ST. LOUIS – University of Missouri-St. Louis Director of Athletics
Lori Flanagan has announced the hiring of
Josh Alderson as head men's soccer coach.
Alderson, who becomes the fifth head coach in program history, comes to UMSL from Lenoir-Rhyne, where he spent the last 10 years. He played four years as a defender for the Bears and has spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach. During his time on staff Lenoir-Rhyne posted a record of 56-30-9 and 34-17-9 in the South Atlantic Conference.
"We are very excited to have Coach Alderson accept the opportunity to coach and grow the men's soccer program at UMSL," Flanagan said. "It is a very exciting time to have new leadership within our program which supports the Division II philosophy, is dedicated to our student athletes using this platform to earn an academic degree while playing the game of soccer at a high competitive level. Josh has a strong foundation to build upon and we are very excited for him to develop and continue to create a winning culture."
He began his coaching career with the Bears as a graduate assistant and was promoted to a full-time assistant coach in the summer of 2020. Alderson also served as the head coach of the JV program the past three seasons.
"I would like to thank the Search Committee within the athletic department for trusting in me and my vision for the UMSL Men's Soccer Program.," Alderson said. "The opportunity to join such a storied program excites me, especially at this current time with the buzz around the University, department, and the St. Louis soccer environment.
"I want to thank everyone at Lenoir-Rhyne University for everything over the last ten years, particularly Head Men's Soccer Coach Jack Winter and Vice President for Athletics Kim Pate who helped prepare me for this next step. I cannot wait to get started with the Tritons."
He helped guide the Bears to the program's first SAC Regular Season Championship in team history in 2018, the SAC Tournament title in 2022 and three NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017, 2021 and 2022.
Alderson also spent the Spring and Summer of 2022 serving as an assistant coach with Appalachian Football Club in the National Premier Soccer League. He helped guide the team to the 2022 Southeast Conference Regular Season championship, the conference tournament championship and a national quarterfinalist appearance.
As a player, Alderson helped the Bears to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 and the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament win that year. Alderson helped the Bears past Tusculum 3-1 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament as a six seed. He ranks sixth in program history in matches played with 71 and was a 2016 Second Team All-South Atlantic Conference selection. Alderson was the team captain for the 2015 and 2016 seasons and was also a United Soccer Coaches All-Region selection in 2016.
He is from Formby, England, and played for Blackburn Rovers and Barnsley whilst in England prior to coming to the States. During the 2015 and 2017 summers, Alderson played in the USL PDL for Springfield Synergy (Missouri) and West Virginia Chaos (West Virginia) respectively, captaining the Chaos and finishing third both seasons. He has also coached North Carolina ODP and club soccer with Catawba Valley Youth Soccer Association.
Alderson received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Lenoir-Rhyne. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Management and Marketing in 2017 and his graduate degree in Business Administration, Non-Profit Management in 2020. He has United Soccer Federation D, E and F Licenses and a Football Association Level 2 license in the United Kingdom.
Alderson married his wife, Erin, in 2019. They met during their time as student-athletes at Lenoir-Rhyne.
