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Malcolm MacPherson |
Head Men's Soccer Coach mjm@wpi.edu 508-831-5841 |
Malcolm MacPherson is one of WPI's most successful coaches. In
fact, success has followed him throughout his entire coaching
career. In his 17 years at WPI, he has suffered only three losing
seasons.
MacPherson's overall record at WPI is now 152-111-16 for a stellar
.574 winning percentage. When one includes his overall 25-year
mark, which includes nine years at Fitchburg State, his record is
an even more outstanding 260-147-31 for a .629 winning percentage.
In those 25 seasons, MacPherson's teams have produced .500 or
better records 21 times.
The Engineers look to catapult from a season of improvement a
year ago, one that saw the Crimson and Gray tally five more
victories than the team had in 2007. In 2008, WPI narrowly missed
turning in an upset in the NEWMAC tournament, dropping a 1-0
decision to NCAA tournament participant MIT.
In 2006, The Crimson and Gray were ranked in New England and
finished with a 10-5-2 overall record, earning a coveted home match
in the NEWMAC Tournament. The year prior, WPI reached the NEWMAC
Tournament semifinals after going on the road and eliminating Coast
Guard in a dramatic penalty kick-shootout in the first round.
MacPherson will look very fondly back at a recent three-year stretch (2002-2004) when WPI went 38-16-1 for an impressive .700 winning percentage. In 2002, WPI finished with a record of 16-4 overall and as a finalist in the ECAC Division III New England postseason championships. The 16 wins smashed the old school record of 13 for most victories in a season and it marked the first time that WPI had won twice in postseason play. The #2-seeded WPI squad defeated Albertus Magnus (3-0) and UMass-Dartmouth (3-2) at home, before bowing to #1-seeded Roger Williams on the road.
In 2001 and 2002, MacPherson achieved milestone victories. In 2001, he won his 200th overall game with a comeback overtime victory at MIT. In 2002, his 100th victory at WPI came in a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Brandeis at home.
Other highlights at WPI include the 1992 season when that squad earned an NCAA post-season tournament berth, and in 1998 when that squad earned an ECAC post-season tournament berth.
MacPherson came to WPI from Fitchburg State, where he remains the winningest coach in Falcons' history. He led Fitchburg State to five postseason tourney berths in nine years, twice to the NCAA's and three times to the ECAC's.
MacPherson has also twice led his teams to conference titles -- in 1988 at Fitchburg State when it won the MASCAC crown, and in 1993 at WPI when it won the now-disbanded Constitution Athletic Conference.
Malcolm is a 1975 cum laude graduate of Keene State College, where he earned his B.S. in health and physical education and served as an assistant coach for two years. He lives in Jefferson, MA and teaches physical education classes at WPI.
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Evan Holmes |
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach |
Evan Holmes has been a fixture on the WPI sideline for 18 seasons. One of the longest tenured assistant coaches in any sport in the NEWMAC, Holmes was named the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2002.
Holmes has been on the staff with head coach Malcolm MacPherson for 20 years, including three at Fitchburg State. A former head coach at Division I Holy Cross, Holmes has also had coaching stints at Boston College, Clark and Holy Name High School in Worcester.
A holder of several USSF and NSCAA advanced licenses and diplomas, Holmes also has served as the WPI Soccer Camp Program Director since 2003.
In 2002, Holmes achieved notoriety when he was named an AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year as selected by a panel of judges from Scholastic Coach & Athlete Magazine. Holmes was honored prior to the Wheaton game, which WPI won 4-0. Wheaton was ranked #1 in New England and #6 in the nation at the time.
Holmes played professionally in the North American Soccer League and the American Soccer League after attending Division I power Hartwick. He continues to play soccer competitively in an over-50 league.
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Brian Kelley |
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach |
The 2009 season marks Brian Kelley's first with the WPI men's soccer program. Kelley is no stranger to the field as he brings a wealth of both playing and coaching experience.
Just before joining the Crimson and Gray Kelley created his own company, East Coast Soccer, where as the owner and president he ran camps, clinics, and club teams.
Kelley has also worked as the Director of Coaching and Player Development at the New England Soccer School. While there, Kelley helped the program expand from two teams to fifteen in three years. While working there Kelley also helped to create the New England Aztec, a team he later coached.
Before working at the New England Soccer School, Kelley coached both men's and women's soccer at The Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. Kelley left a legacy at Defiance as he lead the Women's team to their first ever winning season and the men to the conference finals in 2003 and 2004. Kelley was named the Heartland Conference coach of the year on the men's side in 2002 and in 2003 was given the honor for his work with the men's and women's teams. Kelley also served as the director of coaching at Defiance.
Before venturing to Ohio, Kelley had stints as an assistant Men's Soccer coach at Wheaton and as an assistant on the Men's and Women's Soccer teams at Muhlenberg College, his alma mater.
As a student, Kelley played for Muhlenberg's Men's soccer team
for four years and was once named a Centennial Conference
All-star. Kelley was also co-captain of the team that reached the
Division III Final Four in 1995. After graduating, Kelley took a
shot in the professional soccer realm as he played with Reading
Rage of the U.S Soccer League. Kelley then took his skills
abroad as he trained with the Shelbourne F.C and played the 1997
and 1999 seasons for the Verona F.C.







