The Illinois women's soccer team took on the Northern Iowa Panther at home on Wednesday October 10, 2012
In his six years at the helm, Drew Roff has established Illinois State as one of the premier women's soccer programs in the Midwest, guiding his teams to three Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Since becoming head coach in February 2007, Roff has also led the Redbirds to four Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), while his coaching staff has been named the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year three times (2007, 2009, 2011). Roff holds a 94-51-11 (.634) career record, in addition to a 68-37-10 (.635) mark at ISU.
During his tenure in Normal, 16 ISU players have received All-Valley First Team honors, including Valley Players of the Year Yvonne Northover (2007) and Rachel Tejada (2011, 2012), and Valley Defensive Players of the Year Danielle Mutters (2008, 2009) and Natalie McCabe (2011). In 2011, Tejada earned Illinois State soccer's first All-America distinction, when she was named to the Soccer America All-Freshman First Team.
The 2012 season saw the Redbirds make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history, as the Redbirds also won 13 games for the second-consecutive season. Roff's Redbirds closed the regular season on a three-match winning streak and ranked ninth in the Great Lakes Region, before defeating Creighton, 2-1, and Indiana State, 5-1, to win the tournament title. Seven Redbirds were designated all-conference selections, with Tejada repeating as MVC Player of the Year.
Of the Redbirds' 13 wins, 10 came by one goal and nine came away from Adelaide Street Field, both program records. ISU also played three ranked teams for the first time ever, playing No. 19 Illinois to a 1-1 draw Aug. 19, losing, 3-2, in double overtime at No. 15 Wisconsin Sept. 9, and falling 3-0 to No. 12 Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. All in all, the Redbirds played four teams that made the field of 64, going 0-2-2 in those matches.
In 2011, Roff coached Illinois State to its best offensive season in program history, as the Redbirds finished 13-6 overall and claimed both the MVC regular-season and tournament titles. A total of 10 ISU players received All-MVC honors, including Rachel Tejada, who was named the Valley Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, and Natalie McCabe, who earned Valley Defensive Player of the Year honors. Four Redbirds were selected to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Team, including Tejada who became just the second player in program history to earn first-team all-region accolades.
Illinois State made its third trip to the NCAA Tournament, and second under Roff, after winning the State MVC Tournament in convincing fashion, outscoring opponents, 11-0. ISU set a Valley Tournament record by scoring six goals in its 6-0 semifinal win over Evansville, and tied the record for goals in a championship match with a 5-0 shutout of Missouri State. Earlier in the season, Illinois State defeated No. 10 Milwaukee, 3-1, marking the first-ever win over a team ranked in the national top ten. The Redbirds finished the season as the No. 6 ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.
The 2011 squad was not only the best offensive team in the Valley, it was one of the best in the country. The Redbirds established new single-season program records for points (158), goals (56), assists (46), points per game (8.32), goals per game (2.95), assists per game (2.42) and shots on goal per game (8.63), and finished the regular season ranked third in the nation in scoring offense. Rachel Tejada set a new ISU and MVC record by scoring 21 goals, and recorded a school-record 51 points. Tejada finished the season as the nation's third-leading goal scorer and ranked fourth in the country in points, points per game and goals per game. Jessica Carlson became ISU's all-time assists leader with her single-season record 10 assists to raise her career total to 22.
During the 2010 season, Illinois State finished 9-7-2 overall and posted a 3-2-1 mark in league games. ISU finished third in the MVC regular-season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the State Farm MVC Tournament. Roff's fourth season at the helm of the Redbird program was highlighted by a 2-1 win over Kansas, marking the first time in program history that Illinois State had defeated a team from the Big 12 Conference. Following the 2010 campaign, Jessica Carlson and Natalie McCabe were named to the All-MVC First Team and Carlson earned the programs first-ever first-team all-region selection when she was named First-Team All-Great Lakes Region.
