Hackensack, NJ- The winningest men's soccer coach in FDU and NEC history, Seth Roland, is departing FDU after 27 years in charge of the program, while finishing the 2023 season as the 10
th active winningest coach in NCAA Division I men's soccer.
Roland has notched 360 career wins, along with a record-setting 240 FDU victories and record-setting 120 NEC wins, as well as Coach of the Year honors in 2000, 2001, and 2022.
He led the Knights on magical runs in the NCAA Tournament advancing to the 2001 NCAA Elite Eight and 2012 NCAA Sweet 16. Additionally, Roland led FDU to six other NCAA Tournament appearances and recorded six NCAA Tournament victories.
The Knights won a record 13 NEC Championships under Roland's leadership, having won eight NEC Tournament Championships along with five NEC Regular Season titles. In 2022, FDU went undefeated in conference play for the first time in FDU history while winning the NEC Regular Season and Tournament Championships before falling to the Maryland Terps in the NCAA Tournament.
Roland mentored four All-Americans, four NEC Players of the Year, four NEC Scholar-Athletes of the Year, six NEC Rookies of the Year, 77 First and Second Team All-NEC performers, and 43 All-Region selections. The Knights students athletes also flourished in the classroom, as they achieved a team GPA of at least 3.0 in 23 of Roland's 27 years.
Several of Roland's players achieved success as professional soccer players, notably: Hugo Bacharach, the 9
th pick in the 2024 MLS Draft, Alejandro Bedoya, a former member of the US National Team player and current MLS Philadelphia Union captain, Nicholas Walker, FC Dallas MLS draft pick, and Johnny David, MetroStars MLS draft pick, to name just a few. Since 1999, 13 FDU soccer student-athletes were drafted in Major League Soccer or signed professional contracts.
FDU is home to 21 NCAA Division I teams. A member of the Northeast Conference, the Knights have had tremendous success in the classroom, in athletic competition as well as giving back to the Bergen County community. FDU became the first school in Northeast Conference (NEC) history to win championships in women's volleyball, women's soccer, and men's soccer in the same season (2022). In 2023, the Burgundy and Blue also became the first NEC school to win two games as a 16-seed in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, including an upset over top-seeded Purdue. As a result of its incredible 2022-23 season, FDU placed 92nd in the Learfield Director's Cup, the first NEC program to finish in the Top 100. Since 2019, FDU has won 13 conference titles across men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's indoor track & field, women's bowling, women's golf, and women's volleyball. FDU student-athletes were also recognized for their efforts in the community by winning the NEC Building Communities Award with over 3,000 community service hours. In addition to recent championships, FDU holds five national championships, three in sport of women's fencing and two in women's bowling.
