Fifth-year mentor earns first New England Region award after leading Ravens back among Division II's elite

RINDGE, N.H. (December 13, 2004) - Franklin Pierce men's soccer head coach, Marco Koolman, has been voted the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas New England Region Coach of the Year by his peers. Koolman is now eligible for NSCAA/adidas Division II Coach of the Year accolades to be announced at the Association's winter convention in January.

Koolman, named the eighth coach in the program's 36-year history in May of 2000, has led the Ravens to a 64-28-8 (.680) record in five years, including a 45-16-4 (.723) mark in Northeast-10 Conference play. Franklin Pierce has advanced to the NE-10 Tournament in each of his five seasons at the helm and has guided the Ravens to back-to-back NCAA Division II Tournament appearances over the last two years after the program suffered a four-year absence.

Koolman enjoyed his most successful season this fall since taking over the reigns at Franklin Pierce. He led the Ravens to a 16-6-2 mark and their tenth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Ravens, ranked No. 10 in the final NSCAA/adidas Division II poll, captured their first NCAA New England Regional title and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinal round for the first time since 1995 after also reaching the Northeast-10 Championship match where it was defeated in a penalty kick shootout after playing to a 0-0 draw.            

Franklin Pierce re-wrote the program record book this fall, with the Ravens posting an NCAA Division II-best 16 shutouts to shatter the previous record of ten clean sheets set during their Final Four campaign in 1991. The Ravens posted a Northeast-10 best 0.65 team goals against average (6^th in Division II), yielding just 16 goals, which edged the previous mark of 19 goals against set in 1995.

Koolman recruits also received recognition as grad student Craig Stewart (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England) received Northeast-10 Player of the Year honors and James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) was named NE-10 Goalkeeper and Freshman of the Year. Grad student Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) led the Conference with 52 points and 22 goals to go with eight assists in his first season at the College.

Koolman boasts a 138-57-14 (.694) career mark, which includes six successful seasons as head coach at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. He ranks 14th among Division II coaches all-time with his .694 career winning percentage, while his 138 career wins ranks 41st among active coaches in Division II.

Since joining Franklin Pierce, Koolman has produced six All-America, two NSCAA Scholar All-America, 21 All-New England, six CoSIDA Academic All-District and 36 All-Northeast-10 selections.

All-America midfielder Felix Brillant, one of Koolman's first recruits after coming to Franklin Pierce, was selected in the sixth round of Major League Soccer's SuperDraft last January by the New England Revolution and signed a developmental contract with the club. Brillant appeared in 19 matches, with six starts, in his first MLS season, registering a goal and two assists.

Koolman enjoyed six winning seasons at Gannon, his alma mater, from 1991 to '96. He still ranks second at the University in career wins as he compiled a 74-29-6 (.706) record. The Golden Knights were ranked nationally each season during his tenure and reached the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1993 a feat that earned him National Coach of the Year accolades.

Koolman also copped Coach of the Year honors in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) following the 1995 season.