E-mail this pageMeet the Men's Soccer Staff
Chris Waterbury, Head Coach
The 2008 season marks the 24th year for head men's soccer coach Chris Waterbury on the Plattsburgh State bench. He has directed the Cardinals to 20 straight winning seasons while averaging 15 wins during that stretch, seven NCAA tournament appearances, six State University of New York Athletic Conference titles and two Eastern College Athletic Conference championships. Over the last 10 years, the Cardinals' 158-40-13 record is the best in the state of New York among all four-year colleges.
Waterbury has compiled a 320-100-39 record (.740) in 23 years with the Cardinals, making him the winningest coach in the program's storied history. A six-time SUNYAC Coach of the Year (1990-92-98-99-2003-05), he owns a 26-year career ledger of 344-118-43 (.724) that includes stops at Plattsburgh, Lyndon State (1983-84) and New England College (1982), making him 14th on the victories list for active NCAA Division III coaches. He has coached scores of all-conference and -region selections as well as 10 players who have earned All-America accolades 12 times, including Jason Sousa who is the program's only three-time All-American.
Waterbury had arguably his best defensive squad a year ago when the Cardinals led the nation for the fewest goals allowed (4), goals-against average (0.19), shutout percentage (0.90) and was second in save percentage (.931). The team set school single-season records for those categories, plus 18 shutouts. Junior John San Filippo was an All-America goalkeeper and John LoGuirato and Bart Misiak were all-region defenders on the back line. Plattsburgh advanced to the SUNYAC Tournament championship game and ended the season with eight consecutive shutouts--one shy of another school benchmark.
In 2006, Plattsburgh (15-3-2) made its 16th consecutive postseason appearance by reaching the
SUNYAC Semifinals. The Cardinals started the year No. 4 in the Top 25 coaches' poll, their highest preseason ranking ever. Senior all-America back Claudio Dias was selected by the Montreal Impact as the No. 13 overall pick in the United Soccer Leagues First Division College Player Draft. Plattsburgh dominated the SUNYAC postseason awards with six all-league selections, including conference rookie of the year John LoGuirato. Waterbury earned his 300th win at the school after a 5-0 shutout of New Paltz at home on Oct. 7, 2006.
Waterbury and the Cardinals continued their winning ways with a record-breaking season in 2005. Plattsburgh captured both the SUNYAC regular-season and tournament championships, advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals where it lost to eventual national champion Messiah and ended with a No. 4 national ranking. The program set school records for victories (22-2), winning streak (17 games) and shutouts (15). For his efforts, Waterbury was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year.
Active in the community and college, Waterbury has organized community-service projects for the team, directed soccer camps and served as an assistant director of athletics at Plattsburgh. A 1981 undergraduate of SUNY Cortland with a bachelor's degree in physical education and emphasis in coaching, Waterbury earned a master's degree in education from SUNY Albany in 1985. He holds both the Premier and Advanced National Coaching Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), of which he is a member of that organization.
Waterbury is married to the former Karen Wiley of Binghamton, N.Y., who is the women's soccer coach at Plattsburgh State. The couple has two children: daughter Bailey (14) and son Ryan (11).
Geoff Spear, Assistant Coach
Geoff Spear returns for his 13th season of a second stint as the top assistant on Chris Waterbury's coaching staff. Spear is involved with all aspects of the Cardinals program, and is primarily responsible for goalkeepers' training.
Spear developed Zach Manning and John San Filippo into all-State University of New York Athletic Conference goalies in each of the last three seasons. San Filippo led SUNYAC and ranked 16th in NCAA Division III with a 0.53 goals-against average en route to all-region accolades in 2006, and then he led the nation with 0.20 GAA while making the D3kicks All-America Second Team last season. In 2005, Manning finished in the SUNYAC top four in GAA, minutes played and save percentage while earning all-conference and SUNYAC tournament MVP honors for the first time.
During his first tour of duty at Plattsburgh State, Spear was an assistant to Waterbury from 1994-97, helping the Cardinals to a 61-14-2 mark during that span. Then Spear left for Paul Smith's (N.Y.) College in 1998 before he returned to his alma mater for the start of the 2000 season.
Spear had a 14-15-2 record in two years at Paul Smith's as the Bobcats' men's coach and soccer coordinator. Prior to his first stint at Plattsburgh, Spear was a men's soccer assistant coach at perennial power Connecticut from 1990-94, serving in all aspects of recruiting and training of a NCAA Division I program.
Spear was also the women's soccer coach at Clinton Community College in 1988 and posted a 7-7 record. In 1989, he led the men's team to a 10-5-1 record and a junior college regional playoff berth.
In addition to coaching, Spear has served as a state evaluator for the Olympic Development Program from 1996 to 1998. He holds an Advanced National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and a Level B coaching license from the U.S. Soccer Federation.
After his Plattsburgh graduation in 1985, Spear earned a master's degree in physical education from Springfield (Mass.) College.
Contact Information
For more information about Men's Soccer at Plattsburgh State, please contact:
Coach Chris Waterbury
Phone: (518) 564-4142
E-mail: waterbcp@plattsburgh.edu