Eric Golz is entering his second season at the helm of Illinois State soccer. Golz was named the fourth head coach in ISU soccer history on January 16, 2015. During his first season in Normal, Golz led the Redbirds to a 6-10-2 record and a fourth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Golz arrived at Illinois State following three seasons at Maryland as the women's assistant soccer coach, where he helped a Terrapins' defense that gave up the fewest goals for the program in the last seven years. The 2014 season also marked the sixth-straight season in which Maryland notched a victory against a National College Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSCAA) national top-25 opponent. Throughout his 10 seasons as an assistant college coach, Golz demonstrated that his coaching ability made him one of the nation's top assistant coaches.
In addition to his collegiate experiences, Golz has significant experience as a head and assistant coach for both state and regional ODP (Olympic Development Program) programs, a variety of clubs, and also served as the head coach for a semi-professional franchise with the Iowa Rush in the Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL). As the head coach of the Rush, Golz ran all aspects of the team, including recruitment, training and fiscal management.
At Maryland, Golz was also the team's recruiting coordinator, where he put together three-straight top-25 recruiting classes. The Terps finished the 2012 season in second place of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which tied the highest conference finish in program history. During his three seasons at Maryland, Golz helped the team to two ACC Tournament appearances, including a conference championship berth in 2012, as well as one NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2012, the Terrapins were ranked No. 16 in the final NSCAA national poll, while Golz coached five All-ACC student-athletes during his tenure at Maryland.
Prior to Maryland, Golz was an assistant coach at Dayton, where he also served as the team's recruiting coordinator. In addition, he was responsible for coordinating scouting reports and designing and organizing training sessions for the Flyers. Under Golz's tutelage, the Flyers, which were ranked as high as No. 14 by the NSCAA during the season, won the Atlantic 10 Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Dayton finished the 2011 season with the 11th-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 2.52 goals per game.
Coaching at Maryland was not Golz's first time with the ACC or Big Ten conference, as he spent the 2009 season as an assistant coach at Clemson, where he also served as the recruiting and video coordinator. While with the Tigers, Golz created and implemented Team Desktop Recruiting Software, which allowed for more efficient organization and maintenance of contact with prospective student-athletes. Under Golz's coordination, the Tigers' 2011 recruiting class featured verbal commitments from players in each of the four regions of the United States.
Golz is also no stranger to the Midwest and the Big Ten, as he spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa. In his three seasons, he helped recruit three classes, which included eight Region II ODP members and one National Team player. Golz also served as the Hawkeyes' equipment coordinator and camp coordinator.
Golz spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, helping the Falcons to their first two NCAA tournament berths, thanks to back-to-back MAC tournament championships. He also served as Bowling Green's recruiting, academic and travel coordinator. Prior to working at BGSU, Golz spent a season as the assistant men's coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
A native of Wadsworth, Ohio, Golz was a standout goalkeeper at Grove City College and was an All-Presidents Athletic Conference selection. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance in 2002.
Golz holds a USSF "A" and USSF National Goalkeeping license, as well as a Level 1 Goalkeeping License from the NSCAA and has been a member of the USYSA Region II Olympic Development Program since 2004.
Golz and his wife Kailey reside in the Bloomington-Normal area.
