Millersville University Men's Soccer - Widdowson nabs PSAC Coach of the Year honors

Nov. 6, 2007 – Millersville University men’s soccer coach Steve Widdowson, who just completed his first season at the helm, was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Coach of the Year today after guiding the Marauders to their first conference playoff berth since 2004.

Widdowson, a native of Sheffield, England, helped turn around a squad that was picked to finish sixth in the league by coaches and finished the 2006 season with a 3-12-3 overall record. Millersville finished the 2007 season with an 11-8-1 (10-5-1 PSAC) overall record, the Marauder’s best showing since they finished 13-6 in 2003.

Widdowson had the most successful first season of any MU men’s soccer coach in program’s 47-year history. Bob Charles, Widdowson’s immediate predecessor and 21-year MU head coach, had the second-best showing in going 5-6-1 in 1986. Charles won PSAC Coach of the Year honors in 1988, 1990, 1998 and 2002.

Widdowson began his professional playing career at age 15 when he joined the Barnsley Professional Football Club of the English Championship.
He played professionally for years before moving to the United States in 1994 to play goalkeeper at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., then ranked in the top 10 nationally. Widdowson was named team captain in 1995-96, received All-American Regional honors and is ranked second all-time in saves at Rutgers.

He played professionally for five years in USL Division II before spending three years as head coach at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J., a Division III school. He served for five years as an assistant coach at York College in Pennsylvania. In 2004, Widdowson was named an assistant coach for the Harrisburg City Islanders pro soccer team.