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Jon Coleman was named the men's soccer coach at Milwaukee on Dec. 27, 2005, just the fifth head coach in school history. The 2008 season will mark his 15th-straight as a coach, assistant coach or player at UWM. Two seasons into his coaching career, Coleman has fielded teams that have been competitive and strong defensively, yet has struggled to have too much to show for it in the win-loss column. After a 5-12-3 record in the 2007 season, 17 of UWM's 21 losses over the past two years have been by just one goal. Following a slow start a year ago, the Panthers rebounded to go 5-2-1 in Horizon League play to earn the No. 2 seed in the league tournament. The one-goal loss came back to haunt them again in the postseason, as they fell, 1-0, in overtime to a UIC team that went on to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. "I was proud of the way the team fought hard throughout the season last year," Coleman said. "Even though we were on the short end of some really close games, we didn't lose sight of winning the conference and finished strong in the league. This is the kind of resilience and perseverance we need to bring to the field come this fall." The Panthers went 8-9-2 in his first season at the helm, with eight of the nine losses coming by one goal - including three to Top 25 teams (1-0 to #2 SMU, 2-1 to #6 Washington and 1-0 to #12 UIC). After hitting its stride at the end of the regular season with a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1), UWM had its season come to an end in a very unfamiliar spot. It was upset by Butler in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament, ending a streak of five-straight appearances in the league tournament championship. Coleman is a former UWM player who served as an assistant coach for the program for nine seasons (1997-2005). While on the sidelines, Coleman helped direct the Panthers to unprecedented success, including five consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. Having been involved with the Panthers for so long, Coleman was very happy to continue his long-time relationship at UWM by taking the next step. "I am excited to have an opportunity to continue the great success of the Milwaukee soccer program," Coleman said when named the head coach in late 2005. "To be the person to further the tradition we have established for so many years here at UWM means a lot." Coleman's career with the Panthers started on the field, as he was a four-year letterwinner from 1993-96. He played in 73 games as a midfielder, starting in 63. In 1995, he was named an All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference team selection and also won the Coach's Award his senior year as a team captain. He posted an overall record of 56-22-6 (.702 winning percentage) on the playing field in his four seasons, spending three years under the direction of Brian Tompkins. His teams also went 25-7-3 in league play, winning a conference title in 1993. He joined Louis Bennett's staff after finishing his playing career in 1996, serving as a volunteer assistant until being named a full-time assistant prior to the 2001 season. In Coleman's tenure as an assistant, the Panthers posted an overall record of 123-59-14 (.663) and enjoyed unprecedented success. In 2005, they reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-consecutive season and became one of only seven schools to post victories in each of the last four tournaments when they made it to the second round for the fourth-straight year. Additionally, the Panthers claimed five regular season conference titles and four Horizon League Tournament titles under his watch. His recruiting efforts have not gone unnoticed, as UWM players have been regularly recognized by the Horizon League with postseason honors: three times they have been named Player of the Year to go along with 20 first team and 20 second team all-conference selections. In addition, 32 players have been selected for the conference all-tournament team. Panther players have been honored nationally, as well, as Tighe Dombrowski (2003), Antou Jallow (2002) and Chad Dombrowski (2002) have all earned various All-American honors. Additionally, Coleman holds a USSF 'B' coaching license as well as an NSCAA Premier license.
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