In 2009, the Redbirds went 12-7-1 overall and 5-1 in Valley play. ISU's 12 wins tied for the fourth-most wins in program history and included an eight-game win streak to tie the program record for most consecutive wins in a season. The Redbirds also went undefeated at home in 2009, posting a 6-0 record at Adelaide Street Field. At the conclusion of the 2009 season Jessica Carlson, Mutters and Raquel Rattray were named to the Great Lakes All-Region Second Team, as ten Redbirds in total received all Valley honors. The Redbirds also finished the 2009 season as the No. 10 ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.
Roff led the Redbirds to finish with an overall record of 11-8-1 in 2008 to become co-regular season MVC champions. The Redbirds were 5-1-0 in conference play and recorded a five-game winning streak leading up to the conference tournament.
In his first season at ISU, Roff led the Redbirds, who were picked fifth in the preseason poll, to the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship. The Redbirds went 10-4-4 in 2007, including a 4-0-2 mark in conference play, and advanced to the conference tournament final as the top-seed. It was the first outright conference title and undefeated conference season for the Redbirds since 2001, and their first appearance in the conference title game since 2003.
Roff became the first coach in the history of the Valley to win a regular-season title in his first year in the league and he, along with his assistant coaches, Shawn Mecchi and Shaunna Daugherty, earned the Valley Coaching Staff of the Year award.
Roff's teams have seen equally as much success in the classroom as on the pitch. His teams have consistently sported high cumulative GPAs, highlighted by a Fall 2010 cumulative of 3.70, which broke an ISU Athletics record. The 2011-12 squad's 3.55 cumulative GPA ranked the Redbirds 15th nationally. His players have earned 23 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team distinctions and nine Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, with Anna Stinson's 4.0 GPA earning her back-to-back MVC Elite 18 awards.
Roff came to Illinois State from the University of Indianapolis, where in just two years, he turned the Greyhounds into a program of national prominence. In his first year at Indianapolis, Roff took over a team with a losing record and led it to a 9-9 mark.
The 2006 season proved to be a breakout year. Indianapolis went 17-5-1, setting the school record for wins in a single season. The Greyhounds won the Great Lakes Valley Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament, both firsts in the program's history. They earned their first NCAA tournament win over Mercyhurst, 2-1, in the first round before losing to Grand Valley State, the national runner-up, in the regional final. Indianapolis finished the season ranked No. 18 in the nation. Along with the school record for wins, Roff guided the Greyhounds to a program-best 12 shutouts and an 11-1-1 home record. Three members of the 2006 Greyhound squad earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region Second-Team accolades.
Prior to his stint at Indianapolis, Roff coached with Dynamo FC of Indianapolis from 2003-06. In 2004, he led the `89 girls to the Indiana State Cup championship and the regional semifinals, and was named the Indiana Youth Soccer Association's District 6 Girls Coach of the Year. The team began the season ranked fifth in the state and finished ranked 17th in the nation. The `89 girls continued this success, as they captured the Midwest Premier League championship and were once again regional semifinalists in 2006. He also served as the director for Dynamo Soccer Camps and holds a USSF National "A" Coaching License. As an active club soccer coach, Roff joined the Indiana Olympic Development Program (ODP) in 2005 and coached the `92 girls for two years. He is also currently a Region II ODP staff coach.
Roff's teaching and coaching career began at Dowagiac Union High School in Michigan, where he taught physical education and headed up both the varsity girls and boys soccer programs from 1998-2002, winning district coach of the year honors in 2001. Moving to Indianapolis in 2002, Roff took over the women's program at Roncalli High School and won sectional titles in 2002 and 2003 with the Rebels.
While coaching in the high school ranks for seven years, Roff also played and coached in the United Soccer League's Professional Development League. Roff played for the Mid-Michigan Bucks in 1997 and 1998. He then played for the Indiana Invaders, based out of South Bend, from 1999-2001, serving as player/coach for two of those seasons.
Roff played collegiately at Michigan State, where he was a four-year starting forward for the Spartans. He garnered second-team All-Big Ten and regional All-America honors in 1994 after leading the team with 22 points on six goals and 10 assists. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and exercise science from Michigan State in 1996.
