NIU soccer coach leaves for Oregon St.
DeKalb – After six seasons as Northern Illinois men’s soccer coach Steve Simmons has decided to go home.
Simmons has left NIU to take the same position at Oregon State. Simmons was an associate coach for two years from 2001-02 at OSU and has extensive West Coast coaching roots.
NIU was Simmons’ first Div. I coaching job and after posting a 3-13-2 in 2003, he built the Huskies into a perennial contender in the Mid American Conference.
“The cupboards are full for NIU right now,” Simmons said. “When I came here there were no cupboards.”
Simmons compiled a 59-47-14 record in his six seasons at NIUand won the MAC title in 2006. Simmons lasting imprint will be the 2006 team that won an NCAA Tournament home match 1-0 in overtime against Loyola before bowing out in the second round 1-0 at Indiana. NIU went undefeated at home in 2006 and spent the majority of the season in the National Rankings.
“2006 is 2006,” said Simmons, who collected the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2006 and won the MAC Gary V. Palmisano Coach of the Year Award in2004 and 2006. “Historically, it was a record-breaking year. It was the most wins in school history, we won the MAC title, Joe Zimka had a scoreless streak in the net and we went to the tournament.
“The statistics speak for themselves. The main piece that I will always value is the relationships I’ve built over the last six years.We’ve established a legacy at NIU that I will always be proud of.”
Simmons said he told his returning players of his decision to take the OSU job on Thursday.
“The early guys that helped to build the program bled just like the guys that came later,” Simmons said. “I think that was reflected in the results. It was a bitter-sweet conversation with the players but I am confident the NIU administration will maintain a wonderful soccer program.”
The OSU job had been vacant since June 3 when Dana Taylortook the same job at CalState Stanislaus after leading the Beavers for 10 seasons. It will be afamiliar scene for Simmons at OSU. The Beavers current Director of Athletics is Bob De Carolis who was the AD for men’s soccer team when Simmons was an OSUassociate coach.
For former Huskies goal keeper Joe Zimka, Simmons was dedicated a dedicated coach that built enduring relationships with his players.
“Steve was a good coach,” said Zimka who plans to finish his degree this spring. “He was the main guy I talked to through the recruiting process. As far as coaching what else can you say about Steve Simmons?
“He loved his players. He is an ambitious coach. He plans a path and follows that path. When we lost in the MAC Title game this year he came back into the back of the bus and just sat down and talked with the seniors for a half hour. We reminisced about the time we had together and laughed about the memories we shared.”
NIU will also have to fill an assistant coaching vacancy asKylie Stannard took the same post at Michigan State earlier this month.
NIU sophomore midfielder and former Sycamore standout Brad Horton said he was shocked at Simmons leaving, but understood why.
"He meant a lot to me. He's the basic reason I chose NIU," Horton said. "He's a great coach and the whole program will miss him."