Radford University Athletics

Marc Reeves completed his seventh season at the helm of the Highlanders, leading Radford to greater heights in 2016. For the second consecutive season, Radford finished with a 14-4-2 record, while capturing the Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championships. After collecting the third straight regular season title, Radford ended its 16-year absence as kings of the Big South, winning its first tournament championship since 2000 with a 1-0 decision over sixth seeded Longwood.
 
Punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, Radford dropped a 2-1 decision to former Big South foe Coastal Carolina. Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Radford fought back, limiting the Chanticleers to only one shot in the second half.
 
Under Reeve tutelage, Radford put together one of its best defensive seasons in program history. The Highlanders led the Big South with 10 shutouts, yielding only 13 goals total and two in league play. Radford ranked ninth nationally with a 0.63 goals against average and 13^th with a 0.50 shutout percentage. Finishing with a 0.824 save percentage to rank 10^th nationally as a team, Aitor Pouseu Blanco ranked 13^th nationally in the individual category. Pouseu Blanco also ranked 10^th in the country with a 0.611 goals against average.
Reeves was rewarded with his second Big South Coach of the Year honor as eight Highlanders earned All-Big South honors. Radford defensive backline of Jo Vetle Rimstad, Fraser Colmer and Bismark Amofah joined Pouseu Blanco on the first team. The trio also joined Pouseu Blanco on the All-Tournament team as Pouseu Blanco earned MVP honors.
 
Individually, Rimstad racked up several honors in the postseason. In addition to collecting Radford’s second consecutive Big South Defense Player of the Year award, Rimstad earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-South Region first team. The all-region honor was Rimstad’s first step to becoming Radford’s second NSCAA All-American in program history during the NCAA Division I era as Rimstad joined Olympian Dante Washington as the only two Highlanders to hold the honor. Adding to his NSCAA All-American third honor award, Rimstad was named to the NSCAA’s Scholar All-America First Team.
 
Rimstad capped off his already impressive postseason with hearing his named called in the 2017 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The D.C. United selected Rimstad with the 43^rd overall pick in the draft. The five-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week honoree aided Radford to 31 shutouts in his career.
 
Colmer became the sixth Big South Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of Year recipient in program history, including the second in last two years. Colmer earned a nod on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team, becoming only the third Highlander in program history to be named to the team. Colmer joined Rimstad on the NSCAA All-South Region squad with a third team nod.

The 2016 season saw the Highlanders receive its highest national ranking in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll with a ranking of 20th. Radford was ranked inside the Top 25 for three consecutive weeks during the season.

Reeves’ 2016 senior class capped of their careers with a 49-20-11 record over a four-year span, including a 24-4-5 record inside Cupp Stadium.



All of success of the 2016 season was built off the 2015 season in which the Highlanders finished with a 14-4-2 record, making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Radford received its first NCAA at-large bid in program history on the strength of its No. 20 RPI. The Highlanders finished the Big South schedule with a 7-1-1 record, securing a share of their sixth conference regular-season championship.
 
In the NCAA First Round, Radford dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 match to Charlotte. The 49ers broke a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 84^th minute. The NCAA tournament appearance marked the first appearance by the Highlanders since the 2000 season.

Reeves saw one of his most well-balanced teams in 2015, as the Highlanders were one of the top offensive threats in the country. RU led the Big South with 44 goals, ranking in the Top 20 nationally. Meanwhile, Radford's defense was just as impressive, only allowing four goals in Big South play—the lowest recorded in the league.
 
At the end of the season, six players earned All-Big South honors—five named to the first team, a program record. Daniel O’Keefe became the first Highlander to be named Big South Defensive Player of the Year, after anchoring the backline of a defense that finished with nine shutouts. Sivert Daehlie led the Highlanders and ranked second in the Big South with 13 goals. Daehlie ranked second nationally with seven game winning goals. He finished the season ranked inside the nation's Top-25 in goals, goals per game, points and points per game.
 
The Highlanders dominated the VaSID awards, sweeping all three major awards with five players earning all-state first team honors. Daehlie claimed the honor of becoming the first player to win both the Player and Rookie of the Year in VaSID All-State history. Furthermore, he was the Highlanders' first-ever player to be named VaSID Player of the Year. Reeves earned his first career VaSID Coach of the Year award, after putting together a stellar 2015 season.
 
The successful 2015 season was carried over from a strong 2014 season by Reeves’ Highlanders. Reeves earned 2014 Big South Coach of the Year honors, after RU posted a 12-5-3 overall record and an 8-1-0 mark in conference play. It was the fourth straight winning season for the Highlanders, which has not been done in nearly 20 years.

Radford earned a national ranking as high as No. 20 during the 2014 campaign and won seven straight games at one point, which at that time was the longest winning streak in the nation. The team also posted an 11-game unbeaten streak, which is the longest single-season streak as a member of the Big South in school history.

The Highlanders boasted nine players honored by the Big South in the postseason, and Jo Vetle Rimstad earned all-region honors. Aitor Pouseu Blanco was named VaSID Rookie of the Year for the state of Virginia.

Reeves continues to build a highly respected and formidable program. His 2013 finished 9-7-4 and set benchmarks in building the program at the same time. The Highlanders pushed to the Big South semifinals and fell to eventual champion and nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina, 3-2.

