Owls' Men's Soccer Coach John Evans Announces Retirement
“I still love the game of soccer – I’m just going to love it from a distance," said Evans.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University men's soccer head coach John Evans has announced his retirement from coaching after 10 years as the head coach of the Owls program.
Evans made the decision to step down at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
"It was time for me to leave the game in younger hands," said Evans, who recently turned 70. "There are also other things for me to do, both professionally and personally," noting both a love for painting, and that "I have an RV and I intend to use it," he joked.
"I still love the game of soccer – I'm just going to love it from a distance."
Evans helmed the Owls program for 10 years and nine seasons, after spending seven years as an assistant coach at Westfield under Matt Noyes. Highlights from Evans' tenure included winning the MASCAC Tournament title in 2012, and earning an NCAA Tournament bid that saw Westfield play Dickinson (Pa.) College in the opening round.
Evans led the Owls to a conference regular-season title in 2015, and in 2017 the Owls finished as the MASCAC Tournament runners up, forging a 2-2 tie at Salem State in the title game, before losing a heartbreaker in the penalty kick session, 3-2, which gave the Vikings the team title and the league's NCAA bid.
Evans was an assistant coach at Westfield for the Owls 2006 MASCAC Tournament-Champion and NCAA-Tournament team.
"On the field, I think the biggest highlight was beating Framingham (in the semifinals of the MASCAC tournament in 2012), which was just a dogfight of a game with a bang-bang finish in penalty kicks, and our back up goalkeeper stepped up to stone three shots in the kicks, and our entire team stepped up to a high level," said Evans. "That was the single most exciting game in getting us where we wanted to go."
"Of course the two NCAA tournaments are great memories -the first as an assistant - and standing with Phil Anas and our guys in such a hard-fought game at Amherst, and then again in going to Dickinson College and giving that group such a great sporting memory was one of the great rewards of coaching," said Evans.
"John had some great highlights with our program, including the NCAA Tournament team in 2012, and the near-miss in the conference title game in 2017, when his team really came together late in the season after battling injuries throughout the year," said Westfield State director of athletics Dick Lenfest. "John is one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and he also gave us great stability and continuity in our program in the transition after Matt Noyes stepped down."
"John commuted from the Berkshires all these years to coach our program, and after a year without a season in the fall of 2020 due to the pandemic he brought in a solid recruiting class this past fall that gives us a good foundation for the team moving forward," added Lenfest.
Overall, Evans posted a career record 54-81-17 with the Owls and a 26-29-7 mark in MASCAC conference play.
Evans had the third-longest tenure of any coach in Owls history, behind Owls' hall of famer John Kurty (13 seasons) and Jim Fonte (11 seasons).
"I'd be remiss to not mention Elia DelMolino, who was my assistant coach for most of my tenure, and has been just a stalwart friend and was a perfect assistant coach," said Evans.
"It's the best job I ever had," said Evans of his tenure with Westfield State, who continues a private practice in psychotherapy in his full time professional career. "It was all about being able to teach what I know, and work with a great department, other coaches, and great players, the whole thing was just a gift."
