GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Mark Mettrick, former Division I head coach and professional athlete, has been named the head men's soccer head coach at Gettysburg College, Director of Athletics David Wright has announced.

Mettrick, who brings 20 years of Division I head-coaching experience, replaces Brett Kelly '03, who resigned from the position in January to accept a role in the Gettysburg College offices of Admissions and Financial Aid. Mettrick will officially begin at Gettysburg on March 17.

"I am thrilled to be able to make the announcement of Mark Mettrick as our next men's soccer coach," said Wright. "Through an extensive national search, it became clear that Coach Mettrick provides our men's soccer program with great leadership, a clear vision of developing young men to be successful on and off the field, and a tremendous knowledge of the game. He is a proven coach who embodies the spirit of Gettysburg College and our athletic program."

"I'm very grateful to Dave Wright, Barbara Fritze, and the entire search committee for the opportunity to be next coach at Gettysburg College," said Mettrick. "I'm very excited for this opportunity. Gettysburg is an excellent academic institution with an excellent academic reputation. I'm excited to be a part of that and to be able to compete in one of the top Division III conferences in the Centennial Conference."

Most recently, Mettrick completed a highly-successful 14-year stint as head coach at Loyola University in Baltimore. He posted a record of 166-84-25 (.649) and guided the Greyhounds to five NCAA Division I Tournament appearances, advancing as far as the Round of 16 in 2001. A native of Manchester, England, Mettrick also coached Loyola to eight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season titles and four MAAC tournament titles. A five-time MAAC Coach of the Year, he also captured two NCAA Division I Regional Coach the Year awards (2001, 2008) and was a two-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Coach of the Year finalist.

Also at Loyola, Mettrick coached two All-Americans, two Major League Soccer draft picks, and three Lowe's Senior CLASS finalists. He also guided 49 all-conference selections, six MAAC Players of the Year, three MAAC Goalkeepers of the Year, and two MAAC Rookies of the Year. He also helped his program build a reputation of academic success, and the men's soccer team finished with the highest grade-point average (3.411) of all men's teams at Loyola in the fall of 2013. His student-athletes have also earned five NSCAA Team Academic Awards and three Academic All-America honors.

Prior to arriving at Loyola, Mettrick served as the head coach at Division I Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md. from 1994-99. He guided the Mount to a record of 57-42-12 to go with a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) titles and was twice named the NEC Coach of the Year. For his career, Mettrick owns a record of 223-126-37 (.626).

"I think no matter the level, all players want to go to the national tournament and have a memorable experience," said Mettrick. "I'm hoping to get the men's soccer program to have the same mindset. There are differences in scholarships and some of the rules, particularly with the spring season. A lot of my colleagues have talked about how competitive Division III is and the simple fact is every student-athlete wants to have an opportunity to go to the national tournament every season. There are a lot of great Division III programs that could compete with some Division I programs."

In addition to his coaching duties, Mettrick has run the highly-successful Mark Mettrick Professional Soccer Schools in the summer months throughout the state of Maryland.

Mettrick played for Manchester United (English Premier League) as a youth and progressed as far as their reserve team before leaving the States.

A 1988 graduate of Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., Mettrick earned his bachelor of science degree in physics and was a two-time Division I First-Team All-American for the Hawks. He is currently tied for fourth in school history in career goals (46) and is tied for fifth in career points (109).

After graduation, Mettrick was a first-round draft pick by the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). As a midfielder, he would go on to enjoy a solid four-year career with the MISL's Baltimore Blast, earning All-Star accolades in 1992 and twice helping the Blast reach the MISL championship game. He served as assistant men's soccer coach at Mount St. Mary's in 1993 before taking over as head coach the following season.

"I'm a former player so that helps," said Mettrick. "Players can relate to that and it affects my coaching style. I know what these student-athletes have to go through during a collegiate season. I guess I'm a players' coach. That certainly brings with it a type of expectation, but I've always competed and had high expectations. I guess you could say I'm a personable coach."

Mettrick inherits a Gettysburg program that has won three Centennial Conference (CC) titles – the last coming in 2001 – and made seven NCAA Division III tournament appearances. The Bullets are coming off a season in which they finished 3-13-1 (3-5-1 CC) but lost 10 matches by a single goal.

"I was very impressed in my visit with people, the facilities, and the vision for the program," said Mettrick. "My family and I are looking forward to being a part of the Gettysburg College community."

Mettrick and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of a son, Matthew, and a daughter, Haley.