chattanooga MOCS

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TWO-TIME SOUTHERN CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
2022 Southern Conference Regular Season Champions
 
Gavin McKinney, Chattanooga’s third head coach of women’s soccer, began his tenure on December 16, 2014 and concluded his 11th season in 2025.
 
McKinney is a two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year and led Chattanooga to its first SoCon regular season title in 2022. Maggie Shaw (’22) is a two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year under his tutelage, Chloe Arnold (’21) was named the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2017 and in 2025 Quinn Johnson became the second to earn the Rookie of the Year nod in program history. Twenty student-athletes have earned All-Conference honors, 18 are listed on the All-Freshman Team and seven have been named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team.


In 2025, the Mocs won 10 matches marking the fifth time in program history that UTC has reached double-digit wins. In non-conference play, UTC strung together a five-game unbeaten streak that included wins over Indiana State, Morehead State, Austin Peay and North Alabama along with a draw at Tennessee Tech.
 
Freshman Quinn Johnson finished the season third on the team in scoring and earned SoCon Freshman of the Year honors, becoming just the second in program history. Chattanooga placed three on the all-conference list including Caroline Richvalsky who landed on First Team. Joining her on the Second Team were Brenna Swiger and Clarissa Salinas. Joining Johnson on the All-Freshman Team was Reese Wilson.
 
The Mocs record book also saw an overhaul in the individual sector. Richvalsky ranks in the Top 10 in points (fourth), goals (fourth), assists (tied-first), shots (second). Zoey Mize tied for first all-time in assists while Caroline Ekern took over first in both wins and shutouts.
 
In 2024, the Mocs advanced to the semifinal of the Southern Conference Tournament after knocking out Mercer in the quarterfinal. With a 5-4-0 SoCon record, the Mocs were fifth in the standings and got the upset victory to face Western Carolina in the semifinal.
 
Caroline Richvalsky led the Mocs in scoring with seven goals, matching her previous season-best from 2023. Zoey Mize dished out a team-best seven assists, fourth best in a single season by a Chattanooga player.
 
Richvalsky was named to the All-Conference Second team along with Brenna Swiger. E.G. Dillard and Sophia Mize were named to the All-Freshman Team. Richvalsky and Clarissa Salinas each earned a spot in the SoCon all-Tournament team.
 
Academically, the Mocs shone bright, leading the UTC Athletics Department in the spring with the top grade point average as a team and posting 3.70 or better GPA for the fourth straight semester.
 
Carmya Mastrangelo, Sylvie Keck, Caroline Ekern, Kelly Tuerff and Zoey Mize all earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

The Mocs claimed 10 wins in 2023, tied for second most in program history. They put together a six-game win streak, longest in program history that included wins over four in-state foes.
 
Mackenzie Smith was named to the SoCon All-Conference First Team. Clarissa Salinas and Kelly Tuerff were named to the second team while Fabia Reinschmidt found a place on the All-Freshman Team. Birna Johannsdottir represented Chattanooga on the SoCon All-Tournament team.
 
In 2022, McKinney led the Mocs to their first-ever Southern Conference regular season title, tied with Samford at 5-1-3. He earned his second SoCon Coach of the Year award and Maggie Shaw was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year for the second time.

Chattanooga went 5-0-2 in Southern Conference play through the first seven games and needed at least a tie to claim a share of the title. The Mocs didn't disappoint with a 1-1 full time draw against Furman in the season finale, clinching the title.

The Mocs, seeded #2, advanced to the semifinal round for the third time in program history and twice in three years with a quarterfinal win over Wofford at home.

Maggie Shaw and Mackenzie Smith earned first team All-Conference honors while Clarissa Salinas, Birna Johannsdottir, Avery Catlett and Caroline Ekern were named to the second team. Salinas, Ekern, Zoey Mize and Caroline Richvalsky were named to the league's all-freshman team. Richvalsky and Shelby Hash were named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team.

After playing in the spring of 2021, the Mocs went into a full schedule in the fall of 2021. The season saw UTC take on three nationally-ranked SEC foes that included a preseason matchup against Vanderbilt, while taking on Tennessee and Auburn in the regular season.

The Mocs finished the season tied for eighth and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament on penalty kicks. The team outdueled Wofford 5-2 on PKs, making all five attempts.

Maggie Shaw was named to SoCon All-Conference First Team and Sylvie Keck earned all-freshman honors. Shaw was also selected to the SoCon All-Tournament Team. Samantha Shaw started the season strong and was the league's Player of the Month for August.

2020 saw a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic and all play moved to the spring of 2021. The Mocs posted six shutouts, five in league play, and their best finish in program history placing third in the Southern Conference. UTC allowed just six goals in 11 matches and posted a program-best 0.55 goals against average. 

McKinney was named the SoCon Coach of the Year and junior Maggie Shaw was selected the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Shaw and Chloe Arnold were named to the SoCon All-Conference First Team and Kendra Mueller and Ao Yamada were SoCon All-Freshman Team selections. UTC advanced to an abbreviated SoCon Tournament and had Shelby Hash and Mackenzie Smith both named to the All-Tournament team.

Chloe Arnold graduated with honors with a degree in Civil Engineering and was the UTC nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. She was also one of two from the SoCon named conference-level nominee for the award.

In 2019, his fifth year at the helm, he led the Mocs to a school-record nine shutouts and scored his 100^th career victory in UTC’s 3-0 win over Wofford at home. Chattanooga finished sixth in the league standings with a 9-6-4 overall record, tied for fourth most wins for the Mocs

In his first year, the Mocs finished eighth in the league standings, up two spots from the previous season. His next two seasons saw even greater improvement. In 2016, UTC finished fifth in the league standings, its best since 2004, and earning its first of back-to-back first round byes in the Southern Conference Tournament.
 
