Coaching Carousel

[Kuiper]

PSU Brandywine hires Bill Walleekendeh as head coach

https://www.psubrandywineathletics.com/sports/msoc/2023-24/releases/20240411iljnl9

Nice that he's coming home. First-ever (only?) All-American at the school (44 goals in 2016 is outrageous).

[Kuiper]

Illinois Tech is advertising for a new men's soccer head coach

https://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/19976118/head-men-s-soccer-coach

I guess Marc Colwell has departed

[Kuiper]

Bethany College (WV) is advertising for a new men's soccer head coach

https://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/20003576/head-men-s-soccer-coach

Not sure what happened to former head coach Frankie Taal, who had been head coach for 5 seasons and was an assistant right after graduating.  He had been at North Carolina Wesleyan as an assistant and head coach for 16 years before that.  He is a Bethany grad who was on the 1994 Bethany NCAA DIII national championship team who beat Johns Hopkins in the finals in double overtime.

[Hopkins92]

(bad memory, dude.)

[Kuiper]

(bad memory, dude.)

My bad.  I should have posted a trigger warning or figured out how to use hidden text!

[Hopkins92]

I knew pretty much the entire roster... My understudy even copied my pre-game routine, which was a shuffle/sidestep of the goal line, the 6 yard line and the entire penalty box, finished off with 3 forward rolls.

I did that just to get visual/spatial awareness at away games and then just started doing it out of habit/routine. I didn't realize anyone was paying attention until I rolled up on that game and there he was... I was very flattered, tbh.

[Kuiper]

York College announced that Lycoming Men's Soccer head coach, Nate Gibboney, will be its new head men's soccer coach

https://ycpspartans.com/news/2024/4/19/nate-gibboney-named-new-spartan-mens-soccer-coach.aspx

That seems like a big move after 11 very successful years at Lycoming.

[Ejay]

Lyco had 14 seniors. Maybe he didn't want to rebuild?

[Kuiper]

University of Minnesota Morris is advertising an opening for Head Men's Soccer coach

Scott Turnbull must have left after 14 years as HC of the team.  They were 2-13-4 last year and that's not an atypical season for them of late.  The last time they did not have a losing record (and usually a record with 5 or fewer wins) was 2017, when they were 10-10-1 and the last time they had a winning record was in 2014 when they were 13-6-2, which was the last of a string of winning seasons from 2007 through 2014.  I'm guessing Turnbull was living off those years (which started when he was an assistant coach) and the school either finally decided to do something about the program after a decade or Turnbull decided himself to let someone else try to turn the program around.

[LibbyMoore]

Babson is hiring an assistant coach to replace the two that moved on this winter: https://vizi.vizirecruiter.com/Babson-College-3002/283931/index.html

[Ejay]

I'm hearing Matt Pivirotto has left Scranton. That would make 3 new Landmark coaches this season.

[Kuiper]

I'm hearing Matt Pivirotto has left Scranton. That would make 3 new Landmark coaches this season.

That is a big loss.  I think he's been there almost 25 years.  His wife is the head coach of the women's team at Scranton (and an athletics administrator there) as well as an alum.  Wonder if it's a dual move or he's just retiring from coaching.  He's a Lycoming alum, which now has an opening with Gibboney's move to York.

[NEPAFAN]

Matt Pivirotto Steps Down as Head Coach of Men's Soccer Program
Story Links
The University of Scranton Athletic Department has announced that head men's soccer coach Matt Pivirotto has stepped down from the helm of the program after 25 seasons to accept the role of Associate Director of Recreational Sports within the University.

Pivirotto will begin his new role on Monday, May 6, and his primary duties will include oversight of club sports.

"I would like to thank Matt for his many years of exemplary service to the men's soccer program. He built on and has continued our outstanding history and tradition of excellence in the sport. We wish Matt the best as he transitions into his new role here on campus," Executive Director of Athletics Dave Martin said.

During his tenure, Pivirotto led the Royals to three Landmark Conference championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances including an Elite Eight run in 2012. Scranton captured consecutive conference titles in 2015 & 2016 and advanced to the second round of NCAAs in both years.

"It has been a wonderful time here as the men's soccer coach over the past 25 years. I've had the opportunity to see this program grow in so many ways and I am extremely proud of the work I've put into the program. It is not very often that you get to coach at one place for 25 years so it's truly been a blessing. I am forever grateful for my time here as the men's soccer coach and will hold this program near and dear to my heart," Pivirotto said.

Most recently, the Royals won the 2022 Landmark Championship as the No. 4 seed with 1-0 shutout victories over both Catholic and Elizabethtown.

"This role has blessed me in so many ways, I will forever remember the wins and championships, but more Importantly, I will remember the relationships I've built with so many people – especially the people who have played for me – I get a lot of satisfaction in playing a small role in these players' success stories. In the end, the program is better now than when I started and it will continue to grow to new heights," Pivirotto continued.

A 1998 graduate of Lycoming College, Pivirotto posted a 204-178-53 record for a winning percentage of .530. He recorded his 200th career victory with a 1-0 win over William Paterson on Sept. 16, 2023.

The Royals made a total of 11 MAC Freedom/Landmark Conference playoff appearances during his tenure including seven championship match appearances.

Pivirotto mentored 45 All-Conference selections during his career and saw 17 players earn NSCAA/USC All-Region accolades, including Bill McGuiness, a two-time All-American in 2012 and 2013. Pivirotto also mentored a pair of Academic All-Americans – the afore-mentioned McGuiness in 2012 and 2013, and Matt Busch in 2016.

"For the future, I am really excited to take on a new role as the Associate Director of Recreational Sports. In this role, I feel I can continue to make an impact on young people and contribute to a very important part of our campus life through the management of club sports teams, while also being able to provide more balance to my personal life. I would like to thank Dave Martin, Bobby Davis and Jane Johnson for providing me with this opportunity," Pivirotto said.

A national search for the new men's soccer coach will begin immediately.

--ROYALS--

[Ejay]

Landmark coaching carousel continues. First Elizabethtown, then Lycoming, then Scranton, and now Catholic.  Beauchamp resigned. 

[Kuiper]

Landmark coaching carousel continues. First Elizabethtown, then Lycoming, then Scranton, and now Catholic.  Beauchamp resigned. 

The FloSports effect? 

Seriously, all were relatively long-time coaches at these schools.  Nate Gibboney at Lycoming had the shortest tenure at 11 seasons, which is pretty long in relative terms.  So, it isn't surprising that they would move on, but you do wonder if there is anything other than coincidence that it occurred in the same year.  Beauchamp also isn't the first in recent years to leave a pretty good HC gig to work at a private school.

Here is a link to the press release about Beauchamp

After 17 years of service as the men's soccer head coach, Travis Beauchamp will say goodbye to Catholic University. Beauchamp will take over as Assistant Athletic Director and Head Boys Soccer Coach at The Potomac School in McLean, Va.

"It is bittersweet to announce my departure from Catholic," said Beauchamp. "It has been such a special place for me and my family over the past 17 years. I will miss all of the relationships that were built throughout the course of my time here. The players, their parents, my colleagues, and our alumni always made me feel supported. It is time to move on to a new challenge and I am very much looking forward to it. As always, TCB!"

A six-time Landmark Conference Champion, Beauchamp will depart after 181 career wins and 76 Landmark Conference victories, the most in Landmark history.