The Stony Brook Athletics family officially welcomed new head men's soccer coach Ryan Anatol during a reception in the Goldstein Center Friday. Anatol, named head coach on Feb. 18, comes to the Seawolves with 10 years of coaching experience at a high collegiate level.
In front of an audience of more than 50 people, including members of the men's soccer team, Anatol thanked the Stony Brook search committee, his family and his mentors for the opportunity he has been given. He then spoke about building a winning tradition at Stony Brook with the foundation being hard work on the field, off the field and in the classroom.
Anatol recently completed his sixth season as an assistant under head coach George Kiefer at USF, helping the Bulls to an impressive 74-33-18 (.664) record, five NCAA Tournament appearances and one BIG EAST championship. In a conference that has sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament in four of the last six seasons, the Bulls compiled a 36-18-10 (.641) mark in BIG EAST games during his tenure. Anatol helped guide the Bulls to the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the program's best-ever finish.
Anatol also served as USF's recruiting coordinator, helping bring in several top recruiting classes, all six of which were ranked in the top 25 in the nation, according to College Soccer News. Since his arrival at USF, the Bulls have had 23 All-BIG EAST selections, nine All-Region picks and two NSCAA All-Americans (Yohance Marshall and Jeff Attinella). Eight of Anatol's players have gone on to be drafted and/or currently play in Major League Soccer.
Anatol has garnered multiple honors for his efforts. He was named one of College Soccer News' Top Assistant Coaches for 2011, one of just 20 assistant coaches in the country to receive the honor. He also was one of only 12 assistants to receive the honor after the 2008 season. In 2009, he was named the NSCAA Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Glenn "Mooch" Myernick National Assistant Coach of the Year.
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In addition to his work on the field, Anatol has been a mentor to his student-athletes off the field, helping the Bulls earn the NSCAA Team Academic Award for four consecutive years from 2007-10. Two of his student-athletes, Zak Boggs and Francisco Aristeguieta, were named BIG EAST Scholar Athlete of the Year
Seawolves men's soccer coach brings 10 years of coaching experience to Long Island.
