Women's Soccer | 6/23/2021 11:56:00 AM
Interim Director of Athletics
Rhonda Faunce announced the hiring of
Esther Webb as the next head women's soccer coach at Elmira College.
No stranger to the Empire 8 Conference landscape, Webb is a former Houghton College student-athlete and coach. As a dual-sport athlete, she earned eight varsity letters while playing both soccer and basketball. Webb also spent one season on the sidelines at her alma mater during the fall of 2018 as an assistant women's soccer coach.
Most recently, Webb served as the head women's soccer coach at Eastern Nazarene College, a Division III institution located in Quincy, Massachusetts. In her first full season in 2019, the Lions qualified for the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament and placed three on the All-NECC Second Team. Displaying dedication in the classroom, the Lions logged a 3.34 grade-point average during the 2019-20 academic year and received a United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award.
In addition to her responsibilities as head women's soccer coach at Eastern Nazarene, Webb served as a professor in the sport management department and taught classes on sports psychology and ethics.
"It's great to have a bright young woman who is familiar with the Empire 8 Conference join our staff as the next women's soccer coach," Faunce said. "Esther's excitement about joining the Elmira College staff leaves me no doubt about the experience the women of the team will be receiving. She is a cerebral coach that will have them well prepared and organized for all situations. Esther will also have a great impact on the entire department due to her extensive teaching and administrative skills. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with her."
"It is a great honor and privilege to become the head women's soccer coach here at Elmira College and to be back in the Empire 8," Webb said. "I would like to thank
Rhonda Faunce and the rest of the search committee for this incredible opportunity. I am excited to get to work with a determined and eager group of women. I am confident that their drive and enthusiasm, coupled with my commitment to providing stability, building team cohesion, and pushing the standard of excellence, can create something truly special here."
Webb's coaching career began as an assistant at Ohio Christian University under former River States Conference (RSC) Coach of the Year recipient, Jake Warren. During her first year at Ohio Christian, the Trailblazers captured the 2016 RSC regular-season title and finished as tournament runners-up. Webb helped mentor the conference's 2016 Player and Newcomer of the Year, in addition to 10 total All-RSC honorees.
As a student-athlete, Webb helped make history as a starting defender on the first-ever Houghton women's team – in any sport – to win a national championship. Her senior season concluded with the 2015 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I title following a 4-2 shootout win over Mississippi College. Webb played a vital role in the Highlanders' three shutout victories during the NCCAA tournament and was rewarded with a spot on the NCCAA All-Tournament Team.
Soccer bloodlines run deep throughout the Webb family. Her twin sister, Emma, was her teammate at Houghton and coaches at the collegiate level. Her brother, Bjorn, was a four-year letter winner with the Highlanders, and her two youngest brothers, Levi and Tobias, are currently rising sophomores on the men's soccer team. Their father, Matthew Webb, is one of the all-time leading scorers in Bethel University history and coached the men's soccer program at Houghton for 15 years before taking over as the Director of Athletics in 2018.
Webb earned a bachelor's in Business Administration and Communications from Houghton in 2016. She completed her MBA at Ohio Christian in 2018.