This weekend’s slate of games in Oregon have a lot of importance for Utah. The Utes need to win both to remain relevant in the Pac-12 South, but it’s equally as important for the man in charge of the program, head coach Rich Manning.
Manning, who’s in his 14th year as head coach of Utah soccer, is on the verge of achieving something not a lot of college coaches come close to: winning 150 games with one team. Unfortunately, because of a winless streak since early September, he still sits at 149. But with the trip to Oregon looming, Manning is confident his team can finish the job.
“We’ve been working really hard and will continue to chop at it till the tree falls over,” Manning said.
If things go Utah’s way this weekend, Manning will be part of elite company in women’s college soccer, something he has wanted to accomplish since he started in 2002 when the Utes were not known for their soccer program.
Fourteen seasons and a conference change later, Manning is still committed to the same cause and goal that gave him the reason to sign on as head coach in the first place: to become champions.
Although he has already guided the Utes to Mountain West league tournament championships back to back in 2003 and 2004, his next goal is to achieve something that will make him and Utah’s soccer program one of the most elite in the West: winning the Pac-12.
“It’s what all the programs are trying to accomplish,” Manning said. “We know with that comes national prominence as well. We’ve done some really good things, we’re close and in the next 10 games we want to be on top.”
Manning, who is considered one of the most humble and respectful coaches in college soccer, didn’t even know that he was on the verge his 150th win a couple of weeks ago. Instead, he’s been focusing on what matters most to him — the players and the team.
Most of the players have taken notice of his character, especially Lindsey Luke. The senior has been coached by Manning since she transferred from Wake Forest in 2012 and respects how much Manning cares about the program.
“He is great role model for us,” said Luke. “He and his wife have always been there for us, and always strives to make us better soccer players and people in general as well. I’ve been so happy he’s been my coach the past four years I’ve been here.”
But Manning’s job isn’t only coaching. It’s also his responsibility to help his players mature into bright, talented and hard-working members of the community once they leave the program, and this is best exemplified by how well they perform in school.
Utah has recently received the NSCAA Academic Achievement Award for the 14th time, an award only handed to soccer programs with a high team GPA. Manning has let every single player who has came into this program for the last 14 years know that even though they’re here to play soccer, they are also here to earn an education and become responsible adults in the process.
It’s this type of mentality that makes Manning different from other coaches around the country, and the reason why Utah athletics has trusted him to take charge of the soccer program since 2002. They knew he could do great things with the sport along with the players he coaches.
Even with all the years Manning has been at the U, he does not yet have a favorite win, but he does expect it to come Friday afternoon when his team faces Oregon State.
@chad_marquez