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Paul Ratcliffe begins his seventh season as the head coach of the Stanford women's soccer program in 2009, having guided the Cardinal to a 85-33-16 overall record and six NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure at The Farm. Ratcliffe helped the Cardinal to arguably its best season in the history of the program and led Stanford back to the NCAA Women's College Cup for the first time since 1993. Under his guidance in 2008, the Cardinal scored a program-record 71 goals, achieved a program-best winning percentage of .900, captured a program-best 22-2-1 record, and took second in the Pac-10 conference after suffering its only regular-season loss to fellow College Cup participant UCLA. Ratcliffe earned college soccer's highest coaching award, the NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year, as well as being awarded the Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Soccer America National Coach of the Year, and the SoccerBuzz National Coach of the Year. Ratcliffe also became Stanford's most winning coach in program history on Oct. 24, 2008, as he picked up his 78th victory with a 3-1 win over Arizona. The 2008 team, which was a top-ten nationally ranked team all year, saw three of the seven freshmen lift Stanford to a new level, as two of the rookies, Lindsay Taylor and Teresa Noyola, earned first-team NSCAA/adidas All-American honors, and Taylor was named the Pac-10 and Soccer America Freshman of the Year. The freshmen produced 29 of the teams' goals throughout the course of the year, while the veteran defense posted a remarkable .317 goals-against-average. In 2007, the team finished with a 15-3-5 record, recorded its 20th consecutive winning season, and made its 10th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row. Ratcliffe also aided the Cardinal in maintaining its place among the dominant forces in the Pac-10, tying for third place after posting just one loss in a conference that produced the eventual national champion and three other teams that qualified for NCAA play. Stanford acquired a long list of accomplishments under Ratcliffe in the 2007 season - 15 wins, 10 conference awards, 11 conference academic awards, nine shutouts, 46 goals, and a 0.74 goals-against-average. Stanford also achieved a top-five national ranking for the majority of the year, including a run in which the Cardinal was the top-ranked program for two weeks straight, and then reclaimed the top spot for another week later in the fall. The 2007 team featured a solid roster bolstered by several elite upperclassmen, including NCAA Top VIII Award winner Rachel Buehler, and outstanding underclassmen such as All-American Kelley O'Hara and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Christen Press. In 2006, Ratcliffe helped the Cardinal advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his coaching tenure. The season set the standard even higher for Cardinal women's soccer, and continued a still running four-season span in which the team's winning percentage has increased every year. Ratcliffe also earned his 100th career win on Oct. 27, when the Cardinal shutout Oregon State 2-0. In 2005, Ratcliffe added nine new faces to the lineup, a strong and talented group of freshmen that boasted four starters. Despite two veterans missing most of the season with injury, Ratcliffe helped the young squad to a fourth-place finish in the conference with a 10-7-3 overall record. Stanford advanced to the NCAA Tournament, earning a postseason berth for the 15th time in 16 seasons. In 2004, Ratcliffe integrated a large class of freshmen with a veteran group of seniors, and the Cardinal posted a fourth-place finish in the Pac-10 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2003, Ratcliffe's first season on the Farm, Stanford went 10-9-2 and made another NCAA Tournament appearance. Prior to his arrival at Stanford, Ratcliffe spent five seasons as the head coach at Saint Mary's, where he led the Gaels to a 55-34-7 overall record, with a 21-13 mark in West Coast Conference action. He was honored three times as WCC Coach of the Year, including 2001, one of Ratcliffe's most successful seasons in Moraga. That year, he was honored as the WCC Co-Coach of the Year and the NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year. With only one senior in the starting lineup, the Gaels attained the highest national ranking for the program (No. 7), set a school record with a 13-game winning streak and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Before his tenure in Moraga, Ratcliffe was an assistant coach at his alma mater, UCLA, from 1994-97. During his stretch with the Bruins, UCLA posted an undefeated 1997 Pac-10 title season and an NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal appearance. Ratcliffe also served as UCLA's interim head coach from January through August of 1996. Ratcliffe earned his National "A" License from the United States Soccer Federation in 1999. A 1994 UCLA graduate, Ratcliffe earned his degree in Sociology with a specialization in Business Administration. As a Bruin, he lettered four years at midfield and was a member of the 1990 national championship team. He tallied 30 points in 73 matches during his career at UCLA. After finishing his collegiate career, Ratcliffe played professionally in the Continental Indoor Soccer League for the Los Angeles United in 1993 and the Anaheim Splash in 1994. Ratcliffe and his wife, Amy, live in San Jose and have two daughters, Elena and Chloe. Ratcliffe's Honors Ratcliffe Year-By-Year
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