Pat Farrell enters his 29th season at the helm of the La Salle men's soccer program in 2015. Farrell became La Salle's winningest coach on Sept. 11, 2004, with a 4-0 shutout of crosstown rival Drexel to surpass longtime coach Bill Wilkinson.
Farrell has guided the Explorers to five consecutive Atlantic 10 Tournament appearances from 2010-2014, reaching the championship game in 2010 and the semifinal round in 2011.
In 2013, Farrell led the Blue and Gold to a win over Dayton as the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament and coached Jason Plumhoff to the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year award.
The 2011 Soccer Six Co-Coach of the Year mentored four Atlantic 10 All-Conference selections and one Atlantic 10 All-Rookie pick as the team went 4-2-3 in conference play and earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Farrell's squad also saw academic success, including Nick Dundon's second Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America nod. Dundon was also the Soccer Six Academic Player of the Year and earned Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference honors.
Farrell's 2010 squad had a banner season. The 2010 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year guided the Explorers to second place in the Atlantic 10 regular season standings, a No. 2 seed and first-round bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and an appearance in the conference's title game. His squad went 9-7-3 overall, and turned on the heat in the conference season with a 6-2-1 league record. Farrell's team featured a stingy defense that posted eight shutouts in 2010. Two of those shutouts came in the last weekend of the regular season as the Explorers clinched an A-10 playoff berth with a 3-0 win over Xavier and then clinched the two-seed with a 1-0 win over Dayton on Senior Day. Farrell's squad made it three straight shutouts as they bested defending champion Saint Louis 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 semifinal game.
Farrell guided his players to a number of prestigious individual awards. NSCAA All-American and 2011 Philadelphia Union signee Ryan Richter was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year, and earned the Atlantic 10 Sportsmanship Award in addition to the Soccer Six Player of the Year title. Richter led the Atlantic 10 and Soccer Six in scoring with 14 goals and two assists for 30 points. Eight of those 30 points came in the final weekend of the regular season as he recorded a hat trick in the team's 3-0 win over Xavier and netted the game winner in the 1-0 win over Dayton. Junior defender Dan Korenyi earned Atlantic 10 Second Team honors and two freshmen - goalkeeper John McCarthy and forward Jidell Roach - picked up Atlantic 10 All-Rookie accolades. As a rookie, McCarthy boasted the league's best save percentage (.841) and was the league leader in saves (95).
Farrell's squad also picked up a number of prestigious academic awards, including two NSCAA Academic All-America citations for Richter and Nick Dundon. Dundon also earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team honors and the duo earned Academic All-District First team accolades. Both were also tabbed Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference.
In 2009, Farrell led his team through the season and had exceptional accomplishments, both individually and as a team. Team member Ryan Richter was recognized as the Soccer 6 Player of the Year and was named to both the Academic All-Region Team as well as the NSCAA Scholar East Region Team. Team member Jeff Pio was noted as the Soccer 6 Rookie of the Year. Two team members - Pio and Glenroy Chapman - were recognized on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. In addition to the accomplishments of his players individually; Farrell's team won the City of Pittsburgh Invitational with a 4-0 shutout of Robert Morris and a 2-0 upset of Big East team Pittsburgh. The team also beat conference- and Soccer 6 rival Temple 1-0 in double overtime.
Farrell's 2008 squad posted a big home upset over #20 Charlotte by rallying back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2. His team boasted many academic accomplishments, including earning the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the second straight year after posting a team GPA at least 3.0. Individually, senior goalie Andrew Bernhard - La Salle's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year - was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team and the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team. Senior defender Jim Davis finished his career in the top 10 for career assists and was a Soccer Seven All-Star. Bernhard and Davis also earned recognition as NSCAA/Adidas East Region Scholars.
In 2007, Farrell coached some of the best and brightest student-athletes at La Salle including two prestigious award-winners: a John McShain winner- given to a graduating senior who has an excellent academic record and has done the most for public welfare at La Salle, along with a George C. Marshall winner- given to the most outstanding cadet in the Army ROTC program.
In addition, senior forward Jeremy Ortiz was drafted as the third overall pick by the NJ Ironmen in the MISL college draft and Bernhard finished the season in the top five nation-wide in saves and save-percentage. Farrell had five players named to the NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-East team, three players named to the A-10 All-Conference teams, as well as a Philadelphia Inquirer All-Star and ESPN the Magazine All-District selection.
In 2006 his Explorers were named the Philadelphia Soccer Seven `Team of the Year' after impressive wins over city rivals Penn and Temple, along with earning the NSCAA team award which given to teams with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher.
In 2002, he led the Explorers to the Soccer Seven Championship, which they shared with Drexel. It marked the second time La Salle had seized the local crown, with the Explorers' other title coming in 1994. In 1997, Farrell joined Wilkinson as the second member of the 100-victory club when the Explorers defeated Fordham, 4-3.
Farrell earned Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors in 1996 after leading the Explorers to a 12-5-2 record and a second-place finish in the conference. In 1994, he was named Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. Farrell earned Soccer Seven Coach of the Year honors in both 1994 and 1991.
Under Farrell's guidance, La Salle made it to the A-10 finals in 2010 and 1997 and reached the semifinals in 2011, 2004 and 1996. The Explorers had the A-10 Most Valuable Player in two of their first four seasons in the conference, and the program received its first Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2002, when goalkeeper Stash Graham garnered the award.
Under Farrell's leadership, La Salle finished first during the 1987 regular season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and qualified for the league championship game in 1988, 1989 and 1991. In La Salle's first year in the MCC in 1992, the Explorers played in the conference's championship game.
Farrell has been a member of the La Salle soccer program for over 40 years - as a player from 1971-74, as an assistant coach from 1976-86, and as head coach since 1987. Teams on which Farrell was an assistant, predominantly under Wilkinson, posted a record of 98-67-20. Farrell also coaches the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association summer select team for 16-and-under boys.
Farrell holds a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and a Master's of Business Administration degree in Management. Farrell and his wife, Pat, live in Blue Bell, Pa., and have four children - Colleen (a 2005 graduate of La Salle and four year letter-winner on the Explorer women's soccer team), Meghan, Patrick, and Joseph (a student-athlete on Farrell's soccer squad).
