The MIT Engineers ended their 2007 regular season with a 9-4-2 record, including 6-1-1 at home, a dramatic improvement over the previous year’s 6-11-0 and their best record since 2004. Two players were named to the All-Conference team and 13 players were named to the Academic All-Conference team. With seven new first-year players now on the team, the Engineers are looking to build on their 2007 record and the excitement of this winning season.

The captains of the 2007 team credit their success to the coaching of Milton Gooding, who has completed his first year as MIT's soccer coach. Coach Gooding joined MIT from Amherst College, where he was head coach for 10 years.

“His knowledge of the game really paved the way for huge improvements and a great season. Under the leadership of Coach Gooding, MIT has the potential to rise to regional and national prominence,” says Michael Allshouse ’08, team co-captain.

With a new coach at the helm, MIT is now raising funds to endow a full-time men’s soccer coach position. MIT and its Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER) is focusing more than ever on building our sports and recreation program. Athletics can teach invaluable lessons: about decision-making, persistence, team-building, and strategy. Students who take part in regular, disciplined physical activity are often mentally more alert and engaged than their less active counterparts. And, far from least important, athletics offers superb respite from the rigorous academic pressure facing MIT’s students.

One further reason: MIT students deserve the chance to explore and enhance their physical skills. For many, sports and recreation are a key part of preparing for a lifetime of achievement, and MIT owes them the opportunity to act on that aim. Offering the best coaching, and retaining a coach with an endowed position, is an important part of providing this opportunity to MIT students.

A strong start

The Engineers’ 2007 season started with a four-game winning streak, including a hard-fought victory at Tufts University. The team continued to build on this momentum throughout the fall, culminating in a five-game unbeaten streak at the end of their season.

An away match at Babson College really showed the mettle of the team. Babson was then the second-seeded team. After a scoreless regulation game, in overtime, one of the senior forwards slotted in the game winner. The victory kick-started the second half of the season. In the previous year, Babson beat the Engineers twice, both times with a score of 5-0. The Engineers’ season ended with a loss to Clark University in the league playoff quarterfinals.

While producing results on the field during his first year as head coach, Coach Gooding also stressed the importance of academics. Tech's 13 Academic All-Conference honorees were far and away the most amongst men's soccer teams in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), while defender and co-captain Michael Allshouse garnered high prestige as a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team honoree. Academic excellence has long been a trademark of Gooding's teams, as Amherst garnered the most Academic All-Conference selections in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in each of his 10 seasons as head coach.

“Coach Gooding makes practice intense, yet fun and educational. He is always encouraging players on and off the field and finds the positive side of every situation,” says co-captain Andrew Bishara '09. “His soccer experience and knowledge have helped lead us to our best record during my time at MIT, and will continue to allow MIT soccer to reach great heights.”

While the 2007 team saw seven members of the team graduate, only two were starting players. The rising class includes a number of players who have enjoyed regular playing time since their first year, and they are excited about their prospects for the upcoming season. Much effort has gone into preparation during the past spring and summer, and the work is sure to pay off in the fall. Without question the ambitions for this team are quite high.

Sidebar: New head coach Milton Gooding takes torch from Walter Alessi

After serving as head coach of traditional regional power Amherst College for 10 years, Milton Gooding was tabbed to take over the reins of the resurging MIT men's soccer team in 2007. Gooding’s appointment marked the program’s first coaching change in over 30 years, as Walter Alessi stepped down after a tremendous career with the Engineers since 1975.

Gooding’s impact on the team was evident in his first season, as he led the Engineers to a 9-4-2 regular season record after inheriting a squad that had gone 6-11-0 in the previous campaign. The head coach had his student athletes particularly ready to compete in the friendly confines of Steinbrenner Stadium, as the Cardinal and Gray went 6-1-1 at home. Gooding’s presence also helped MIT improve dramatically in the NEWMAC, as the team went 2-2-2 in conference play just one year after going 0-6-0.

Gooding is widely considered one of the region's top coaches, and his career winning percentage of .676 ranks among the highest active winning percentages in the nation. Gooding guided Amherst to the NCAA regional finals three times between 1997 and 2006, while adding trips to the Elite Eight and the NCAA Final Four. Along with his father and co-head coach, Peter, Gooding compiled a record of 106-46-14 in his tenure at Amherst College.

Gooding, who matched his best record at Amherst in 2006 (13-3-1), guided the Lord Jeffs to numerous top-20 national rankings while Amherst’s non-conference record during his tenure was a staggering 42-9. For the last five years, Gooding has also been heavily involved with the Adidas Elite Soccer Program, which is designed to identify the top 150 high school players around the country.