Roberts, Feldman Ranked Among Top 10
July 22, 1999 | Women's Soccer
According to statistics compiled by the NCAA, Terrier men?s soccer coach Neil Roberts and women?s coach Nancy Feldman rank among the nation?s top Division 1 soccer coaches both in terms of wins and winning percentage. Entering the 1999 season, Roberts, who will be entering his 15th season at the helm, has compiled an overall record of 185-68-34 for a .704 winning percentage. In the meantime, Feldman is entering her fifth year at B.U. with a 47-22-5 record, while her overall head-coaching mark is 139-43-12 for a .747 winning percentage.
Roberts? winning percentage ranks 10th among the active Division 1 coaches. He is only five percentage points behind Mitch Murray, who has guided the University of Santa Clara to an eight-year record of 105-39-14 for a .709 winning percentage. Currently holding the top spot is Indiana?s Jerry Yeagley, who has led the Hoosiers to a 26-year record of 457-80-37 for an .828 winning percentage.
In order to be ranked, a coach has to have had at least five years as a Division 1 head coach and only victories at a four-year institution are factored into the record.
Roberts is also ranked among the top coaches in all-time winning percentage and total wins among active coaches.
In the former, his .704 percentage is 25th among all Division 1 coaches all-time. In the latter, his 185 wins rank 37th, just one victory behind Dave Masur of St. John?s University of New York and Ray O?Connell of Loyola University of Baltimore, who are tied for 35th.
?Certainly, it?s an honor to be ranked among the top all-time coaches,? said Roberts. ?It wouldn?t have been possible, though, without outstanding players.
?From my first season of 1984, we have had terrific players who have had a passion for soccer. They are the reason for all those wins.?
Based on the criteria of a ?minimum of five years as a four-year college coach but less than five years at Division 1 level,? Feldman ranks seventh in winning percentage with a .747, while she is tied with Baylor?s Nick Cowell for sixth in total wins with 139.
Entering her fifth season at B.U. and 12th overall as a head coach, Feldman spent the first seven years of her career at Division III. She was at Lake Forest College in Illinois for two years and compiled a 17-10-2 record. She then moved to Plymouth (NH) State College for five years, and her teams amassed a 75-11-5 record. Then, in March 1995, she came to B.U. to build a program that had previously competed on a club level.
After this season, Feldman will fall into a different category?minimum of five years as a Division 1 head coach; includes all victories at a four-year institution.?
Even in this new category, the veteran B.U. coach would still rank among the most successful coaches. Based on her statistics entering this season, her winning percentage would tie her for sixth, while her win total would place her 18th.
?It feels good to have been in the coaching profession long enough to be ranked among the top coaches in the country,? said Feldman. ?I have also been very fortunate to have been at outstanding institutions that have been very supportive of women?s soccer.
?I would not have been this successful, though, if it hadn?t been for outstanding players,? concluded the coach, ?and I have some very fond memories of the wonderful players I have had over the years.?
