The 2014 season with mark Stuart Horne's 10th season with the Elon University women’s soccer program. Horne was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2011 season. Horne came to Elon in 2005 after spending five years as the head women’s soccer coach at Chowan University.
Horne helped the maroon and gold to one of its best seasons in program history in 2013, as the Phoenix finished the year with a 13-3-6 record and its first ever appearance in the Southern Conference Championship match. Elon’s 13 wins marked the most during the school’s Division I era, while also marking the team’s fifth-straight winning season. The Phoenix also entered the NSCAA Southeast Regional rankings for the first time in school history, finishing the season ranked 10th among ACC powers such as Virginia, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech Notre Dame, Duke, Boston College, Wake Forest and Maryland. Elon scored in every contest in 2013, another program first, netting a total of 56 goals (third nationally) in 22 matches. Elon had five players garner all-league accolades, including 2013 Southern Conference Player of the Year, Nicole Dennion. As only a sophomore, Dennion set Elon’s Division I single-season goals record with 15. Elon’s RPI soared as high as 74th (out of 327 teams) in 2013 as well. Elon’s senior class finished the 2013 season with 40 wins, the most by a senior class during Elon’s Division I era.
In 2012, Horne helped the Phoenix to the Southern Conference Championship semifinals. Elon posted a total of eight shutouts in 2012, one shy of the program's record at the Division I level. Horne helped Shannon Foley earn All-SoCon honors her senior season as well. Elon had a total of six players earn SoCon All-Academic accolades in the fall as well.
Horne helped lead the Phoenix to another successful season in 2011, as the team finished the regular season with a 6-3-2 record in Southern Conference action to mark Elon's third-straight winning season in the SoCon. The Phoenix finished the 2011 season with an RPI of 138 (out of 322 teams), placing Elon well into the top half of Division I. Since 2008, the program’s RPI has improved over 100 spots. Among the team’s wins was a 1-0 shutout over instate rival UNCG on Oct. 26 in Greensboro, marking the program’s first-ever win over the Spartans in 17 matches (0-16 in previous games). The Phoenix also registered wins in 2011 over instate rivals High Point, Appalachian State and Western Carolina, going 4-1 against teams from the state of North Carolina. The Phoenix also scored a Southern Conference single-game high eight goals on Sept. 26 against league-foe Chattanooga.
Under Horne's tutelage, the Phoenix won several awards in 2011. Andrea Keller earned preseason all-conference honors and was a second-team all-conference selection at the end of the season with teammate Olivia Mackey. Bethany Houpt earned Southern Conference Player of the Week nods in 2011 after leading the Phoenix to a 2-0 win over High Point with a pair of goals.
In 2010, Horne helped the Phoenix to one of its most successful seasons. Elon finished the season with a 12-8-1 mark, including a 6-5 record in league play, marking the first time the team has won 12 games and finished with a winning record in league play in back-to-back seasons since joining NCAA Division I. Elon’s 12 wins in 2010 set the school record for victories over NCAA Division I opponents, while the program’s RPI of 131 out of 322 teams has risen over 100 spots over the past three seasons. Horne guided Elon to its first-ever appearance in the Southern Conference Tournament, where the team went on the road in the first round and registered a 1-0 shutout over College of Charleston.
Under Horne’s tutelage, Elon had two All-SoCon selections in 2010, as Brittany Hallberg earned second-team honors, while Chelsey Stark was named to the All-Freshman team. The 2010 senior class finished with 37 victories – the most by any class in program history.
The Phoenix also performed well in the classroom in 2010, as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) awarded Elon one of 630 recipients of the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the 2009-10 academic year. Elon was one of just 125 institutions nationally to have both its men's and women's programs earn the honor in 2010.
In 2009, the Phoenix went 12-5-2, setting a school record for the most wins since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1999. Elon’s 7-3-1 SoCon mark was its best-ever league showing and its first winning record since joining the conference in 2003. After being picked to finish seventh in the SoCon in the preseason poll, Horne helped the Phoenix play its final game of the regular season for the league crown. The squad also set a record with four all-conference selections, including the first-ever first-team All-SoCon pick.
In 2008, Elon had one of its most successful season during Horne’s tenure. The Phoenix posted an 8-8-3 record, the program’s best mark since the 1999 campaign. Elon moved up in the Southern Conference rankings, finishing 7th among 12 teams. Three players were also recognized on all-league teams.
Prior to coming to Elon, Horne inherited a Chowan program that regularly dwelled near the bottom of the NCAA Division III ranks. Under his leadership, Chowan improved every year, culminating with a NSCAA South Region top-15 ranking in 2004.
Horne guided the Braves to their first-ever postseason berth with a trip to the 2003 USA South Athletic Conference Tournament. The following year, Chowan captured the NCCAA South Region title and advanced to the Final Four of the 2004 NCCAA Tournament. The Braves capped that campaign with a 13-6-4 record and the NCCAA No. 3 national ranking as Horne was crowned the 2004 NCCAA South Region Coach of the Year. Horne left Chowan with a program-record 44 victories.
From 2002-04, Horne also served as an assistant for the Hampton Roads Piranhas, a member of the United Soccer League’s W-League. He helped direct the team to playoff appearances in each of his three seasons. The Piranhas finished the 2003 season a perfect 14-0 on their way to claiming the W-League national title.
Horne has been involved with the Olympic Development Program in both Virginia and North Carolina. In Virginia, he was a staff coach with the girls’ program in the Southeast District. Horne ran the North Carolina ODP Training Center on the Outer Banks. He has earned both the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and the USSF D License.
Horne holds a degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. He graduated cum laude in 1997. He resides in Gibsonville, N.C., with his wife, Leslie, sons, Keegan and Gavin, and daughter, Arwen.
