Leslie (Ferguson) Raney
Women's Soccer Coach (2004-2011)
Waubonsee women’s soccer all-time leader in wins with 86
Led Waubonsee to first ever NJCAA Division I National Tournament appearance
Three Region IV titles, two ISCC titles, four top-16 finishes
ISCC Female Coach of the Year for 2008-2009
Any well-constructed building has a solid foundation. It’s the same with successful businesses, professional careers and athletic programs too. Building a thriving program from the ground up takes dedication, resolve and perseverance. Leslie Ferguson Raney employed all those traits and more while developing Waubonsee’s women’s soccer program into a perennial contender.
Raney graduated in 1996 from Jacobs High School in Algonquin, starting on the varsity soccer team all four years. She then went to Judson College and set several of the Eagles’ career soccer records, while helping lead Judson to a fifth place finish in 1997 and an eighth place finish in 1999 at the National Christian College Athletic Association Finals. She was twice named All-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, North Central All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American. Raney then earned a degree in Sports Management from Judson in 2000 and later coached at both South Elgin and Jacobs High Schools.
When Raney took over Waubonsee’s fledgling program in 2004, the Chiefs had won just seven games in four years of existence. By the time she stepped away eight years later the Chiefs had reached the national stage and were a force to be reckoned with in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference and the NJCAA’s Region IV, a place of distinction that the program has maintained ever since. However, getting the Chiefs’ program to the upper echelon didn’t happen overnight. Raney needed patience and diligence, especially the first four years at the helm, as Waubonsee gradually established itself on the area soccer scene.
Then in 2008 the program turned the corner, literally writing the program’s record book and setting a standard which continues today. Over the next four seasons Raney led the Chiefs to 64 victories, 3 Region IV Championships and Waubonsee’s first-ever National Tournament appearance placing 7th in the nation in 2011. Under her direction, the Chiefs won a pair of ISCC titles and finished second twice, compiling a 21-2-2 mark in conference play. She was twice named the ISCC Coach of the Year, the Region IV Coach of the Year three times, twice nominated for the National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association Regional Coach of the Year, and was selected the ISCC Female Coach of the Year for 2008-2009. The Chiefs reached the Region IV title match four straight years, played in the District D championship three times, and finished in the top-16 nationally all four years. Forty-six players reached All-ISCC status and 31 more earned All-Region honors under her tutelage.
Raney departed Waubonsee in 2011 to take on the challenge of starting the soccer program at Purdue University-Calumet, where she led the Peregrines for three years. In 2014 she earned a master’s degree in Athletic Administration and Coaching from Concordia University-Irvine and was inducted into Judson’s Athletic Hall of Fame that same year. Raney currently teaches at Harrison Elementary School in Wonder Lake, where she coaches volleyball and basketball. She and her husband Nathan were married in March of 2018 and reside in Huntley.
