In 1996, St. Joe’s officially recognized its first women’s Division I soccer team.
The inaugural team is featured on pages 118 to 119 of the 1997 St. Joe’s yearbook with black-and-white photos of the players and team, alongside the teams’ stats for its first season.
The team was led by head coach Greg Nicholls, Ph.D., who went on to serve as the long-time director of Counseling and Psychological Services, and assistant coaches Dawn (Jaffee) Geller, Tim Lenihan and Lori Sweeney. Finishing its first season with six wins, 11 losses and one tie, “the Hawks made a good first impression,” according to the 1997 yearbook.
Tina (Greco) Malek ’00, one of the standout players on the inaugural team, described them as a “young, hungry, ambitious group.”
“[We] wanted to win and perform at a high level despite the program’s age in the division,” Malek said.
Since its first year, the women’s soccer team has gone on to win multiple qualifications for the Atlantic 10 Tournament, most recently advancing to the semifinals in the 2024-2025 season with a 2-1 win against Fordham. The program has also celebrated individual player recognitions. In 2024, goalkeeper Katie Cappelletti ’24, M.S. ’25, was named A-10 Goalkeeper of the Year.
Now goalkeeper for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League, Cappelletti said she takes pride in “being connected to a program that helped break barriers for women’s athletics at SJU.”
“The first women’s team laid the foundation for what the program stands for today, and I think we really try to embody that each and every day … the first team’s courage to step into something new and set a tone of strength and determination is something that still lives within our team’s culture today, and I believe it always will,” Cappelletti said.
Malek, in turn, expressed admiration for the women in the current program.
“They all seem very committed to winning, and I’m happy to see them thriving under a female coach’s leadership,” Malek said.
Jess Mannella has been head coach of the team since 2001.
Looking back, Malek said she will always treasure being part of the first team.
“Nearly 30 years later, it was one of the best decisions I ever made,” Malek said. “I have a tremendous sense of pride when I think about having worn the jersey of an SJU Hawk and having helped pave the way for future female soccer athletes.”
