Bio

Chad Miller is entering his 11th season as head women's soccer coach at Northeast, after leading both the men's and women's programs since 2015.

Northeast capped the 2025-26 season at 9-9-2 overall and 6-1-1 in ICCAC play, going 7-0-1 at home. The Hawks advanced to the Region 11 Tournament championship game after wins over Dakota County Technical College and No. 16 Iowa Central Community College, but fell 2-0 to No. 15 Iowa Lakes Community College in Spencer, Iowa, a team Northeast had beaten 3-0 during the regular season. Amelia Bingley, Helena Chetcuti, Malana Gurmendi and Emma Brilleman were named to the Region 11 All-Tournament Team.

Eight Hawks earned all-region recognition from the ICCAC. Brilleman, Gurmendi and Addison Osilka were named First Team All-Region, Maria Gomez-Herrera, Alia Gordon and Sarah Huckels earned Second Team honors, and Chetcuti and Hailey Holbrook were named Honorable Mention. Brilleman, a freshman, finished second in ICCAC Player of the Year voting after scoring nine goals with eight assists, and Huckels was named NJCAA National Goalie of the Week.

The 2024-25 season produced seven all-region honorees for the Hawks, as Northeast finished 14-5-2. Samantha Bayer and Talia Sanders were named First Team All-Region, Amelia Bingley, Lexie Lilienthal and Marleigh Leister earned Second Team honors, and Megan Derby and Sarah Huckels were named Honorable Mention.

Bayer, a sophomore, tied for 24th nationally with 17 goals and ranked 28th with 39 points, while Sanders followed her First Team All-American freshman season with 15 goals and 38 points. Bingley added 10 goals and 32 points in her first season at Northeast, and Leister earned Second Team All-Region for the second straight year and a spot on the Region 11 All-Tournament Team. Derby, whose sister Erica was a two-time All-Region honoree and Region 11 Tournament Defensive MVP for the Hawks, also made the All-Tournament Team, while freshman goalkeeper Huckels helped Northeast allow just three goals during conference play.

The Hawks capped a historic 2023 season by winning their fourth-straight Region 11 title and fourth-straight North Plains District Championship, then advanced to the NJCAA DII Women's Soccer Championship in Tucson, Arizona. Northeast beat Iowa Central 2-1 in overtime for the Region 11 crown, Johnson County 2-1 for the district title and Schoolcraft College 2-1 at nationals before falling to Jones College 2-0 in a must-win Pool D finale. The Hawks finished 20-2-1, the winningest season in program history, climbed as high as No. 5 in the national poll and finished fifth in the country in goals scored with 105.

Aidyn Woodall was named Northeast's Female Athlete of the Year for the second straight year after a sophomore season that earned her First Team All-American honors, an upgrade from her Second Team nod as a freshman. Woodall served as team captain and was named First Team All-Region, Offensive MVP and overall MVP of the Region 11 Tournament, finishing fifth in the ICCAC in goals with 16, third in assists with 18 and fourth in points with 50. She scored six goals in the postseason alone, including game-winners in the Region 11 semifinals, the Region 11 championship and the district title game, and has signed to continue her career at NCAA Missouri Western State University.

Freshman Talia Sanders earned Honorable Mention All-American after scoring 18 goals in 21 games with four game-winners, including the equalizer in Northeast's national tournament win over Schoolcraft College. Lexie Lilienthal scored the overtime winner in the Region 11 championship, and the Hawks' sophomore class finished a combined 39-5-1 over two seasons, the winningest class in program history.

Northeast made it three-straight Region XI titles in 2022, beating Hawkeye Community College 3-0 for revenge after suffering its only conference loss to the RedTails during the regular season. The Hawks then downed Pratt Community College 3-1 in the Plains District Championship to reach the national tournament for a third-straight year. Northeast finished the season 19-4-1, remaining in the top 10 of the NJCAA DII rankings throughout the year and tying for the most shutouts in the country with 15.

Taryn O'Brien earned First Team All-American honors after finishing with the second-most goals in the NJCAA DII ranks with 31 and the second-most points with 79. Mackenzee Stokes and freshman Aidyn Woodall were both named Second Team All-American; Stokes finished with 14 goals and 41 points, while Woodall led the country in assists with 25 and ranked third nationally in points with 73. Stokes was named MVP of the Region XI Tournament, O'Brien was the tournament's Offensive Player, Erica Derby was the Defensive Player and Carolin Stahlmann was the Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

Derby capped her sophomore season by being named First Team Academic All-America, becoming just the second Northeast student-athlete to earn the honor. She was also named First Team All-Region and Defensive MVP of the Region XI Tournament for the second straight year, graduating with a 4.0 GPA as a pre-professional engineering major.

