Mark Risbridger - Men's Soccer Coach (2024)

Mark Risbridger enters his sixth season with the Navy men’s soccer program in 2023, his second as the associate head coach on Tim O’Donohue’s staff.

Brought on as a volunteer assistant coach during the 2018 spring season for the Midshipmen, Risbridger was then named a full-time assistant coach in August of 2018, earning the promotion to associate head coach of the program on February 11, 2022.

With Risbridger helping guide the Mids, a storybook 2022 season was capped by Navy claiming its first Patriot League title and NCAA Tournament berth since 2013, as the Mids posted a 7-5-9 overall record and a 3-1-5 mark to earn their second-consecutive trip to the league tournament. Tallying three straight postseason shutouts to advance to and win the Patriot League Championship game, Navy then traveled to regional foe Georgetown in the NCAA First Round, where the Mids were able to keep even with the Hoyas until the second half.

Key to the 2022 team’s success was the defensive effort of the Mids, as the .793 team save percentage ranked second in the league and 17th nationally while a 0.895 team goals against average finished 29th in the NCAA. Navy also played a disciplined game, tallying the fourth-fewest yellow cards in the nation (19) and averaging 9.19 fouls per game to rank ninth-best in the country.

Individually, David Jackson became the first Navy player to win Patriot League Midfielder of the Year and joined JD Wagner on the All-Patriot League First Team, highlighting the Mids’ four all-league selections. Jackson and Wagner both earned All-Atlantic Region and All-ECAC honors as well, while Patriot League Tournament MVP Zach Wagner led a contingent of four Navy players named to the league’s all-tournament team.

During the 2021 season, Risbridger helped guide the Midshipmen to a 12-6-1 record while going 5-4-0 in the Patriot League, earning the Mids their second Patriot League Tournament berth in the last three seasons. Additionally, Navy earned its first victory in the league tournament since the 2013 season, a 1-0 win over Lehigh, earning a berth to the tournament semifinals.

Navy opened the season with a six-game unbeaten streak that included winning five-straight games, before ultimately starting another winning streak that resulted in coming away with four-straight victories.

The Mids proved to be one of the top offensive teams in the Patriot League, scoring 33 goals, their most since scoring 37 in 2013. Additionally, Navy produced one of the top defensive efforts in the country, tallying 10 shutouts along with allowing just 20 goals for an average of just 1.05 per game.

Matt Nocita and Jacob Williams were named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, respectively, with the influence of Risbridger. Nocita became the first Patriot League men’s soccer player to earn the award three times in their career while Williams garnered Offensive Player of the Year honors for the first time in his career.

Navy produced eight All-Patriot League selections, tied for the most in program history, along with being the third-straight season the Midshipmen tallied seven or more All-League honorees. To round out the 2021 season accolades, Nocita was selected seventh overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls, making the senior standout the highest-drafted player in program history along with being the highest-drafted men’s soccer player in Patriot League history.

During his third campaign with the program, Risbridger helped the Midshipmen to a record of 4-2-1 overall where the Midshipmen picked up four-straight wins to open the season. Navy also finished tied for second in the Patriot League South Division while compiling a record of 3-1-1 in the Patriot League.

In 2020-21, Navy had seven players be selected to the All-Patriot League Teams, as Matt Nocita and David Jackson highlighted the group. Nocita was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, while Jackson earned Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, which was the second time during Risbridger’s tenure that Navy produced the Rookie of the Year. Along with the seven all-leaguers, Risbridger helped coach four United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Atlantic selections, the first time in program history that the Midshipmen had back-to-back seasons of at least four all-region selections.

In his second year at Navy, Risbridger helped the Midshipmen win the third-most matches in program history after Navy compiled a record of 12-4-1 during the 2019 season. In league play, the Midshipmen finished at 5-3-1 for a third-place finish in the league. Risbridger also helped Navy to the best start in program history since 1964 with a record of 11-0-0 to start the year, which helped Navy extend their winning streak to 15 matches.

Risbridger helped coach seven All-Patriot League award winners, including Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Matt Nocita and first-team performer Jacob Williams. With Risbridger on the sideline, the Midshipmen also had a program-record five All-Region honorees.Navy placed in the top five nationally in shutout percentage, goals-against average, save percentage and shot accuracy.

During his first year on staff, Risbridger helped Navy to a record of 5-11-1 overall and a fifth-place finish in the Patriot League with a 4-5-0 record after winning the final four games of the regular season. He assisted in the coaching of Patriot League Rookie of the Year Jacob Williams and Third Team All-Patriot Leaguer Matt Nocita.

Risbridger was previously a member of the coaching staff at Division III Springfield College. He served as the associate head coach from 2016-17 after serving as an assistant coach from 2013-15, also serving as Springfield’s recruiting coordinator for all five seasons. Springfield was 15-1-3 in 2017 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round, as Risbridger helped Springfield to its first United Soccer Coaches top-15 ranking in program history at No. 12 on Oct. 24, 2017 and the program’s first NCAA Tournament win on Nov. 11, 2017 against Endicott College, 1-0. Risbridger also helped the Pride advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

Springfield won the NEWMAC Regular Season Championship in 2017 and the NEWMAC Tournament Championship in 2016, with the program also winning ECAC New England Championships in 2013 and 2015. Overall, Springfield had a record of 72-18-12 (.765) during Risbridger’s five years with the program.

Risbridger was a four-year starter at Division II Post University from 2009-12. He helped the Eagles earn their highest national ranking in program history at No. 5, as Risbridger was Post’s Student-Athlete of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2012. Risbridger was also a Southampton Football Club Academy Scholar during his youth in England.

Risbridger earned master’s degrees in business administration and sports management from Springfield College, while he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Post University in 2013.