BYU Cougars men's soccer
The Stadium at South Field Provo, Utah | |||
Capacity | 4,200 | ||
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Head Coach | Brandon Gilliam | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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BYU Cougars men's soccer is an American
History
Men's soccer has had a presence at BYU dating back to 1955, when Carl and Harold Boden – two brothers who had recently moved from Germany to attend the school – placed an ad in the student newspaper and gathered enough players together to start a team. They joined the Utah Soccer League the following year, and began playing teams from around the state of the Utah. The university officially sanctioned soccer as a club sport in 1963.[1]
The team received a major boost in 1969 with the arrival of former Italian soccer star Bruno Gerzeli, who had 14 seasons of experience as a professional player in Europe and South America. Gerzeli had become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1966 while living in Canada, and moved to Utah shortly thereafter. His coaching helped BYU secure the Daynes Cup, the top soccer trophy in the state, in 1970. He also provided some international exposure by arranging for the team to take a 22-day tour of his native Italy in 1974. That same year BYU installed new coach Shavji “Jim” Dusara, who had served as head coach of the national soccer team of Tanzania during Olympic qualifying in 1968 and 1972. Dusara continued the trend of building BYU soccer with players from foreign countries, in addition to local talent from Utah and other parts of the United States. The team won the Daynes Cup for the second time in 1976.
The BYU men's soccer team officially joined the
With the end of NCAA competition, BYU's men's soccer team found significant success at the club level. The Cougars won national titles in 1993 and 1995 prior to moving to NIRSA. There, they continued to dominate the Collegiate Club Soccer Championships,[3] winning national titles in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001, including an unprecedented run of 30 straight victories at the Club National Championships.
In 2001, BYU participated in its first international tour as a club team. The Cougars traveled for 10 days throughout Europe, playing 6 games in Spain and the Netherlands. BYU compiled a 4-1-1 record, with games in Spain against
Paralleling their efforts to increase the level of competition, BYU left the collegiate club division of soccer, and purchased a franchise in the Premier Development League (now known as
In 2017, it was announced that the team would leave the PDL after 15 seasons to return to club status,[4] and the club finished the season with its sixth NIRSA National Championship.[5]
On November 23, 2019, the Cougars faced the 2014 National Champions Ohio State in the 2019 NIRSA National Championship. Ohio State and BYU whom are perennial power houses entered the match with a 18-1-0 record and a 16-1-0 record respectively. The Buckeyes took a 1–0 lead in the 8th minute, but the Cougars responded shortly after with a penalty kick in the 14th minute. The Cougars then made it 2–1 in the 24th minute of the match. In the 28th minute the Buckeyes were reduced to 10 men following a red card. The Cougars entered half-time with the 2–1 advantage. Although the Buckeyes were down a player, they kept the pressure on BYU for majority of the 2nd half. The Cougars defense made spectacular efforts to keep the game only 2–1, after weathering numerous set pieces from the Buckeyes. As the Buckeyes continued to push more numbers forward in search for an equalizer, BYU sealed the game in the 80th minute off a counterattack to make the game 3–1, and ultimately giving BYU their 7th National Championship.[6][7]
Honors
NIRSA
- 1996 National Champions
- 1997 National Champions
- 1998 National Champions
- 1999 National Champions
- 2001 National Champions
- 2017 National Champions
- 2019 National Champions
- 2021 National Champions
- 2022 National Champions
United Soccer League
- 2007 PDL Northwest Division Champions
Head coaches
- Bruno Gerzeli (1968–1974)
- Jim Dusara (1974–1987)
- David G. Woolley (1987–1995)
- Chris Watkins (1995–2015)
- Brandon Gilliam (2015–present)
Stadium
- The Stadium at South Field; Provo, Utah (1995–present) (40°14′49″N 111°39′18″W / 40.247°N 111.655°W)
References
- ^ https://www.utahsoccer.org/filemanager/sitefiles/history/HistoryOfSoccerInUtah.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "IT'S NOT EASY BEING AN ASPIRING SOCCER PLAYER IN UTAH THESE DAYS". DeseretNews.com. 1989-05-27. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
- ^ "Men's soccer to defend title at national tournament - The Daily Universe". The Daily Universe. 1998-11-17. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
- ^ "Cougars Return to Collegiate Club Status". BYU Athletics. September 14, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ "NIRSA 2019 Program Booklett" (PDF). NIRSA. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ "BYU claims victory with a 3-1 win over OSU in a fight to the finish for their 7th National Title". Official NIRSA Twitter Feed. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ "BYU men's soccer wins NIRSA Club National Championship". Vanquish The Foe. 23 November 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.