Villanova Men's Soccer Program and Camps

Eric Wagner

Head Coach, Swarthmore Men's Soccer

In the six seasons he has been with the Garnet, Wagner's program at Swarthmore has taken off. In 2007, Swarthmore won the program's first-ever Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship, defeating Frostburg State 3-2 in the final. The Garnet have seen ECAC tournament play for the past four consecutive years. Last season's final record and winning percentage, 14-3-3 (.775), were the best for the team since 1966 when the Garnet finished 9-1-1 (.864). In 20 years of coaching college soccer, Wagner's reputation as a top-notch recruiter and developer of talented young players has turned three college teams into nationally competitive programs. Emphasizing intelligent, creative play, an honest work ethic, and hard-nosed defending, the Garnet has improved each season under his guidance. Defensive tenacity and discipline has paid off, as Swarthmore has gone 50-21-9 over the past four seasons. The Garnet squad, featuring four All-Conference players, four members of the Conference Academic Honor Roll, and two Mid-Atlantic All-Region players, finished ranked in the top 10 in the mid-Atlantic Region, and earned the top seed in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship tournament in 2007. During 15 years as a head coach, Wagner's players have included eight regional All-Americans, two Academic All-Americans, three Academic All-Region players, two conference Players of the Year, and two conference Rookies of the Year. Four have played in the Premier Development League, and one played in the Pro Select League, after leading the NCAA in scoring his senior season. Wagner earned his B.A. from Connecticut College, and his Master's Degree from Temple University. He has coached at seven different colleges, including three as head coach and two - Duke University and the University of Notre Dame - at the Division I level. In his five years at St. Mary's College (Md.), Wagner won more games than any coach in the program's history. Wagner earned the Advanced National Diploma from the NSCAA in recent years. Always active in the global soccer community, Wagner runs clinics year-round, and has served on the coaching staffs of four state Olympic Development Programs. Wagner's playing career includes four years of Division III college soccer, one year with Heidelberger Sport Club in Heidelberg, Germany, two seasons in North Carolina ('92 N.C. State Champs), a year of semi-pro in the Connecticut Soccer League, and two years in Austin, Texas.