Coaching Staff

Todd Anckaitis | Head Coach

HIGHLIGHTS

Is the longest tenured women's soccer coach in the Centennial Conference
Won 3 Centennial Conference Championships (2014, 2017, 2018) and 3 ECAC Championships (2007, 2008, 2009),
Reached NCAA Tournament in six straight seasons: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Advanced to NCAA National Quarterfinal in 2015 and Sweet Sixteen in 2018
Career record at Swarthmore of 214-89-30 (.69 Win %) & Conference 105-49-15 (.67 Win %)

Todd Anckaitis, head coach of the Garnet since 2005, became the winningest coach in Swarthmore women's soccer’s previous 23 year history after only 5 seasons at the helm. He has now brought the women's soccer program to the same level of national distinction as the college has attained for its academics.

Over the past 17 seasons, the program has won 214 matches, has qualified for post-season play in 15 of those years and has produced a Rhodes Scholar, 8 Scholar/Academic All-Americans, 7 All-Americans (USC, D3Soccer.com), 4 Fulbright winners, 45 all-region athletes and 76 all-conference award recipients under Anckaitis' direction. In addition, the Garnet have won three Centennial Conference Championships, three ECAC Championships, and have made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2014-2019 going as far as the "Elite Eight" in the 2015 season and the “Sweet 16” in 2018. Under his leadership Swarthmore has played in 51 post-season matches with a 61% winning percentage (28-17-6). They are 7-6-1 in the NCAA Tournament, 12-3-1 in the ECAC Tournament and 9-8-4 in the Centennial Conference Tournament.

In 2022 Anckaitis had his 16th straight winning season going 13-5-1 on the year. The team's leading goal scorer coming into the year only had 11 career goals averaging a little more than 3 per season but the team ultimately doubled their goal total from 2021 and was only shutout in one game played. That was by the eventual 2022 National Champions who had 16 shutouts on the season. Swat was picked to finish 4th in the conference but put on a masterful performance on both ends of the field for most of the season including taking the 2021 National Champions to the wire in a 3-2 loss. They were regionally ranked just behind the soccer powerhouses of Messiah and JHU for most of the season, securing their legacy as one of the best in the mid-atlantic region. Ultimately his squad finished in third in the conference and hosted Gettysburg in the quarterfinals. The playoff game was anything but the nail biting 2-1 victory the team had on the road against Gettysburg during the regular season and in the comfortable confines of Clothier Field put up a 4-0 scoreline showcasing all of their talents and walking away with the victory. Losing in overtime during the conference final didn't take away from the season that his team had with 5 All-Conference Performers and 4 that made an All-Region Team. Capping off the awards he celebrated coaching his 8th Academic All-American in 2022.

In 2021 Anckaitis's squad had another winning season and went 6-3-1 in conference while securing another semifinal playoff spot before the last week of the regular season. Against some of the toughest opponents in the country the Garnet had 8 of 18 teams on their schedule that held a top 25 national ranking at some point during the year. With only 14 career goals returning on his roster due to the Covid break Anckaitis had to start to rebuild an offense that used to be one of the premier scoring programs in the region. In the end his team's goals for (8th) and goals against (5th) statistics weren't as high in the conference as their final finish. But if there was a scale for competing and getting a result Swarthmore punched well above their weight ultimately finishing in third in the conference. His squad garnered four all-conference performers, one all-region and 17 members making the CC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

The 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid and the team didn't have the chance to make it's seventh straight NCAA tournament appearance.

In 2019 Swarthmore made its sixth straight NCAA tournament after playing one of the toughest schedules in the country both in and out of conference. This year the program received one of the highly sought after at-large bids when they got to travel to Pittsburgh and defeated the No. 15 Arcadia Knights in the NCAAs before bowing out to the host in a tightly contested defensive battle 1-0 that saw only two good scoring chances from either team throughout the contest. Swarthmore, along with only seven other programs in the country, has now won an NCAA tournament game in each of the last five years. They ended the season with 13 wins, had their 14th straight winning season both in and out of conference, held a national ranking as high as No. 14, beat two nationally ranked teams, and extended their NCAA postseason run to six straight seasons (only 12 other programs in the country can claim the same).

Swarthmore won its second straight conference championship in 2018 and third in the last 5 years by defeating their rival Johns Hopkins 5-1 in the final. The team scored an astounding 18 goals and only conceded six in their postseason run through the Centennial Conference Tournament and to the Sweet 16 of the NCAAs. Their stellar regular season was rewarded with hosting duties for the first round of the NCAA tournament. He had four more named all-region performers, as well as an Academic All-American and a first team All-American. His team won 17 games on the season and had a .82 winning percentage. HIs team received national ranking as high as #3, #11, & #12 by Herosports, D3Soccer.com and United Soccer Coaches respectively.

Swarthmore went 15-4-2 in the 2017 campaign and received a national ranking as high as No. 6, avenging its 2016 conference tournament semi-final departure by claiming the Centennial Conference Championship over Johns Hopkins on their home turf. The Garnet then won their first-round NCAA Tournament game 1-0 and were knocked out of the tournament on the road in harsh conditions by perennial power William Smith. Marin McCoy earned All-American honors after scoring a program-record 48 points.

In 2016 under Anckaitis' direction the Garnet advanced to their third straight NCAA appearance, added more to their wins column and are now 3-3-1 all time in the NCAA tournament. The team tied Anckaitis' 2006 team at third all-time after winning 15 games. The team garnered the most (7) all conference honors in the history of the program with three making the first team and four on the second team. Four players were also recognized at the regional level and they had their second straight year of garnering an All-American honor. The garnet reached a national ranking in 2016 as high as #6, #5 and #2 in the NSCAA, D3Soccer.com and Herosports national rankings respectively. The Garnet were named an NSCAA All-Academic Team for the 12th straight season.

