A three-sport athlete during her days at Oneonta State, Liz McGrail’s biggest athletic impact was felt on the soccer field, where she scored 137 points to become the leading scorer in school history. During her junior year, McGrail and the Red Dragons went undefeated in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play and claimed the 1999 league crown. Eight years later, Oneonta State still hasn’t lost a SUNYAC game. Now in her first year as head coach of the women’s program, McGrail was on the sidelines Saturday as the Red Dragons defeated Geneseo State, 4-1, to make it 100 consecutive conference games without a loss (98-0-2). In today’s Coaches’ Corner post, McGrail shares some of her thoughts on the milestone.

To be a part of 100 straight State University of New York Athletic Conference games without a loss as a player and now as a coach has been an incredible experience that I am very proud of. The first things that come to mind are the history and tradition of Oneonta State women's soccer. Tracey and David Ranieri have built this program on the values of a hard work ethic, a passion for something you love, and commitment to something greater than your self! It has become the culture of the Oneonta State women's soccer team and it has been one constant variable during the last nine years.

The only other constant variable that has been a part of this streak from the beginning is David Ranieri. David is an alumnus of Oneonta State, and former standout player who has been embedded in the program since 1993. He is the only person to witness and coach every player from the first game to the 100th game. He would say that it goes beyond the players and the coaches to the parents that are at every game, and the fans that follow us everywhere, to the area youth that run along the sidelines. It has become an ever-growing family that only those a part of it would understand.

As a player on this team from 1997-2000, we never dreamed it would come to this. The streak began in 1999; my junior year. We never set out to have it as a goal of ours. How could we? We were only there for four years and that’s not even 50 conference games. Each year you make team goals – goals that are realistic and attainable – and as a team you work for them. In 1997, my first year, we were undefeated in the SUNYAC and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. It was at that time that the program got its first taste of what was possible.

Every year since, it has been a goal of the team to go undefeated in SUNYAC play and get to the NCAA tournament. Now the goal is getting to the Final Four and taking home the championship. As you reach team goals you are setting a standard and raising the bar for the players that come after you. While my team set the standard of winning the SUNYAC championship, the 2003 team set the standard of winning the national championship. The culmination of the last nine years has set the standard of never losing a conference game.

To be able to come back and coach the team that I played for, the team that helped shape me to be the person I am today, has been a dream come true. To have the streak still alive is just icing on the cake. It amazes me to see the players continue to raise the bar and it’s still about the same foundations David and Tracey instilled in me and my teammates. It’s about hard work – day in and day out, it’s about the passion for the game we all love, it’s about playing for your teammates and now it has become playing not just for your current teammates, but for everyone who has come through this program.

Streaks are made to be broken and when that day comes, we will be proud to have been a part of something great and feel privileged that it lasted as long as it has.