YEARS AS THE W HEAD COACH IN 2023-24: 4th
Catie Lyles took charge as the head coach of the Owls women's soccer program prior to the 2019 season.
In 2022, The W team went 8-8-1 to finish at or above .500 for just the second time in program history. The Owls also qualified for the USCAA national championships. Four MUW players - Adriana Parsons (1st team), Molly Moore (1st team), Shelby Harrington (2nd team), and Loren Winters (2nd team) - were named USCAA All-Americans. Senior Millie Mask was tabbed as the USCAA Student-Athlete of the Year, giving The W that honor for the second-consecutive season. 12 players were also named as USCAA All-Academic Team selections.
Her 2021 team went 6-10 overall and had the USCAA Student-Athlete of the Year in defender Layla Wilson. Lyles' players earned four USCAA All-American accolades, as well. Honored were: Sarah Havens (first team), Hannah Helms (first team), Leah Anderson (second team and, Harrington (second team). Additionally, the Owls had 10 USCAA All-Academic Team honorees and a 3.23 team GPA in the Spring of 2022.
The 2020-21 season - Lyles' first at the Owls' helm - was moved to the Spring due to COVID. The W went 2-11 that season.
Lyles came to The W after spending two seasons at Columbia High School as the head coach of the boys' and girls' varsity soccer teams. As the first coach in the history of the two programs, she had the large task of building both from the ground up.
From 2016-2019, she worked for Hattiesburg Youth Soccer League as its executive administrator. Her duties included running youth tournaments and other daily tasks. After leaving there, she became the program director and girl's academy coach at Southern States Soccer League from 2019-2020.
As an athlete, Lyles played four years of college soccer with a two-year stint at Meridian Community College and a year each at the University of Montevallo and Mississippi College. While at Meridian, she was an integral part of her team receiving back-to-back regional championships. Following college, Lyles played for the Real United Riverhawks Football Club, an amateur sports team.
The Laurel, Miss., native holds a bachelor's degree in sports coaching education from Mississippi College and has her National Youth and National C coaching licenses, and is currently pursuing a National B.
