On a Streak

Soccer coach Bob Durocher ’81 takes national honors.

Achieve perfection, in any endeavor, and people sit up and take notice. Bob Durocher ’81, after completing an impeccable 22-0-0 record as coach of the 1999 St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team, has earned a large measure of recognition by being named NCAA Division III national coach of the year. The award is given by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The secret to his success? "I pay attention to the details, and I know my players well. The players know how I want the game to be played, yet they can be creative," he says. The championship team was a diverse group, with at least 10 countries and 10 states represented. "We built off our individual strengths," Durocher explains. "I like to play the possession game with lots of passing, while letting the players showcase their individual talents. I also like disciplined players — players who are physically fit and who will work hard. I believe you need skilled players versus fast or strong athletes.

"This was an unbelievable group, highly focused but able to stay loose when the pressure was on," he adds. "All the players had a strong desire to win. They did a lot more than just come to practice and go their separate ways. There was a lot of trust." Of course, Durocher concedes, there’s always a little luck involved in going unbeaten. But it takes more than good fortune to compile the 42-game unbeaten streak his school is now riding — the longest such streak by any team in college soccer. Durocher has a career coaching record of 82-48-17 in 10 years at St. Lawrence.

Durocher was a two-time captain of the Ithaca College soccer team and a four-year all-conference player; he graduated in 1981 with a degree in physical education. A midfielder fond of the attack mode, he helped lead the team to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA playoffs in 1979 and 1980.

He recalls playing for Coach Allan MacCormick on South Hill: "He was big on fitness, and he was a coach who let us play our own game." Ithaca is on the Saints’ schedule every year, so Durocher maintains contact, albeit competitive contact, with his alma mater.

Durocher coached at Canton College and played in the U.S. Amateur Soccer League before taking the reins at St. Lawrence. Durocher and his wife, Robin (a women’s soccer coach at the State University of New York College at Canton), have two sons, Ryan and Trent, and a daughter, Danielle.

Another soccer coach with Ithaca connections has earned accolades. Pat Farmer, who led the IC women’s soccer team to Division III national titles in 1990 and 1991, was named Division I coach of the year after guiding the Penn State women’s soccer team to the NCAA semifinals. Farmer coached at Ithaca from 1987 to 1993, leaving when Penn State established a women’s soccer team and named him coach in 1994. He has a 101-31-7 record at Penn State, 211-54-27 overall.

— Jay Wrolstad