Wagner Named Coach of the Year Three Times Over
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Eric Wagner, the head coach of the Swarthmore College men's soccer team, recently received Coach of the Year honors from three separate organizations after directing the Garnet to its best season in nearly 35 years.
Wagner, a Lewiston, Maine-native and Swarthmore resident, was honored as Centennial Conference Coach of the Year in a league-wide vote by the head coaches. He was also named National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year and received the Chris Jones College Coach of the Year Award from the Southeast Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.
Wagner, a 1988 graduate of Connecticut College, has a 79-50-12 record (.603 winning percentage) in seven seasons at Swarthmore, including a 34-26-3 mark in Centennial action. His 2008 Garnet side finished 17-3-2, winning the Centennial Conference championship (the program’s first) while advancing to the sectional round of the Division III Men’s Soccer Championships. The team set school marks for wins, Conference wins (eight) and longest unbeaten streak (12-0-1), and ranked in the top-ten in Division III for goals-against average (0.45) and shutouts (13). Swarthmore concluded the 2008 ranked 13th in all of Division III by the NSCAA.
The Centennial Conference awarded its Coach of the Year honors for the first time in the 17-year history as a full-fledged conference. Wagner’s men, typical to the coach’s style, found success in front of a vaunted Garnet backline that led the Centennial in goals-against average (0.45) and shutouts (six), allowing just four goals in Conference play. Making a fourth Conference playoff appearance in five seasons, Swarthmore captured the championship with a 1-0 win over defending champion Johns Hopkins at Clothier Field on Nov. 9.
Click here for the official 2008 All-Centennial release. (pdf)
Under Wagner, Swarthmore has grown into a regional power, directing the Garnet to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region championship in 2007. That momentum carried over into 2008, as the team posted victories over ranked foes Stevens (eventual national semifinalist) and Dickinson. The regular season culminated with Swarthmore at the top of the regional rankings, earning the right to host the first NCAA Tournament soccer match on campus since 1974. The Garnet topped Rutgers-Camden, 2-0, in the first round and faced Dickinson in round two, topping the Red Devils for the third time in 2008 (1-0) to reach the sectional round.
In his 16 seasons as a head coach (previously at St. Mary’s of Maryland and Southwestern [Tx.]), Wagner’s players have included 11 All-Region selections, two Academic All-Americans, three Academic All-Region players, two conference Players of the Year, and two conference Rookies of the Year. One player led the NCAA in scoring and another, Swarthmore defender Jeff Kushner ’09, was named first-team NSCAA/adidas All-American. The Garnet excel off the field, earning selections to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America and All-District, to the Conference Academic Honor Roll, and the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Star team.
Click here for the complete list of coaches honored by the NSCAA.
The SPSCA presented Wagner with the Chris Jones Award at the organization’s 37th annual banquet in Horsham, Pa. on December 10. The award is named in honor of the late soccer coach who led Strath Haven High School to six PIAA state semifinal appearances and eventually became the head coach at Villanova University. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association was founded in 1969 and includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.