Men's Soccer

Malcolm MacPherson is one of WPI's most successful coaches. In fact, success has followed him throughout his entire coaching career. In his 19 years at WPI, he has suffered only four losing seasons.

Entering 2011, MacPherson's overall record at WPI is now 167-128-18 for a stellar .562 winning percentage. When one includes his overall 28-year mark, which includes nine years at Fitchburg State, his record is an even more outstanding 275-166-33 for a .615 winning percentage. In those 28 seasons, MacPherson's teams have produced .500 or better records 24 times.

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.

Evan Holmes has been a fixture on the WPI sideline for 20 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 22 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.

The 2011 season marks Brian Kelley's third with the WPI men's soccer program.  Kelley brings a wealth of both playing and coaching experience to the WPI program.

Coach Kelley is the owner and president of East Coast Soccer, a company that runs camps, clinics, and tournaments, as well as a few club teams in soccer communities north of Boston.

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. 

Prior to 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 led 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.

Before venturing to Ohio, Kelley was 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 signed as a professional soccer player for the Reading Rage (Reading, PA) of the United Soccer League.  Reading was the “farm” team for the then NY Metro Stars, now known as the NY Red Bulls.  Kelley then took his skills abroad as he trained with Shelbourne F.C, (Dublin, Ireland) and played the 1997 and 1999 seasons for Verona F.C.

Coach Kelley is originally from Needham, MA and now resides in Newburyport, MA where he is an assistant to the Principal at Newburyport High School.

Bio Coming Soon