One of the foremost collegiate players in the rich history of New England soccer, Seamus Purcell recently completed his 13th season as head coach of Bryant University men's soccer.
With an overall record of 98-122-17 spanning 13 seasons, Purcell led the Bulldogs into their second season at the Division I level and first season with a full Northeast Conference schedule. Purcell and the Bulldogs won five games on the year with wins against Holy Cross, Army, Sacred Heart, Robert Morris and a double overtime upset over Central Connecticut.
In the program’s first season of DI play in 2008, the Bulldogs played a brutal travel schedule that took them to Old Dominion, VCU, Marquette, Pittsburgh and Richmond. Purcell earned his first DI win on September 7th with a 2-0 win over Richmond, and played a nationally-ranked Brown University squad to the wire before falling 1-0.
In 2007, Purcell guided the Bulldogs to an 11-8 record in 2007 and a berth in the Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinals.
The Bryant men's soccer team qualified for the Northeast-10 Conference tournament seven of the last eight seasons in the conference, including an appearance in the NE-10 semifinals and a regional ranking of No. 4 - just one spot shy of a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Under Purcell's direction, Bryant University has was one of the most consistently competitive teams in the Northeast-10 Conference, which has established itself as perhaps the top Division II soccer league in the nation.
Purcell led Bryant to one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2001 as the Bulldogs finished 12-8-0, including two wins against teams ranked in the final national top-25 poll.
Purcell was named the NE-10 Conference Coach of the Year and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America New England Region Coach of the Year in 2002 and was a finalist for national Coach of the Year honors.
Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Purcell was a member of Irish national team for three years, during which time he competed in both the European and World Cup Championships in the former Soviet Union. In 1985, Purcell enrolled at Providence College, where he was twice named an All-American and was a four-time All-New England selection.
Purcell came to Bryant in 1995 as an assistant coach with the Bulldog women's team and was elevated to the head coaching ranks of the men's side in 1996.
A 1989 graduate of Providence, Purcell resides in West
Greenwich, R.I. He was inducted into the Providence College Hall of
Fame in January of 2008.
