Davenport University announced the hiring of Paige Eli as the head coach of the women's soccer program in early July 2019. Eli became the third head coach in the program's history.
The fall of 2021 saw Eli and the Panthers finish with an overall record of 4-14-1 and a GLIAC mark of 4-9-1. Davenport qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the fifth time in as many seasons as the seventh seed before falling to No. 24-ranked and second seeded Ferris State, 5-0, in Big Rapids.
In the spring of 2021 (season pushed back due to the Coronavirus pandemic), Eli's second season as head coach, Davenport finished with an overall mark of 2-6-1, including 2-5-1 in GLIAC play. The Panthers made it to the GLIAC Tournament as the seventh seed before being defeated by second-seeded Ashland 1-0 in the quarterfinals. In the fall of 2019, Eli's first season at the helm, Davenport finished with an overall record of 6-9-2 including a GLIAC mark of 4-3-2. The Panthers qualified for the GLIAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed before falling to 12th-ranked and third-seeded Ashland 1-0. At one point in the season, though, the Panthers won or tied six-straight matches, a stretch that happened between Oct. 11-27.
Eli spent four seasons as the assistant coach prior to taking over the program. The Panthers produced a historical season in 2016, going 18-2-1 and set the program record for the longest winning streak at 15 games. Eli was also involved in the transition to NCAA Division II and helped guide the team to back-to-back GLIAC Tournament appearances.
Prior to coaching at Davenport, Eli had an illustrious four-year playing career as a Panther. During her four years as a student-athlete, the women's soccer team went 57-19-6. The Panthers won the WHAC regular season championship, conference tournament title twice and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in both 2012 and 2013. She was named to the All-WHAC First Team three times in her career and was the first player in Panther history to be named an NAIA All-America Honorable Mention, which she did twice. Paige accumulated 29 goals and 22 assists for a total of 80 points during her career at Davenport.
She previously played for the Doncaster Rovers Bellas Ladies. She represented England at the U15, U17 and U19 levels playing in UEFA qualifying games. Eli played in the first U17 Women's World Cup hosted in New Zealand in 2008.
Eli graduated with a bachelor's degree in medical case management and finished her master of business administration with a concentration of healthcare management.
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