West Virginia University Athletics

A dynamic performer in the midfield from 2000-03, Lisa Stoia earned Big East Midfielder of the Year honors in 2002 for her efforts in leading West Virginia to its first regular season championship. She also assisted on 10 of West Virginia's record-breaking 53 goals in 2003, tying her with Katie Barnes for the season record. Stoia was a NSCAA/adidas and Soccer Buzz second team All-American in 2002 as a junior.

Stoia continued her domination in her senior season, breaking the season assist record (12) she tied the season before on her way to becoming West Virginia's all-time assists leader with 33 career dishes. She became the first midfielder in Big East history to earn midfielder of the year honors in consecutive seasons by winning the award for the second time in 2003.

Alongside teammate Chrissie Abbott, Stoia became WVU's all-time matches played and matched started leader with 87 career starts, after leading her 2003 squad to the program's first Sweet 16 appearance.

For her efforts in 2003, Stoia earned first team All-America honors from Soccer Buzz and the NSCAA. She was captain of the 2003 WVU squad.


As a sophomore, she earned Soccer Buzz honorable mention All-America, Soccer Buzz first team all-Region and first team All-Big East accolades after tallying four goals and five assists in 2001.

Stoia also earned NSCAA/adidas third team All-Mid-Atlantic region and Big East co-Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman in 2000.

A three-time first team All-Big East selection, Stoia was a member of the 2003 U-21 National Team Pool and one of a select group, including Abbott, invited to train with WUSA teams during the summer of 2003. 
Stoia played three seasons of professional soccer – one with the St. Louis Athletica of the WPS (2009) and two with the Boston Renegades in the Women's United Soccer League (2005-06). She was inducted into William Floyd High's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2007.

Stoia returned to her college alma mater in 2007 as a full-time member of coach Nikki Izzo-Brown's staff. On the cusp of her 13th season, she serves as the Mountaineers' senior associate head coach and has helped solidify WVU's position as a perennial top-10 team. With Stoia's assistance, the Mountaineers have made 12 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including three quarterfinal appearances and the program's first-ever NCAA College Cup Final in 2016.

Since 2007, WVU has won 15 conference titles and at least one Big 12 championship every season but one since joining the conference in 2012. Annually nationally ranked, the Mountaineers spent eight weeks at No. 1 in 2016, the program's first-ever No. 1 ranking. That same season, WVU earned a program-record 23 wins and nation-best and team-record 18 shutouts.

Primarily responsible for coaching the Mountaineer midfielders, Stoia helped guide Olympic Bronze medalist Ashley Lawrence to back-to-back NSCAA All-America First Team accolades (2015-16).  She also has directly mentored WVU All-Americans Amanda Cicchini (2007), Carolyn Blank (2009) and Amanda Hill (2015). She was named the 2010 NSCAA/Mondo North Atlantic Regional Assistant Coach of the Year before earning back-to-back NSCAA/Mondo Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year accolades (2014-15). In 2016, Stoia earned the NSCAA Regional Staff of the Year award. 

A rising star among the coaching ranks, Stoia served as an assistant coach at the U.S. Soccer U-19 Women's National Team Domestic Training Camp at Chula Vista, California, in May 2018. 

A native of Shirley, New York, Stoia earned a bachelor's degree in sport management from West Virginia in 2005 and a master's of business administration from Jacksonville in 2007. She was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and Mountaineer Legends Society in 2019.