Holly Hall, Head Coach (Third Season, Messiah '04)

Holly Hall (formerly Shifflett) made quite an impression in her first season at the helm of the Eastern Mennonite University women's soccer program. After serving two seasons as an assistant coach, Hall guided the Lady Royals to a 13-4-1 record overall and a 10-2 record in the Old Dominion Atheltic Conference. The Lady Royals also advanced to the Semi-Final match against Guilford College where they were defeated on penalty kicks, suffering their only official tie of the season.

A 2004 graduate of Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. with a degree in Biology, Hall completed her nursing degree at the University of Virginia. She graduated magna cum laude from Messiah and was on the dean’s list at UVA.

“It is an honor and privilege to coach women’s soccer at EMU”, commented Holly in her acceptance of the position. “Coaching at a Christian university provides the unique opportunity to combine two of my greatest passions: my love for the game of soccer and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Hall began her collegiate studies and soccer playing at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn., where she set the school single-season scoring record in 2000. After two seasons at Carson-Newman, the Mechanicsburg, Pa. (Cumberland Valley High School) native transferred close to home to Messiah and helped lead the Falcons to a national runner-up finish in 2002.

Hall brings an extensive playing resume to her head coaching responsibilities. Having played soccer for over 17 years, she brings knowledge of the game and an ability to teach that belies her age. Playing at both the Division II and Division III level has given her experiences that will greatly help her ability to work with student-athletes at EMU.

During her time at Messiah College, Hall was involved in the local community soccer programs of central Pennsylvania. She formed two teams through tryouts of the top players in the Capital Area of Pa. to compete in the Keystone State Soccer Tournament. In 2002, she led the Scholastic Age Group to the gold medal and in 2003 took the Intermediate Age Group to the Bronze medal.

In addition, Hall has been a coach/counselor at Messiah College Girl’s Soccer Camp for 3 years and was a trainer, providing technical and tactical instruction to the players on the HMMS Girl’s Premier Soccer Team in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Upon moving to Virginia, she again involved herself in the local soccer community by serving as assistant coach for the Augusta United Girl’s Soccer Team in Staunton.

Jonathan Kratz, Assistant Coach (Ninth Season, EMU '00)

Jonathan (Jon) Kratz has been Women's Soccer Assistant Coach with the Eastern Mennonite University since the fall of 2000. During that time, the program has a 84-50-12 overall record. Kratz has worked primarily with the goalkeepers at EMU.

Kratz initially came to EMU from Lancaster Mennonite High School where he played two years of varsity soccer. He played two years of intercollegiate soccer at EMU, including 1996 when the team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship and 1999 when EMU was runner-up. He posted four shutouts in goal as a senior. He continues to play soccer in the Shenandoah Summer Soccer League.

After graduating in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources, Kratz started working in the EMU Admissions Office. He worked in admissions for four years before taking a new position as Director of International Student Services in the Fall of 2004.

As a coach, Kratz enjoys seeing players develop and grow through hard work, knowledge, and discipline. He firmly believes that, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

Kratz currently resides in Harrisonburg with his wife Tammy.

Heather Yoder, Assistant Coach (Third Season, EMU '04)

Heather Yoder (Bauman) brings four years of playing experience and background back to her alma mater as a assistant coach under Holly Shifflett.

Yoder played two years of varsity soccer at her high school (Cumberland Valley in Mechanicsburg, Pa.) before coming to Eastern Mennonite. At EMU, Yoder played under former coach Greg Steffan and was a 2003 Honorable Mention for the All-ODAC team.

She finished with nine goals and 12 assists for her career. Her totals rank her ninth overall on the EMU all-time list in goals scored and fourth in career assists.

“I love being back at EMU as a coach and working with the team to help develop each players talent,” explained Yoder.

She is currently living in Broadway, Va., with her husband Justin and works at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community as an Life Enrichment Program Coordinator for Assisted Living.

Joy Shaiebly, Assistant Coach (First Season, EMU '07)