Marauder Athletics
as
 Head Men's Soccer Coach - Steve Widdowson

 

E -Mail Coach Widdowson

Steve Widdowson enters his second year as Marauder head coach looking to capitalize on the success achieved during his first season.

After replacing Bob Charles, who led the Marauders for 21 seasons, Widdowson posted an impressive 11-8-1 record and third-place finish in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The program clinched a spot in the PSAC playoffs for the first time in four years and Widdowson was named the PSAC Coach of the Year for his role in the surprising turnaround. The Marauders had finished 3-12-3 the year before.

Widdowson is originally from near Sheffield in England. He began his illustrious playing career at the age of 15 when he joined Barnsley Professional Football Club of the English Championship. Steve was a member of the three- time championship winning U19 Northern Intermediate League team and at the age of 18 became the starting goalkeeper for the professional reserve team and the back up keeper for first team, competing against some of the top clubs in England such as Bolton, Birmingham, Nottingham Forest and Leicester.

In 1994 Widdowson made the move to the U.S. to play Division I collegiate soccer at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., a nationally ranked top 10 program. At Rutgers, Widdowson was recognized as a Regional All-American and First Team All–State selection and was the team captain in 1995-1996. He led his team to the Atlantic 10 and Big East Conference Championships as well as an appearance in the NCAA Division I Final Four in his freshman year. To this day, Widdowson holds the all time school record for starts in a single season (27 in 1994) as well as being 2nd all time in saves, 3rd all time in games played as a goalkeeper and 5th all time in shutouts. Widdowson also holds the school home-field record for combined saves in a game tallying 14 out of 22 saves verses Indiana on 9/8/95.

After graduation from Rutgers, Widdowson continued his playing career by playing professionally for five years in the USL Division II. He played with the Central Jersey Riptide conference winning side of 1998, the NJ Stallions in 1999 and then spent three years with the Reading Rage, leading the team as captain in 2001-02.

Widdowson’s coaching career began immediately after graduating from Rutgers in 1997 when he took over the position of Head Men’s Coach at Centenary College, Hackettstown NJ, an NCAA Division III school. In just his second year, Coach Widdowson guided the team to a National Championship appearance in the National Small College Athletic Association National Championships and a top 5 regional ranking. Widdowson spent three years at Centenary College before moving to York College of PA where he served for five years as an Assistant Coach for the Men’s team. During this time, the York team was runners up in the CAC Conference Championships in 2003 and 2004 before winning the Championship in 2005. That same year, the program made their first ever NCAA tournament appearance as well as breaking into the National top 10 rankings, the first time the program had ever been nationally ranked. 

In 2004 Widdowson was named as an assistant coach for the newly formed Harrisburg City Islanders professional soccer team of the USL. In the first two years of the franchise the team reached the league playoffs with records of 10-7-3 and 12-3-5. As well as being the team assistant coach, Widdowson is also responsible for working with the professional goalkeepers and in 2005, the Islanders starting goalkeeper evolved into one of the league’s most successful keepers, posting a remarkable 10-0-1 record and 0.98 goals against average. In 2007 Widdowson helped guide the City Islanders to the USL Division II Championship by defeating the defending champion Richmond Kickers.

Coach Widdowson also has an MBA and has earned a USSF ‘B’ and NSCAA ‘Advanced National’ License, as well as an NCAA Level II Goalkeeping Diploma.
 

Widdowson's Record
Millersville Unversity
Year
Record
Pct.
 Conf. Finish
2007
11-8-1
.575
 10-5-1 PSAC East (3rd)
Totals
11-8-1
.575
  

Assistant Coach - Mack Jones

Assistant Coach - Steve Small