OWU coach Jay Martin celebrates NCAA D-III Championship with team. Photo by John Albright for OWU
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College Soccer News: Ohio Wesleyan University Men’s Soccer Coach Posts Record-Setting 608th Career Victory
Jay Martin Directs Battling Bishops to NCAA D-III National Championship Game Win
The Ohio Wesleyan University men’s soccer team's 2-1 win over Calvin College on December 3 did more than give the OWU Battling Bishops their second NCAA Division III national championship. It marked the 608th career victory for Battling Bishop head coach Jay Martin, making him the all-time leader in victories by a college men’s soccer coach.
Martin, in his 35th season at Ohio Wesleyan, surpasses Joe Bean, who compiled 607 wins at Quinnipiac, Bridgeport, and Wheaton (Ill.) from 1962-2006, as the winningest coach in college men’s soccer history.
“It means I’m old, it means I’ve been coaching a long time, it means that there have been great players at Ohio Wesleyan over the 35 years I’ve been here,” Martin said. “I’m proud that I’ve done something that no one else has, and that’s kind of cool.”
On the 2011 season, Martin explained, "At this point of my career, I measure a successful season by how much fun I've had coaching, and I've had more fun with this group than any in the past 10-15 years. I didn't want this season to end."
Early in his career Martin was director of sport at the Munich, Germany, YMCA and athletics director for American International University at Düsseldorf. He joined OWU in 1976 and has led the Bishops to a 608-115-49 record over his 35 years. Under his direction, OWU has won 12 regional titles, set an NCAA record 18 consecutive D-III tournament berths from 1978-1995 and now a second D-III championship, the first coming in 1998.
Under Martin’s tenure, the Bishops have reached the NCAA D-III semifinals eight times and the championship game four times now. OWU has posted nearly 60 playoff victories in NCAA D-III action. This season the Bishops extended their unbeaten streak in the North Coast Athletic Conference to 40 games, winning the conference for the fourth straight year and 20th in 28 seasons.
During his coaching career, Martin has been named Regional Coach of the Year 15 times and NSCAA National Coach of the Year twice (1991 and 1998). He received the Ohio Collegiate Association’s Honor Award in 2000, only the fourth time it had been presented, and the National soccer Coaches Association of America’s Honor Award in 2007.
Senior back Andrew Miller (Medina, Ohio), a Bishop co-captains this season, said: “It’s something we could foresee the potential of reaching. (Jay’s) done so much for us the last four years, to be able to give this back to him is just fantastic.”
“I don't think you could write a better ending than this,” said senior forward Travis Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington, Ohio), who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player – Offense.
The Battling Bishops defeated Montclair State University, 4-1, in the semifinals on Dec. 2 and then defeated Calvin College in the championship game. The win also showed the determination and perseverance of the team, who had most of their belongings stolen from team vans shortly after arriving in San Antonio, which hosted the Division III tournament.
“My message to our guys is all that stuff is material, and they will get it back eventually,” Martin told reporters. “But this experience is something they will have forever one way or the other.”
Ohio Wesleyan University 2011 Roster
| No. |
Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| 0 |
Steve Gobel* |
Sr. |
G |
Wilbraham, MA/Loomis Chaffee (CT) |
| 00 |
Zach khalifa |
So. |
G |
Glen Echo, MD/Walt Whitman |
| 1 |
Paul Hendricks* |
Jr. |
G |
Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne |
| 2 |
Martin Tobias* |
So. |
B |
Chesterfield, MO/Whitfield School |
| 3 |
Dylan Stone* |
Sr. |
M |
Easton, CT/Barlow |
| 4 |
Andrew Miller* |
Sr. |
B |
Medina/Medina |
| 5 |
Jacob Eganhouse |
So. |
M |
Westerville/St. Francis deSales |
| 6 |
Ian O'Keefe* |
So. |
M |
Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne |
| 7 |
Ben Witkoff* |
So. |
B |
Columbus/Gahanna Lincoln |
| 8 |
Scott St. Cyr* |
Jr. |
B |
Yardley, PA/Barlow (CT) |
| 10 |
Matt Bonfini* |
Sr. |
F |
Dublin/Coffman |
| 13 |
Tevon Levien* |
Sr. |
M |
Lower Valley, Cayman Islands/Chesire (CT) |
| 14 |
Colton Bloecher |
Fr. |
M |
Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange |
| 15 |
Kit North |
Jr. |
B |
Powell/Bishop Watterson |
| 16 |
Mason Hoge |
Fr. |
B |
Mason/Mason |
| 17 |
Travis Wall* |
Sr. |
F |
Columbus/Upper Arlington |
| 18 |
Joe Beshara |
So. |
F |
Troy, MI/Troy |
| 19 |
Jon Stegner* |
So. |
M |
Powell/Olentangy Liberty |
| 20 |
Matt Dodrill* |
So. |
M |
Westerville/North |
| 21 |
Alex Stanton* |
So. |
B |
Delaware/Hayes |
| 22 |
Tyler Bryant* |
Sr. |
F |
Chillicothe/Unioto |
| 23 |
Matt Shadoan* |
So. |
M |
Dublin/Scioto |
| 24 |
Paolo Bucci* |
So. |
M |
Dublin/Bishop Watterson |
| 25 |
Drew Pang |
Fr. |
M |
Dublin/Coffman |
| 26 |
Peter Jacobi* |
So. |
B |
St. Louis, MO/Whitfield School |
| 27 |
Raphi Fratkin* |
Sr. |
F |
Boulder, CO/Fairview |
*Lettermen
Head Coach: Jay Martin
Assistants: Brandon Bianco, Drew Kaszubski
Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities, with more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Located in Delaware, Ohio, just minutes north of Ohio’s capital and largest city, Columbus, the university combines a globally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that translate classroom theory into real-world practice. OWU’s close-knit community of 1,850 students represents 47 states and 57 countries. Ohio Wesleyan was named to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction, is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” and is included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.
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