assistants as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2007). The 148 coaching victories make Gilligan the program's all-time leader in that category. She has coached two all-Americans (Jen Munoz '04 in 2003 and Megan Brousseau '08 in 2007) and 16 players to a total of 21 all-region honors. Seven of her athletes have made the all-NESCAC team.
In 2018 Gilligan guided Hamilton to an overall record of 8-5-3 and the quarterfinals of the conference championship. Two of her players made the all-region team and three athletes were all-NESCAC selections.
Gilligan led the Continentals to a 10-6-2 record and an at-large bid to the NCAA championship in 2017. Her women defeated Middlebury in a NESCAC championship quarterfinal and advanced to the semifinals for the first time.
Hamilton advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAA championship after a 1-0 win against Virginia Wesleyan University in the first round. Hamilton's final overall record was 10-4-3, including 6-0-1 at home. The Continentals tied for third in the league and played in the league championship semifinals. In 2009 Hamilton made its third appearance in the league final -- all with Gilligan.
Gilligan guided the program to unprecedented success in 2007. The Continentals advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time, set program records for wins (16) and goals (55) in a season and finished the year ranked first in Division III with a team save percentage of .917. Hamilton completed its first unbeaten regular season (13-0-1) and earned a share of the league's regular season title. After the Continentals finished with a 16-2-2 record, they landed at No. 7 in the final Top 25 coaches poll -- the highest ranking in program history.
Gilligan guided Hamilton to a 15-2-1 record in 2004. The Continentals captured their first league regular season and postseason championships and earned their first NCAA appearance and tournament victory. The Continentals also made their first-ever appearance in the national rankings and climbed as high as a tie for No. 8.
Academics is an integral part of Gilligan's program as four student-athletes made the 2018 NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team. Erica Dressler '09 was selected to the 2008 Academic All-America Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the United Soccer Coaches/adidas Collegiate Scholar All-America Team.
Prior to arriving at Hamilton, Gilligan was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota for two seasons and was the head coach at Middle Tennessee State University from 1996 to 2000. Gilligan's overall record at Hamilton and MTSU is 178-126-41. Her collegiate coaching career began as an assistant at East Carolina University in 1994. She was also involved in coaching the Olympic Development Program in Minnesota, Tennessee and North Carolina.
Gilligan was a three-time all-American at Methodist College, including a first team selection in 1992. She helped lead the program to the NCAA Division III semifinals in 1989 and 1990. Gilligan was an all-conference pick all four years and was a team captain in 1992 and 1993. She was a member of Ireland's national junior team in 1985 and 1986 before joining Ireland's national senior squad.
Gilligan received her bachelor's degree in physical education and went on to earn her master's in sports administration from East Carolina. She hails from Dublin, Ireland.
