Chris McLain returns for his fifth season as assistant coach of the Colgate women’s soccer program.
Since joining the Raiders, they have strung together a 48-26-4 record. They’ve made the Patriot League Tournament three times, winning in 2004 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. It was there that the Raiders upset No. 17 Arizona, to give Colgate its first victory in the NCAAs.
McLain has helped raise the level of talent on the field since becoming the first assistant. The Class of 2012 has been labeled the best class in the Patriot League by Soccer Buzz, ranked No. 4 in the Northeast and ranked No. 67 in the nation. All are the highest rankings in program history.
This past spring, McLain was invited to join the national staff and the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team for training camp in Sunrise, Fla. Highlighting the camp was a couple of scrimmages against the U.S. Under-17 team, which is preparing for the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup this summer.
He is involved with all aspects of the program including practice preparation, recruiting and scouting. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program. McLain holds the Advance National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and a United States Soccer Federation “A” license.
He played college soccer at UMASS-Boston and Eastern Nazarene College. After college, he continued to play semi-professionally with LASA powerhouse Portuguese Sports. McLain also acted as the assistant men’s soccer coach at University of New England from 1999-2002 and then become head women’s soccer coach at his alma mater Eastern Nazarene from 2002-04. He led the Crusaders to their most successful season in 2004, setting a school record in wins in a season.
In addition to working at Colgate, McLain is a staff coach for the New York State West Olympic Development Program and is on the regional staff of the Region 1 ODP.
McLain is also the founder and coaching director of the Odyssey Sport Soccer Club. Odyssey has grown to over 210 players in its first three years of existence. He currently coaches the U16 Odyssey Thunderbolts and the U13 Odyssey Fury teams.
McLain and his wife Claire reside in Oneida with their two newborns, Maeghan and Gavin.
- updated Summer 2008