In 2012, Radford ran off its most impressive start to a Big South season in school history remaining unbeaten in its first seven contests (6-0-1), which included a scoreless tie against nationally-ranked High Point. The Highlanders finished the league slate 7-2-1 and earned the No. 2 seed in the league tournament.

Just like the previous seasons under Reeves, Radford made the most of its home pitch. RU finished 4-2-2 at Cupp, and along with leading the league in home attendance, the Highlanders are 16-6-5 at Cupp Stadium since Reeves took over in 2010.

Three RU players earned All-Big South honors with Bernardo Ulmo capturing first-team and all-academic accolades. Jo Vetle Rimstad earned both second-team and all-freshman honors, and Matt Janssen was named honorable mention.

The 2012 team placed five Highlanders with All-Big South honors, including first-team goalkeeper Ryan Taylor and Ulmo. Taylor and Ulmo also earned all-region and all-state honors, plus Scholar All-America accolades.

For the seventh straight year, and each of the four under Reeves, the Radford men's soccer team was named an NSCAA National Scholar Award.

The successes of the last two seasons follow 2011, where even though an impressive one-third of Radford’s regular season opponents (six teams) earned berths in the NCAA Tournament, including Elon (SoCon Champion, 5-1) and Stony Brook (America East Champion, 3-0), who the Highlanders defeated, Marc Reeves' second year at the helm of RU Men's Soccer concluded with the program's first winning season in the last four years.

Under Reeves' guidance, Radford bettered his first year’s production by two goals (32) as senior Iyiola Awosika and sophomore Luis Grande ranked among conference leaders in goals and total points.  In addition to his third all-league selection, Awosika finished his standout career ranked among the school’s all-time leaders in goals, total points and penalty kicks converted.

Fellow senior Aldo Macias and Grande joined Awosika on the all-league team earning second-team recognition, while Dario Redondo became the third (Grande, Bernardo Ulmo – 2010) under Reeves voted to the all-freshman team.

In his first season at the helm, Reeves guided the Highlander men’s soccer team to a feat that had never been accomplished in the program’s 35-year history. Along with ranking among National leaders in attendance, Reeves’ 2010 club posted the first undefeated mark at home in school history. Among those triumphs were three shutouts and a pair of five-goal performances against league competition.

Reeves’ first season as a collegiate head coach featured significant improvements from previous years in three major categories. Radford, which advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament, posted two more wins than the year before, its first winning campaign in conference play since 2006 and the most goals scored in eight years.

Individually, four Highlanders (Awosika, James Leith, Grande, Bernardo Ulmo) garnered all-conference honors, while Awosika and Leith also earned a spot on the all-state team.

Reeves’ program also excelled in the classroom, putting together the department’s second highest GPA while collecting their fifth straight NSCAA College Team Academic Award.

In addition to the efforts on the field and in the classroom, the Highlanders are very active on campus and in the area with a number of community service projects.

The seventh head coach in the Radford men’s soccer history, Reeves came to the New River Valley after 11 seasons at St. John’s, including the last four (2006-09) as the program’s associate head coach alongside Dr. Dave Masur.

The Gillingham Dorset, England, native has been part of an extraordinary run of success at the Queens, N.Y. school. The Red Storm reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 in eight of his ten seasons, including a national championship appearance in 2003, three trips to the national semifinals (2001, 2003, 2008), and four national quarterfinal appearances (2001, 2003, 2004, 2008).

In 2009, the Red Storm finished 9-3-9 (6-1-4, Big East), winning the Big East Tournament title with a penalty kick shootout win over Notre Dame on the way to a NCAA Tournament first-round bye.   St. John’s was ranked nationally as high as 14th in 2009.

Following a 19-3-3 campaign and an NCAA final four appearance in 2008, Reeves earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) East Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Reeves was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year by Aflac in 2002, a season after helping guide the Red Storm to the national semifinal game.

As a player with the Red Storm, Reeves was part of the 1998 squad that won the Big East Championship and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.

St. John's won three Big East tournament championships and racked up at least 10 wins in nine of the 11 seasons during Reeves' tenure. The Red Storm had a No. 1 ranking for five consecutive weeks in 2002 and a No. 2 ranking during the 2005 season.

In Reeves’ first season as associate head coach in 2006, he helped lead St. John’s in a ambassador tour to Vietnam that summer, becoming the first American sports team to visit the country following the Vietnam War.  Reeves and the St. John’s program took part in cultural experiences and lended volunteer work to impoverished areas while playing four games in Vietnam.

Before being promoted to the associate head coaches’ position, Reeves spent five seasons as Masur's top assistant, contributing in all aspects of the Red Storm program with an emphasis on recruiting, scouting and team preparation.

A midfielder for St. John's in 1998, Reeves went on to earn a masters degree in secondary education and began his coaching career in 1999. Prior to arriving at St. John's, Reeves graduated from Brunel University (Middlesex, England) in 1997 with an upper second degree in sports science.

Reeves has a USSF A National License and a NSCAA Advanced National Diploma.

Reeves and his wife Susanne have three children: Robert, Olivia and Jackson.

THE MARC REEVES FILE