Mark Duble enters his 32nd season as the Head Women's Soccer Coach in 2025. He is the longest-tenured coach and athletic administrator at Covenant.
FAST FACTS
- Years at Covenant (head coach): 32 (1994-present)
- Overall record: 319-199-49 (.609)
- Conference record: 159-40-26 (.771)
- National Tournament appearances: 3 (NAIA - 2006; NCCAA - 2009; NCAA - 2021)
- Conference championships: 13 (regular season and tournament)
AWARDS
- Six-time conference Coach of the Year (TVAC - 1995, 1996; AAC - 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006)
- Two-time NAIA Region XII Coach of the Year (2004, 2005)
PROGRAM ACCOLADES
- 34 All-Americans
- 8 conference Players of the Year
- 3 conference Rookie/Freshman of the Year
- 15 All-CCS honorees
- 15 All-USA South selections (8 first team members)
- 32 All-USA South West Division choices
- 147 USA South All-Academic team members (through 2021-22)
- 57 national scholar-athlete awards
- 11 NSCAA (now United Soccer Coaches) Team Academic honors
- 12 United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics honors
MILESTONES
- Collected career win No. 200 during the 2012 season
- Earned career win No. 250 with a 4-0 victory over Oglethorpe on Sept. 16, 2017
- Reached 300 career wins on Oct. 21, 2022 with a win against Agnes Scott
PROGRAM NOTES
- In his 31 seasons, Duble's teams have finished at or above the .500 mark 27 times.
- Double-digit win totals in a season 21 times.
BACKGROUND
Duble began coaching the Lady Scots club team in 1993 before the program became varsity in 1994. He "grew up" at Covenant, as his father was a Vice President for Advancement at Covenant College in the 1960s and 1970s, and he played for and captained, the Scots soccer team as a player. Active in professional coaching organizations, he has served eight years as the conference soccer chair, five as regional chair, and two years as the NAIA Women’s Soccer National President.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
In the 2024 season, the Scots came out hot, winning their first three games, including a 1-0 result over Berry. For the season they were 9-6-1 and 5-2-1 in CCS play, finishing tied second in the CCS Regular Season standings with Piedmont and Belhaven. After a tiebreaker, Covenant went into the CCS Tournament as the No.4 seed before falling to Asbury at home in the Quarterfinals. Covenant had six All-CCS players while sophomores Gretchen Caswell and Bronwyn Kickasola were named Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year.
Covenant got hot at the right time during the 2023 season as it posted an 8-5-5 record while being 5-1-2 in CCS play. Despite not picking up a win until their fifth game of the year, the Scots got it rolling. With the help of five clean sheets in a row to end the regular season behind CCS Defensive Player of the Year Lucy Sandhoff, Covenant entered the CCS Tournament as the three seed. After a 4-0 win at home against Huntingdon, Covenant upset No. 2 seed Belhaven at their place 1-0 to earn a spot in the Championship Match. In the Championship, Covenant gave Maryville all it could handle, but ultimately lost in OT. Covenant had four players receive All-Conference honors.
The Scots turned in a 7-5-5 record in 2022. Leah Marr was a key player offensively for Covenant, leading the team in goals wth five and tied for the assists lead with Aiden Strawbridge at two. Over the course of the final two games of the regular season and the quarterfinals of the CCS Tournament, Covenant rode a season-high three-game win streak. The win that started the streak, a 1-0 result over Agnes Scott was Duble's 300th of his career. The Scots season ended in the CCS Semifinals, but this season resulted in the ninth consecutive winning season for the team. Covenant had four players receive All-Conference honors.
Duble's program reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2021. The Scots claimed the program's first USA South Tournament title with a 1-0 win over Piedmont to earn the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Senior Kailey Burrell earned USA South Player of the Year honors and led five players to All-USA South accolades. The team set a program record with 12 shutouts on the year and surrendered just one goal in eight USA South regular season matches. It was the 21st season with 10 or more wins and the 25th time the Scots finished .500 or better.
COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 season into the spring 2021 semester, but Duble's program kept its winning ways alive. The Lady Scots finished 5-3-1 overall, producing the 23rd winning season in program history. Kailey Burrell became the first All-American in the program's NCAA era as she earned United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America honors. Covenant placed five players on All-USA South West Division teams.
In 2019, Duble's squad advanced to the USA South Tournament championship match for the first time. After a 1-4-1 start to the season, the Lady Scots rattled off a 9-1-2 mark over the final month-plus of the season before besting top-East seed Greensboro in a penalty shootout in the USA South Tournament semifinals to get to the title match. It was the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that Covenant finished the year with a winning record and the 20th time the program won 10 or more matches.
In 2018, Covenant had another successful season as the Lady Scots finished 11-8-1 and made it to the USA South Tournament semifinals. Senior keeper Rachel Lemay earned USA South Goalkeeper of the Year, while six Lady Scots earned All-USA South West Division honors.
2017 was a special year for Duble and the program. Duble collected his 250th career coaching win with the Lady Scots' 4-0 victory over Oglethorpe on Homecoming Weekend (Sept. 16). The team ended the year 11-7-1 overall with a 5-2 mark in the USA South and an appearance in the semifinals of the USA South Tournament.
The 2016 edition of Duble's team had its best conference finish since joining the USA South as the Lady Scots placed second in the West Division in the regular season with an 11-3 record. The 11 victories set the program mark for most conference wins in a single season.
In 2013, the program's first year as full members of the USA South Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III, Duble's squad battled through injuries to compile a 10-9-2 overall and a 7-3-2 mark in conference play. The Lady Scots advanced to the semifinals of the USA South Tournament before falling to eventual champion Piedmont.
In 2012, the Lady Scots posted a 15-5-1 record and 9-1 in GSAC play which earned them a share of the conference regular season title, a first at the NCAA Division III level. The 15 wins was tied for the second-most in school history. Covenant placed seven players on the All-Conference team and had two NCCAA All-Americans (Kathryn Allison and Katelyn Newsome).
FAMILY
He and his wife, Lynn (a Covenant alumna and former athlete herself), have been married for 43 years, and have five children: Allen, Chelsey, Charles, Faith, and John Mark.
YEAR-BY-YEAR
1994: 10-6 (3-0 TVAC)
1995: 10-7-1 (4-0 TVAC)
1996: 12-4 (4-0 TVAC)
1997: 11-6 (4-1 TVAC)
1998: 7-9 (4-1 TVAC)
1999: 3-13-2 (2-2-1 TVAC)
2000: 9-8-2 (3-3-1 AAC)
2001: 11-8 (6-1 AAC)
2002: 16-3-2 (7-1-1 AAC)
2003: 8-6-2 (4-2-2 AAC)
2004: 14-3-1 (8-0 AAC)
2005: 13-4-3 (8-0 AAC)
2006: 15-4 (8-0 AAC)
2007: 10-6-3 (4-0-3 AAC)
2008: 10-7-2 (4-1-2 AAC)
2009: 9-9-4 (3-1-3 AAC)
2010: 10-7-1
2011: 10-9-2 (6-1-1 GSAC)
2012: 15-5-1 (9-1 GSAC)
2013: 10-9-2 (7-3-2 USA South)
2014: 9-10-1 (7-4 USA South)
2015: 10-5-1 (8-3-1 USA South)
2016: 13-5 (11-3 USA South)
2017: 11-7-1 (5-2 USA South)
2018: 11-8-1 (6-2 USA South)
2019: 10-6-3 (6-1-1 USA South)
2020: 5-3-1 (4-3-1 USA South) ... 2020 season played in spring of 2021 (COVID-19)
2021: 13-6-2 (6-1-1 USA South)
2022: 7-5-5 (3-1-4, CCS)
2023: 8-5-5 (5-1-2, CCS)
2024: 9-6-1 (5-2-1, CCS)