2015 will go down as the best season on record for the Garnet with an 18-3-2 record and a postseason run that had them falling one game short of the NCAA Final Four. They won two games in the tournament and then advanced in the sweet sixteen on a 1-1 draw in PKs over Hardin Simmons. This came after going undefeated in conference in the regular season and losing a heartbreaker in double overtime in the conference tournament final. They ended the season almost doubling the 2014 record of goals for with 83 and they were the last team in any division (1,2, or 3) to concede a goal that year shutting out opponents in the first eight games. They ended the season with a .55 goals against average. The Garnet ended the year ranked #8 in the country in the final national poll.

In 2014 the Garnet won its first-ever Centennial Conference championship by prevailing 5-4 in penalty kicks over Johns Hopkins and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance. In addition, the program set a single season record for netting 49 goals. Emma Sindelar and Hannah Lichtenstein made the All-Centennial Conference First Team and were named Centennial Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year and Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, respectively. Sindelar became the program’s all-time leader in each of the three major scoring categories and earned a place on the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team. Off the field, The Garnet were named an NSCAA All-Academic Team for the 10th straight season.

In 2013, Anckaitis led Swarthmore to an ECAC South Region semifinal appearance and its eighth consecutive winning season with a ledger of 10-6-2 in 2013. Four players were named All-Centennial Conference selections and one - Megan Brock '14 - was an NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region honoree. The program was also named an NSCAA All-Academic Team for the ninth straight year by posting the fourth-highest GPA among Division III schools - women or men - and 20th best overall for all divisions and both genders. Emma Sindelar was named to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team.

In 2012, the Garnet advanced to the postseason for the sixth time in eight years under Anckaitis’ guidance by reaching the semifinal round of the Centennial Conference Tournament and ECAC South Region Tournament. The only team in the league that can claim to have maintained the same level of competitiveness has been Johns Hopkins. Anckaitis’ team, which recorded its seventh straight winning campaign and had won 88 matches in that span, also produced two NSCAA All-Region selections and had four players earn Centennial Conference postseason accolades.

The Garnet recorded seven regular season conference wins in 2011, which is tied for the most along with his 2006, 2007, and 2009 squads, and made another Centennial Conference Tournament appearance. The team also went on a scoring tear in 2011, breaking the record for the most goals in the regular season with 37 in which 13 different players put the ball into the back of the net.

In 2010, the team's accomplishments included the fifth consecutive winning season and sixth straight NSCAA Team Academic award. It also included the first-ever Centennial Conference Player of the Year recipient, ECAC South Region Player of the Year, NSCAA All-Region First Team & Jewish Sports Review All-American awards. Additionally, Anckaitis’ players broke the school’s career points, goals, assists and starts records that season.

In 2009, the program was nationally ranked for the entire length of the regular season and maintained its streak of being regionally ranked in the top 10 every week since 2006. It reached its first 16-win season in program history. The program won its third straight ECAC Championship without conceding a goal in the tournament for the third consecutive year. Additionally, the team set a single-season record for netting the most goals in school history. The team led the conference in players being named to the all-conference team (6) as well as home attendance (175+ average per game).

In 2008, the program won its second ECAC Southern Region Championship. Finshing with only one conference loss for the first time in school history, the Garnet only gave up three conference goals in the regular season and finished with 13 shutouts. Swarthmore also became the first soccer program in Centennial Conference history to knock off the top-ranked team in the country with the 4-3 road upset of The College of New Jersey. The 2008 list of awards included a Rhodes Scholar and an Academic All-American as well as more all-region and all-conference honors.

In 2007, the team finished the season at 14-2-3 and brought home its first ever ECAC Southern Region Championship. Significant accolades included a top-25 national ranking for five weeks, a d3Kicks.com All-American, three NSCAA All-Region players and five All-Centennial Conference player awards. The team set four Centennial Conference records and finished the season with the second lowest goals against average in the country.

In 2006, the team ended the season regionally ranked (No. 9) for the first time. At 15-5-1, the Garnet had the most improved record in the country. The year included a trip to the conference finals and a postseason ECAC Tournament bid. The team broke numerous school records along the way, and Garnet players held Centennial Conference leadership in 11 of 15 statistical categories.

Prior to Swarthmore, Anckaitis reestablished the Lewis and Clark College (Portland, Ore.) women's soccer program which had been dormant since 1990. In its first varsity season, he led a youthful Pioneer squad to a No. 8 ranking in the West Region. The team completed the year tops in the Northwest Conference in six offensive categories and four defensive categories.

Prior to his tenure at Lewis and Clark, Anckaitis earned a master of science in exercise and sports studies at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. - a program aimed at developing coaches of women's collegiate sports. While in Northampton, Anckaitis served as an assistant coach at Amherst College, helping the Jeffs to a No. 2 national ranking and an appearance in the 2001 NCAA Division III National Championship match. While coaching at Amherst, Anckaitis also worked in the Residential Life Office, managing resident counselors responsible for aiding students in resolving conflicts, developing dorm activities and undertaking community outreach projects.

Anckaitis' other coaching stops include Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, N.J.) and Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences (Santa Monica, Calif.). He has also worked with the Region I Olympic Development Staff at the Region I Camps in Kingston, R.I. in 2002 and 2003 and has also coached at the UPenn, Pepperdine, USC and Lehigh soccer camps to name a few.

Anckaitis graduated from Lafayette College in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Anckaitis attended Lafayette on a four-year Army ROTC scholarship, going on to graduate from the Officer Basic Course at the United States Army Medical Center & School in San Antonio, Texas. He served nine years as an officer in the Army National Guard. He also spent time as an Assistant Vice President for Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City, helping to bring E-ZPass electronic tolls to New Jersey and Delaware.