 |
|
|
Marco
Koolman Marco Koolman, the 1993 Division II Coach of the Year, is entering his eighth season as head men's soccer coach at Franklin Pierce University. Since coming to Rindge, Koolman has instilled a possession-oriented philosophy that has put a great emphasis on team play, resembling that of the professional soccer ranks in Europe. The result has been a program that is regularly one of the elite in the Northeast-10 Conference and NCAA Tournament, earning National Runner-up honors in 2005. The Ravens have regularly been among national defensive leaders in NCAA Division II circles under Koolman's tenure. Franklin Pierce has finished atop national leaders in shutouts in 2004 & 2006, setting a program record with 16 clean sheets in 2004. The Ravens program record 0.44 team goals against average in '06 also led Division II, as did All-America James Thorpe with his 0.448 individual GAA.
Koolman was named the eighth coach in the program's history in May of 2000. He has led the Ravens to a 95-35-15 (.707) record in seven years, including a 66-18-7 (.764) mark in Northeast-10 Conference play. Franklin Pierce has captured back-to-back NE-10 regular season titles and completed the Conference double with its first tournament crown in 2006. The Ravens have earned four-straight NCAA Tournament bids and advanced to the Division II Final Four in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 2005. Franklin Pierce has captured three of the last four New England Regional championships, serving as host of the event in 2005 & 2006. The Ravens reached the Final Four for the second time in program history in 2005 where it reached the National Championship match for the first time before falling 3-1 to Fort Lewis (Colo.) University.
Koolman boasts a 169-64-21 (.707) career mark, which includes six successful seasons as head coach at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. He enters the 2007 season ranked 14th among Division II coaches all-time with his .707 career winning percentage, while his 169 career wins rank 43rd all-time in Division II. Koolman guided Franklin Pierce to its first No. 1 national ranking in the NSCAA/adidas Division II poll in the September 6, 2006, rankings and later reappeared in that spot on October 10, 2006. Koolman has been recognized by his peers for his efforts at Franklin Pierce. He has been named NSCAA/adidas New England Region Coach of the Year twice in the last three seasons (2004 & 2006) and he was voted Coach of the Year in the NE-10 in 2005.
Since joining Franklin Pierce, Koolman has produced 12 All-Americans, including a program-record four selections in 2006, 30 All-New England and 53 All-Northeast-10 selections. Christopher Joyce became the first men's soccer player in Franklin Pierce history to earn NSCAA/adidas Division II Player of the Year honors in 2005. Joyce is one of two NE-10 Players of the Year for Koolman. Another Koolman recruit, James Thorpe is the first three-time NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year in program history (2004-2006), while Bisharra Ettienne was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Conference in 2006. Koolman's Ravens have also performed in the classroom, with two collecting CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, including Peter Petropanagos - a first team seletion in 2006, and two earning NSCAA Scholar All-America plaudits. 11 Franklin Pierce men's soccer players have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors under Koolman's watch and six have collected NE-10 All-Academic honors since the Conference started the program in 2004. 12 Ravens have been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, five of which achieved Gold Scholar status.
Koolman has also had success placing his players in professional soccer. 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 2004 SuperDraft by the New England Revolution and appeared in 17 matches, with six starts, in his first MLS season, registering a goal and two assists. Brillant currently plays in Norway's first division for FK Sparta Sarpsborg. All-American Christopher Joyce was selected by FC Dallas in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft, but opted to sign a three-year contract with his current club Odd Grenland FK of the Norwegian Tippeligaen. He is currently on loan to Nybergsund IL of Norway's second division. Koolman enjoyed six winning seasons at Gannon University, his alma mater, from 1991-96. 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.
Koolman earned All-America status during his playing days at Gannon and still dots the University's record book. His 18 assists during his All-America season of 1988 still match the school record, and he ranks second in program history with 44 career assists (22nd in NCAA Division II history), while his 76 career points are good for 11th all-time. A native of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Koolman served as the director of soccer for the Family First Sports Park in Erie, Pa., for four years prior to taking over the Ravens helm. Koolman is a skilled clinician as co-director of the Franklin Pierce Co-ed Soccer Camp and Pro Soccer Motion camps and clinics. Koolman is an active member of the NSCAA, serving on the New England regional ranking committee as well as All-America coordinator for the region. He is also currently regional chair of the NCAA Division II Championship committee. Koolman and his wife, Lisa, reside in Bedford, N.H., with their children, Kelcey (14), MacKincey (12) and Caelan (10). Koolman's Klip
2000 Koolman led the Ravens back onto the national scene, as they posted an 11-6-2 record and returned to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 1998 last season. The team finished the regular season second in the Northeast-10 with an 11-2 mark - its highest finish since joining the Conference in 2000. The Ravens finished the season ranked third in the New England region and 19th in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll. Forward Lars Bakker and back Sean McCabe both earned All-America status in 2003, marking the first time in the program's NCAA era it has had two players earn All-America honors in the same season. In 2002, Koolman led the Ravens to a 10-5-4 overall record and No. 4-ranking in the final NSCAA/adidas New England Regional poll. Franklin Pierce advanced to the Northeast-10 semifinals for the third-straight season after opening with a road victory over No. 22-ranked Merrimack. Eventual NCAA Division II runners-up Southern New Hampshire University ended the Ravens run with a 3-1 victory in the semifinal round. Bjorgolfor Takefusa, a Koolman recruit from Reykjavik, Iceland, garnered second team All-America honors, while four players copped All-Region accolades, two earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and six were voted All-Northeast-10. In 2001, Koolman guided the Ravens to a 13-6 overall record and a No. 5-ranking in the final NSCAA/adidas New England Regional poll. The Ravens again advanced to the NE-10 Final Four after posting a 2-0 road victory over second-seeded and No. 23-ranked Southern New Hampshire in the quarterfinal round. He saw seven players earn All-Conference honors, four named All-New England and two earn Academic All-District and NSCAA Scholar All-America accolades. In fact, seniors Wolfgang Koschnitzki and Chris Schwarz were the only Division II student-athletes to earn spots on the Scholar All-America squads. They would later earn the College's Richard Burns Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Koschnitzki) and Walter Peterson Student-Athlete of the Year (Schwarz) honors.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
©2002 Franklin Pierce University |
Athletic Pages Maintained By: |
