Entering 2022 season
Overall record: 42-68-7
GNAC record: 35-50-3
GNAC Coach of the Year: 2018
Annie Hamel was announced as the head coach of the Simon Fraser University women’s soccer program prior to the 2014 season, and is in her ninth campaign.
In 2021, she guided the team to a successful return to the pitch after it opted out of competition in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. SFU finished fourth in the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season standings with record of 6-7-1 (including a forfeit victory) in league games and an overall mark of 5-11-2. The team clinched a spot in the conference championship tournament for the second time in three years (excluding 2020), doing so by beating Western Oregon 1-0 in overtime on the final day of the season. SFU lost 2-1 in the GNAC semifinal to eventual champion and NCAA Division II quarterfinalist Seattle Pacific.
SFU went 10-6-1 (8-3-1 GNAC) in 2018, Hamel’s best season so far on Burnaby Mountain. She was named the GNAC Coach of the Year, while Jenna-lee Baxter earned the league’s Player of the Year award. Baxter also made the D2 CCA All-West Region Second Team. That year, SFU had three GNAC All-Conference players (Baxter, first team; Emma Pringle, first team; and Katelyn Erhardsen, second team), and four who were on the Honorable Mention list: Nicole Anderson, Allyson Dickson, Christina Dickson, and Carli Grosso. The team fell 2-1 in the GNAC semifinal to Western Washington, which went on to make the regional final.
Following a development year, Hamel led the team to its best finish in five seasons in 2015 with a 7-6-2 overall record, 5-6-1 in GNAC play. Her team came within a victory of advancing to the conference championship. Christina Dickson was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-GNAC and NSCAA Division II All-West Region Second Team after leading the SFU Women's Soccer team with seven goals and three assists. Two other players were honoured with All-GNAC Second Team and All-GNAC Honourable Mention recognitions.
In 2016, Hamel coached her squad to a breakthrough season that saw them earn a berth to the GNAC Championship hosted by SFU, falling to the eventual Division II champion Western Washington Vikings in the semifinal. The team finished with a 9-7-1 overall record and a 7-5-0 mark in conference action. For a second year in a row, Simon Fraser took home the conference's freshman of the year title. Forward Emma Pringle finished her debut campaign with nine goals and three assists (21 points), earning her a spot on the All-Conference First Team as well as the D2 CCA All-West Region Second Team. In addition to Pringle, Allyson Dickson was selected to the GNAC All-Conference Second Team while Christina Dickson, Katelyn Erhardsen, Priya Sandhu and Teagan Sorokan received All-GNAC Honourable Mentions.
A native of Magog, Que., Hamel joined SFU after five seasons as the top assistant coach at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida. During her time with the Lions, the team had four winning campaigns and made three appearances in the NCAA Div. II Tournament. 2011 was the highlight for Hamel as the Saint Leo team finished with a 15-3-1 record, best in program history, enough to earn them their first Sunshine State Conference regular season title.
Hamel began her coaching career in 2004 as a graduate assistant coach with the Division I University of Maine Black Bears, her alma mater. She had head coaching experience with the Ottawa Fury U20 team in 2006-07. As a player, Hamel played professionally with FC Indiana and the Ottawa Fury following her collegiate career with the Black Bears.Â
Year-by-year record
2021: 5-11-2 (6-7-1 GNAC)
2020: opted out of competition because of COVID-19
2019: 2-13-1 (2-10-0 GNAC)
2018: 10-6-1 (8-3-1 GNAC)
2017: 7-9-0 (5-7-0 GNAC)
2016: 9-7-1 (7-5-0 GNAC)
2015: 7-6-2 (5-6-1 GNAC)
2014: 2-16-0 (2-12-0 GNAC)
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