Westfield State Athletics Mourns Passing of Retired Soccer Coach John Evans

Westfield State athletics mourns the passing of retired men's soccer coach John Evans.

Evans passed on February 24, 2023 while hiking with family in Utah.

Visiting hours are Wednesday, March 8 at the Birches-Roy Funeral Home, 33 South Main St. in Great Barrington, Mass., from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.   The celebration of life will be held at St. James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass. on Thursday, March 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Full details are at:  http://birchesroyfuneralservices.com/event/obituary-of-john-evans/

John retired from coaching the men's soccer team at Westfield State in January of 2022 after 10 seasons as head coach, which followed nine years as an assistant coach for the program.

"There are also other things for me to do, both professionally and personally," said Evans at that time, 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."

Highlights from Evans' coaching 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. 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.