Ian Scheller '18 was named Penn College's women's soccer head coach in 2022.
In 2024, the Wildcats carried an undefeated, 15-0-4 mark into a United East Semifinal berth before suffering their only loss of the season. Penn College's 15 wins marked the most in the program history to earn the #2 seed in the UE playoffs where the Wildcats reached its second semifinal berth in the Coach Scheller era. Scheller's 2024 squad set six new single-season records including freshman Megan Kurian setting the new standard of 26 goals, 15 assists and 67 points in a season. Her 3.35 points per game ranked second in DIII. Senior Nicole Lichtinger tied Collen Bowes' 2016 season record of 11 wins and posted a single-season low 0.375 goals-against average. Kurian became the first in United East Conference team sport history to earn Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season as the Wildcats placed four on the UE All-Conference First-Team list which included Kurian, senior Cassie Johnson, sophomore Makayla Bucks and freshman Ashley Gordon. Bucks, Lichtinger, Olivia Casella, Wiley Egan and Brooke Klinger earned selections to the CSC All-Academic Team after all five boasted above a 3.50 GPA in the classroom while Kurian, Johnson, Lichtinger and Gordon all earned USC All-Region IV honors.
Scheller, in his second season guiding the Wildcats in 2023, led his team to an 11-2-7 record and reached the United East Conference Volt Division Semifinal. The Wildcat's 11 victories are the most since the 2018 season while their two losses are the least in the D-III era. Scheller guided five all-conference selections, two United Soccer Coaches All-Region nominations and guided Kaelynn Sheetz to the program's first Academic All-American honoree. Under Scheller's tutelage, Sheetz broke the program record for single-season goals (24) and career goals (49) and points (113) while Cassie Johnson set the program's career assists record with 27.
In Scheller's first season at the helm, he guided Penn College to a 9-9-1 record and a berth in the United East playoffs. He coached three all-conference selections in 2022 and saw two players break the program record for goals in a season and assists in a season.
Scheller is very familiar with Penn College and the Williamsport area, having spent four seasons as the assistant women's coach at Lycoming College and three seasons as the head boy's soccer coach at Loyalsock High School. His coaching experience followed his four-year playing career at Penn College from 2014-2017.
Scheller helped Lycoming improve from a 2-16 record in 2018 to a 10-8-1 mark in 2019 and a 11-7-1 season in 2021. The Warriors earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award three times during Scheller's tenure and produced 57 Middle Atlantic Conference All-Academic selections.
During his three seasons as Loyalsock's head coach, Scheller guided the Lancers to a pair of Heartland Athletic Conference championships and was named Coach of the Year twice.
Scheller was a three-time captain with the Wildcats from 2014-17, starting in 65 of his 71 games played. Scheller helped the Wildcats to their best record in four years during his senior campaign, helping them to eight wins and a first round win in the North Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.
A Sunbury, Pa., native, Scheller graduated from Penn College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2018 and earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of the Cumberlands in 2022 and is considering a pursuit for a doctorate. He resides in Loyalsock with his dog Winston.
Ian Scheller's Record Season-by-Season
| Year |
Wins |
Loses |
Ties |
Notables |
| 2024 |
15 |
1 |
4 |
United East Semifinal; single-season wins record |
| 2023 |
11 |
2 |
7 |
United East Volt Division Semifinal |
| 2022 |
9 |
9 |
1 |
United East semifinal |
| Totals |
35 |
12 |
12 |
|
Ian Scheller: Tomorrow Makers Podcast - Ep: 30
"Transformative Teamwork"