In 2017 the Southern Conference coaches selected Chloe Arnold the league’s Freshman of the Year, a first for Chattanooga. Also earning honors was sophomore Jordan Mueller who was named All-Conference by the SoCon coaches, Chattanooga’s first since 2011. They join two 2016 all-freshman selections.

The improvement and accolades continued into McKinney's fourth season. In 2018, the Mocs started the season at 3-1, it's best start since 2009. UTC posted an 8-8-3 mark and finished one game out of third place in the league standings. The eight wins ties for fourth in a season for the Mocs and seven shutouts ties for second-best by Chattanooga. UTC gave up just 26 goals, third fewest in school history and a 1.31 goals against average, third best by UTC in a season.

Jordan Mueller earned her third straight honor from the league as she was named to the All-Southern Conference Second Team. Chloe Arnold continued to add to her resume and was named to the All-Conference First Team. She had 11 goals, fourth on the single season chart for the Mocs and her 27 points ranks fifth in a season at UTC. In just two seasons, she is seventh on the Mocs' all-time scoring list with 41 points and sixth for goals with 18.

For the first time in school history, the Mocs had three players named to the league's All-Freshman Team. They included midfielder Hollie Massey, forward Maggie Shaw and keeper Ashton Shields. Shields posted a record of 6-4-3 with six shutouts, third best in a single season and third best in school history. Her 0.91 goals against average was second best in a single season and ranks second all-time.
 
The Mocs have excelled in the classroom in McKinney’s three seasons. In the 2017 spring semester, the Mocs set a department record with 11 student-athletes earning a 4.0 grade point average. That followed the Fall 2016 semester when the Mocs posted their highest GPA on record at 3.65 and had 10 with a 4.0. In the Fall of 2017, the Mocs had their second highest GPA at 3.59 and had seven record a 4.0.
 
Three times the soccer team has had more than 20 make the Dean’s List and more than 20 have earned a spot on the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll in each semester since McKinney’s arrival. Sixteen student-athletes have earned the Southern Conference Commissioner’s Medal for Academics in his first two years for posting a GPA of 3.8 or higher over the course of the entire year. Twenty three have been named to the Fall Academic All-Southern Conference Team and 51 to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
 
McKinney had a 71-26-3 (.725) record in five seasons at Cumberland, including three straight trips to the NAIA Sweet 16.  The Bulldogs ended the 2014 campaign ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 after a 17-4-1 record.  Cumberland lost in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament to eventual champion Lindsey Wilson.
 
Senior Shauna Gilpin was voted Mid-South Conference Player of the Year and Emily Shires earned MSC Freshman of the Year honors. Senior Kaitlin Phillips led the nation in assists (16), while the Bulldogs ranked second in the country in goals (82) and assists (14) and third in assists (63) and goals per match (3.73).
 
Cumberland was undefeated in its first 14 outings of the season, rising to No. 1 in the nation for four straight weeks.  Three of CU’s four losses were to Lindsey Wilson, with the other at national runner-up Northwestern Ohio.
 
“I would like to thank David Blackburn and everyone involved with the search for giving me the opportunity to lead the Mocs’ soccer program,” stated McKinney.  “I am very excited to get started and look forward to becoming a part of the University and Chattanooga community.
 
“I would also like to thank Cumberland University for the opportunity it gave me as a young coach,” he continued.  “The success we achieved over the last five years was due to the hard work of many student-athletes and support staff, and for that, I am extremely grateful.”
 
McKinney took over at the Lebanon, Tenn., institution in 2010 and made an immediate impact.  The Bulldogs went from three wins in 2009 to a 9-7-1 mark in his first year.  They won 10 matches in 2011 and 52 over the last three seasons.
 
There were a number of firsts for the Bulldogs during McKinney’s tenure, including the first appearance in the NAIA National Tournament in 2012, first regular season Mid-South Conference title in 2013, first No. 1 national ranking in 2014 and the first soccer All-Americans in school history.  The 2012 squad set a program record for wins (19), goals (91) and goals against (12).
 
Cumberland has three consecutive conference players of the year, 13 All-Americans and 21 conference Scholar-Athletes in McKinney’s tenure.  He also took home the Mid-South Coach of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013.
 
McKinney played four seasons at Lambuth University (2001-04), earning All-Mid-South Conference honors as a junior and senior. He was a member of the Dean’s List and earned the Eagle Award in 2004.  He graduated with a Bachelor’s in Recreation and Sports Management in 2005 and earned his Master’s in Education from UT Martin in 2006.
 
The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native started his coaching career with the West Tennessee Select Soccer Club and the U18 boys team in 2005. McKinney was then the boys and girls soccer coach at Madison Academic High School in Jackson, Tenn., in 2006-07.
 
He spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Bethel University.  There he served as the recruiting coordinator, running daily training sessions with the team and assisting in match management, travel preparation and scheduling. The Wildcats posted a 30-18-7 record during his tenure, finishing runner-up in the TranSouth regular season twice and appearing in the conference tournament championship game all three years.
 
McKinney also served as a club coach with the Jackson Soccer Club from 2006-10 and as part of the State of Tennessee Olympic Development Training Program for six years. He holds a “B” coaching license with the US Soccer Federation, completed in February 2012.  He and his wife, Shari, have a two daughters, Ava and Addi.