HAVERFORD, Pa. – Haverford College men's soccer coach Shane Rineer has been named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year for Division III. Rineer is one of eight coaches recognized in Division III men's soccer after a historic 2015 season for the Fords.
Haverford broke the school record with 18 victories this fall, including a program-record 16 straight wins in a stretch that lasted over two months. Rineer and his staff led the Fords to the school's second Centennial Conference Championship in program history, both of which have come under his guidance. The Fords have also advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice under Rineer's watch. This season, the Fords earned a first round bye with the top seed in their bracket and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history with wins over Washington and Lee and St. Lawrence during the NCAA Tournament.
The Fords have played for the Centennial Conference Championship in four of Rineer's five seasons on the sidelines. The team has also earned the right to host the Centennial Conference Tournament by virtue of finishing with the best record in the Centennial Conference regular season standings during two of the past three seasons. The 2015 season saw Haverford go a perfect 9-0 in Centennial Conference action to become the first men's soccer team since 2006 to go unbeaten and untied in Centennial Conference play.
In addition to his own personal accolade as Centennial Conference Coach of the Year earlier this fall, Rineer coached the Centennial Conference Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Sam Yarosh, while Will Corkery was named the Centennial Conference Tournament MVP. Those two players were part of seven all-conference selections for the team that featured four first-team all-conference honorees.
Off the field, Rineer's team has been honored by the NSCAA with the Academic Team Award during each of his five seasons. In 2015, Haverford placed 12 of its players on the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Coaches named regional coaches of the year will also be on the ballot to be considered for the national coach of the year. Additionally, coaches that lead their teams to the NCAA semifinals who were not named a regional winner will be added to the national ballot. National Coaches of the Year will be announced during the 2015 NSCAA Coach of the Year Show on Wednesday, December 16.