COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In her second season as head coach, Katy Frierson Freels led Florida Tech women’s soccer to an NCAA Division II National Championship Saturday as her Panthers bested Franklin Pierce 3-0 in the title match to finish the season on top at 17-3-6.
Freels, an All-American midfielder turned second-round draft pick for the Tigers, becomes just the second former National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) player to win an NCAA title as a head coach. Julianne Sitch was the first, winning the Division III Championship with the University of Chicago men in 2022.
Playing at Auburn from 2008-11, Freels dominated the pitch, earning First Team All-SEC honors all four years as well as United Soccer Coaches All-American Status as a junior and senior. She capped her career as a member of Auburn’s first-ever SEC Tournament Championship team. Freels still holds the program’s records for single-season assists (13) and career points (104).
In 2012, she was selected 10th overall in the WPS Draft by the Atlanta Beat but spent the majority of her professional career with the Western New York Flash and Sky Blue FC. She scored six goals over 45 appearances with the former.
Freels returned to Auburn for a stint as the Tigers’ volunteer assistant coach from 2012-14. She was later named to the SEC’s Class of Legends in 2019.