Erik Ronning begins his fifth season at the helm of the Colgate University men’s soccer program.
He holds The John W. Beyer Endowed Coaching Chair, named for John Beyer, who coached the Colgate men’s soccer team from 1966-79.
In just four short years, Ronning has made Colgate a major contender in the Patriot League and has put the program on the national map.
Since his arrival in 2005, the Raiders have made the Patriot League Tournament all four seasons and won consecutive Patriot League Championships in 2007 and 2008. The Raiders 2007 Championship marked Colgate’s first title in 10 years, and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 41 years. In 2008, the Raiders won both the regular season Patriot League Title as well as the Tournament Title.
In his first year, Ronning made great strides with the program, guiding the team to its first Patriot League Tournament appearance since 1999. The Raiders had one of the best starts in history, going undefeated in their first five games. Posting a 9-7-3 overall record, six of the squad’s seven losses were by just a single goal.
Eclipsing the previous season, Colgate began the 2006 with a nine-game unbeaten streak, which included six shutouts. Ronning’s Raiders were one of the final three unbeaten teams in the country and the last team in the nation to allow a goal. The squad finished in the top 12 in three NCAA defensive statistical categories. Ronning helped put Colgate men’s soccer on the map as the squad appeared in the national rankings and earned a mention on ESPN.com. His players were honored by the NSCAA, the Patriot League, and multiple soccer news outlets.
The 2007 campaign is a season that Colgate soccer fans will not soon forget. After an undefeated season at Van Doren Field, Colgate advanced to the Patriot League Championship game after a shootout win over Bucknell in the semifinals. In the title tilt, Colgate defeated Lafayette, 1-0, and was selected to play South Florida in Tampa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite out-shooting the Bulls, the Raiders fell 2-1. Eric Anton (’08) and Dan Belke (’08) were named the Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively and Daniel Kerley (’09) became the program’s first ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American.
In 2008, the Raiders continued to excel in the Patriot League, becoming the regular season co-champions and earning the right to host the conference tournament as the #1 seed. The Raiders shutout Lafayette, 2-0, in the semifinals, advancing to the Championship game to face Holy Cross. In the Championship game, Alex Weekes (‘10) netted both goals as Colgate downed the Crusaders 2-1 to earn their second NCAA Tournament bid in as many years. The Raiders were selected to travel to Boston College for the first round, where they fell to the Eagles 2-0. David Cappuccio (‘09) was named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year and Kerley was honored with his second ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American selection.
A former Raider himself, Ronning was a four-year starter and team captain in 1996. He was named first-team all-Patriot League and team MVP his senior year. After graduation, Ronning worked as Colgate’s assistant coach from 1997-2001, where he was the primary recruiting coordinator. His recruiting efforts included five all-New York region selections, one Patriot League Rookie of the Year, and 10 all-Patriot League selections. The 1998 team earned a national ranking while the 1997 squad was both the Patriot League regular season and tournament champions and appeared in an NCAA play-in game.
In 2001, Ronning was hired as the Northwestern University men’s soccer assistant coach. In his four years with the Wildcats, Ronning moved up in the coaching ranks, becoming an associate coach under two-time NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year Tim Lenahan. He was an essential part of Northwestern’s success in putting them on the radar in the national picture.
After finishing the 2000 and 2001 seasons with a combined 1-30-4 record, the Wildcats improved leaps and bounds. In 2004, the school earned its first top 25 national ranking with a 15-6-2 record. The squad set school records for most wins in a season, most conference victories, highest regular season finish in the Big Ten and reached the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wildcats made their first NCAA Tournament appearance and were the only first-year team to advance to the second round of the tournament.
With responsibilities including field coaching, player development, opponent scouting and game preparation, as well as recruitment of prospective student-athletes, Ronning was recognized by College Soccer News as one of the top assistant coaches in the country in both 2002 and 2004.
Outside of collegiate soccer, Ronning has been the head coach of the Sockers FC Chicago, a highly competitive elite boys soccer club for two years. He has also been a member of the USYSA Region II Olympic Development Program staff and a scout for the Adidas Elite Soccer Program (ESP). Ronning also coached the New York State West Olympic Development under-17, under-15 and under-14 teams from 1999-2001.
He holds an NSCAA Advanced National diploma as well as a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) ‘A’ coaching license.
