Slippery Rock University director of athletics Paul Lueken announced that former University of Akron women’s soccer assistant coach Andy Hoggarth has been named the next head coach of The Rock men’s soccer program.
“We are very excited for Andy to become the next head coach of Rock men’s soccer,” said Lueken. “His past experience as a head coach and an assistant coach at the Division I level, along with his familiarity with coaches and recruits in our region will be a great benefit in maintaining the program’s success.”
Hoggarth will step into a good situation when he begins his duties, as Slippery Rock is the defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion and was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II playoffs last fall.
“I want to thank Paul, the administration at Slippery Rock and the search committee for putting their confidence in me to lead the men’s soccer program,” said Hoggarth. “I am looking forward to getting to work next week and helping the program continue to succeed.”
A native of England and a graduate of Northumbria University, Hoggarth spent last season as an assistant coach with the Akron women’s soccer team. Prior to that appointment, he served as the head coach of both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at nearby Thiel College for six seasons from 2007-12.
While at Thiel, Hoggarth vastly increased the roster size of both programs, increasing the men’s roster from 12 student-athletes to more than 30 and increasing the women’s roster from nine student-athletes to more than 30 as well. He also increased the winning percentage of both programs and the grade point average and retention of student-athletes.
At Thiel, Hoggarth also served as the co-chair of the physical education department, a role that saw him oversee the coaching minor and help with the development and delivery of the classes in the physical education major.
Before taking over at Thiel, Hoggarth spent two years from 2005-07 as the associate head coach and goalkeeper coach at Shenandoah University, where he also received a master’s degree in 2010 in education with a focus in health and physical education.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Hoggarth has spent the last two and a half years as the head coach of AFC Cleveland, a club team that plays in the National Premier Soccer League. There, he was tasked with the development and growth of the program, all coaching duties and marketing responsibilities.
Before coming to the United States, Hoggarth served as the health promoter and goalkeeper development officer for the Middlesbrough Football Club in Middlesbrough, England from 2003-05.
Slippery Rock finished the 2013 season with a 13-4-3 overall record. The Rock won their seventh PSAC title in program history. Slippery Rock has reached the PSAC final in each of the last two years and was ranked as high as No. 8 in the Division II national rankings last fall. Hoggarth is the 11th person tabbed to lead the Slippery Rock men’s soccer team in the program’s history, which dates back to 1929.