Efforts are underway to name UMW’s championship soccer field for Roy Gordon, founding coach of the men’s soccer team.
The University of Mary Washington’s championship soccer field has long been associated with Roy Gordon, founding coach of the men’s soccer team. Now efforts are underway to name the field in his honor, while funding future improvements for the competition field and soccer stadium as a whole.
Gordon served the University of Mary Washington and its intercollegiate athletics program, especially the men’s soccer program, with distinction, dedication, and loyalty for 34 years. His men’s soccer teams captured 386 total wins, won eight Capital Athletic Conference titles, and advanced to nine NCAA tournaments. Since the Eagles made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1985, their cumulative record under Gordon’s leadership was 329-133-33, for an outstanding .698 percent.
One of the most respected college soccer coaches in the nation, Gordon repeatedly earned regional and national awards. He was named the Capital Athletic Conference Coach of the Year eight times, selected as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Regional Coach of the Year on five occasions, and named Virginia State College Division Coach of the Year an impressive four times. Gordon became one of only eight head coaches in Division III history to surpass 400 career wins, in 2007. Gordon received the NSCAA’s prestigious Honor Award in 2009, and was named to the NSCAA Hall of Fame in 2023.