Michael Sabatelle, Head Coach

Sabatelle, a four-time conference Coach of the Year, was the Emory head coach from 1988-2004 and posted a 212-85-32 record, a .693 winning percentage. He guided the Eagles to eight NCAA Division III national tournament appearances and four University Athletic Association (UAA) championships. In his last seven years Emory recorded a record of 98-22-17, a .777 winning percentage.

Sabatelle recorded the 200th win of his Emory career with a 1-0 victory Sept. 4, 2004, against Mary Washington (Va.), then ranked 17th in the nation. He became the 15th women's soccer coach in NCAA Division III history and the 37th in any NCAA division to reach the 200-win plateau for his career. He picked up his 100th career victory on Oct. 20, 1996, when Emory defeated N.C. Wesleyan, 2-1, in overtime.

At the end of his tenure Sabatelle ranked 38th all-time among all NCAA coaches for career wins. Among active Division III coaches, he was 12th in career wins and 36th in career winning percentage. Sabatelle and his assistants were recognized as the UAA "Coaching Staff of the Year" in 1989, 1994,1998 and 2004.

He holds a U.S. Soccer Federation "A" coaching license and has international coaching experience, assisting with the U.S. national boys' youth soccer teams during competition in Trinidad and the former Soviet Union. Sabatelle was a longtime staff coach for the Georgia Olympic Development Program for girls and the coach of the Georgia Women's Senior State Select Team. He also referees high school and college matches.

Sabatelle contributed his time to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America by coordinating its national ranking committee, All-America and Scholar-Athlete All-America selection committees.
During the summers, he was the director of the Emory girls soccer camps. He was owner/coach of the Atlanta Classics in the W-League, a national women's soccer league. Sabatelle was honored as the W-League "Coach of the Year" in 1997 after leading the first-year club to the South Division title and the W-League national championship tournament. In 1999 he led the Classics to the W-League Final Four. He was the television spotter for the Atlanta Beat of the WUSA, the professional women's soccer league.

Sabatelle played four years of NCAA Division III soccer at State University of New York at Plattsburgh where he earned an undergraduate degree in health education in 1977. He received his master's degree in exercise science from Georgia State University in 1984. Sabatelle is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association, served as Emory's associate athletic trainer and taught physical education classes at Emory.

He and his wife, Pat D'Alba, donate their time to, American Red Cross, Atlanta High Museum of Art, and the Georgia Special Olympics.