Wayne State women’s soccer coach Bruce Erickson, who led the Wildcats to just its second winning record in the last 11 years this season, has resigned to become the new head coach at Division I Northern Iowa.
“We are extremely thankful to coach Erickson for his efforts in continuing to build a successful women’s soccer program here at Wayne State,” said Wayne State athletic director Mike Powicki. “Coach Erickson, along with assistant coach Joe Cleary, have made incredible strides forward and improvements during their two seasons on staff. Bruce is a true professional and I wish him a tremendous amount of success at UNI.”
Erickson coached at Wayne State for two seasons. The 2016 team finished with a record of 9-6-3 overall and 6-6-3 in the NSIC, marking just the second winning season in the last 11 years at Wayne State. The nine overall wins were the most for a Wildcat soccer team since 2006 and also marked a five-win improvement from the previous year and the six conference wins this season were the most at Wayne State since the 2005 campaign. Erickson’s record at Wayne State in two seasons was 13-17-6.
“I would like to thank Mr. Powicki for the opportunity to lead this program and for the support in making it successful again,” remarked coach Erickson. “I also want to thank Coach Cleary and our players for pouring all the effort into creating a winning culture that featured many firsts for the program. We accomplished a lot in two years’ time – winning nine games this year and more is on the horizon.”
Powicki added, “I could not be more excited about the current group of student-athletes we have returning, along with the caliber of new student-athletes who will be joining the program next fall. The talent and foundation are most definitely in place. I am confident our Wildcat Soccer program has a very bright future.”
Powicki said assistant coach Joe Cleary will take charge of all Wildcat women’s soccer operations during the interim process. The search for a new head women’s soccer coach will begin immediately.