During the 2021 season, Northeast finished 17-6-1, setting a program record with 17 wins, and defended its Region XI title with a 3-0 win over Hawkeye Community College. The Hawks then upset then-No. 5 Allen County Community College to return to the national tournament. Miller was named ICCAC DII Women's Soccer Coach of the Year and the 2021 Plains District Coach of the Year, and he and assistant coach Lauren Hirsch were named the Women's Midwest Region Staff of the Year for Division II institutions by United Soccer Coaches.

Naomi Pedroza was named NJCAA DII Second Team All-American, and Romeni Gurmendi earned NJCAA DII Honorable Mention All-American. Naomi Pedroza, Gurmendi, Sara Pedroza and Kailey Lincoln were named First Team All-Region, while Kyler Bowman, Jessica Clinton, Erica Derby and Brianna Mendias earned Second Team All-Region honors. Hannah Cherven and Carolin Stahlmann were named Honorable Mention All-Region. Cherven, Derby and Stahlmann were named to the NJCAA All-Academic First Team, while Clinton, Gurmendi and Taryn O'Brien earned Third Team honors.

The 2020-21 season was a banner year for Miller and the Hawks, who finished 13-4-1. Northeast won the Region XI championship with a 2-1 win over Hawkeye Community College, and Miller guided the team to its first-ever national tournament win, a 2-1 victory over Howard Community College.

Naomi Pedroza, Jessica Clinton and Mackenzie Byrnes earned All-American status. Pedroza was named Offensive MVP, Region XI Tournament MVP, ICCAC Player of the Year, First Team All-Region and an All-Tournament Team selection. Clinton earned First Team All-Region and was named Defensive MVP of the Region XI tournament. Byrnes was named the tournament's top goalie, while Brianna Mendias and Frida Aguilar-Ximello earned All-Tournament Team honors. The Hawks' offense ranked eighth in the NJCAA DII level in goals scored with 36 and 11th in shots on goal with 92.

The 2019 team recorded the program's best season to date, finishing 13-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play before falling in overtime in the Region XI Tournament quarterfinals. The Hawks broke school records for points in a season (27) and assists in a season (9), and finished 11th nationally in shutouts and in the top 20 in goals scored with 73.

Freshman Naomi Pedroza broke six school records, finishing 10th nationally with 27 goals and second in game-winning goals with eight. Kahrena Thompson set new school records for assists in a season (15) and assists in a game (three). Pedroza and Thompson earned First Team All-Region honors, while Kyla Ryan and Mandy Stricker were named Second Team All-Region. Lorry Romain earned Honorable Mention All-Region after a breakout sophomore season.

In 2018, the Hawks went 8-7-1 and 13 players earned All-Academic All-Region recognition. Ellie Gess and Emma Weaver were named First Team All-Region, and Gess became the first Northeast women's soccer player to sign with a four-year school. Mary Perez and Mandy Stricker earned Second Team All-Region honors, while Dayla Miller and Tayler Ohu were named Honorable Mention All-Region.

The 2017 season was a banner year for the Hawks, who went 12-6 and reached the Region XI semifinal. Ellie Gess and Hailey Curry were named First Team All-Region, while Valentina Haboush and Erika Kumm earned Second Team All-Region. Lauren Hirsch and Alexis Wemhoff were named Honorable Mention All-Region.

In the program's inaugural season, Northeast went 4-11-2. Erika Kumm was named First Team All-Region and Kaylee Chapman earned Second Team All-Region honors. Saige Hollum, Zoe Serres and Kaitlyn Van Surksum were named Honorable Mention All-Region.

To date, 10 Northeast women's soccer players have transferred to four-year universities to continue their academic and athletic careers.

Before coaching at Northeast, Miller served as head coach of the Lutheran High Northeast/Norfolk Catholic boys soccer team for three years and the girls soccer team for five years. He has also coached club teams in the Norfolk area.

Miller holds a coaching diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and earned an Associate of Applied Technology degree in Information Technology from Northeast. He also played collegiate soccer for two years.

Chad and his wife, Amy, have three children: Taylor, Maci and Charlie.