Wesleyan University Men's Soccer

Geoff Wheeler enters his 27th season as the men’s soccer head coach at Wesleyan in 2025. In his tenure, Wheeler sports a 201-150-52 overall mark and a 96-96-35 record in the always-competitive NESCAC. The team has compiled 15 winning seasons during the 26-year span, including six double-digit win seasons. Wheeler’s program has become a model of success, qualifying for the NCAA Division III Tournament six times and the NESCAC Tournament on 21 occasions during his watch. The Wesleyan men's soccer program has qualified for the NESCAC Tournament more times than any other sport (men's or women's) in the history of the department. In 2015, the Cardinals played the role of underdogs, reaching the NESCAC title game as the No. 8 seed. During the postseason run, the Cardinals ousted top-seeded Amherst, 1-0, in the quarterfinals, and then outlasted second-seeded Middlebury in penalty kicks during the semifinals. The 2024 season saw the Cardinals qualify for the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2012, defeating St. Joseph (Conn.) 2-0 in the First Round, landing their fifth NCAA Tournament win and first since 2011. In 2009, Wheeler guided the program to an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, which marked the furthest the program has ever advanced in the national tourney. The Cardinals finished 12-2-5, while going undefeated in regular-season action (10-0-4) and boasting a 6-0-3 mark in conference tilts.  The Cardinals also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2005, 2006, 2011, and 2025, while also qualifying for the big dance in 2012. Wheeler maintains a 5-5-2 record in the NCAA Tournament.  In 2005, the Cardinals were NESCAC Champions for the first time in program history, as they defeated Amherst, 3-2, in the title game. Six other times, Wheeler has brought his group to the semifinal round of the conference tournament (2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013). During his tenure, the team has become a force in the NESCAC, winning six or more conference games on seven occasions.  His 2007 team set school marks for consecutive victories (10) and consecutive shutouts (five), while the 2009 squad established the school record for longest unbeaten streak (15 games) and most shutouts in a season (12). Before arriving in Middletown, Conn., Wheeler, who holds the rank of adjunct professor of physical education, spent two years as a Stanford assistant coach in 1997 and 1998. He also had coaching stints at his alma mater, Dartmouth, as well as Middlesex School in Concord, Mass. A 1993 graduate of Dartmouth, he was a four-year letter winner in soccer, helping the squad qualify for the NCAA Tournament twice as well as capture two Ivy League titles. A team captain in his senior season, he earned All-Ivy honors and led the team to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He continued his playing career in Zimbabwe before returning to the United States to play for the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USISL. After he returned east from Stanford, he suited up for both the Connecticut Wolves and the Boston Bulldogs of the A-League. Wheeler currently holds his USSF A license, received an advanced national diploma from the NSCAA in 1998 and attended an NSCAA refresher course in 2006. He also is the director of the East Coast Soccer Academy, an overnight summer camp at Wesleyan aimed to attract top student-athletes interested in playing at NESCAC or Ivy League colleges. He added regional U-17 ODP coaching to his repertoire in the summer of 2009. In addition to his soccer coaching duties, he was an assistant men's squash coach at Wesleyan from 1999 through 2010, including one season as interim head coach, and earned a master's degree in liberal studies at Wesleyan in 2007.

Armed with over 25 years of coaching experience, Ken Pollard is back with the Wesleyan men’s soccer team for his second season as an assistant coach in 2025. In his first season at Wesleyan in 2024, the Cardinals qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, winning their First Round game 2-0 against St. Joseph (CT).   Pollard most-recently served as the assistant and associate head coach of Columbia University from 2012-23. With the Lions, Pollard coordinated and assisted with all recruiting, practice sessions, and training. He helped lead Columbia to the Ivy League Championship in 2016 while the Lions earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament in 2017, winning a first round game against William & Mary.   Early in his coaching career, Pollard was an assistant for Duke University for two seasons (2002-03) while he helped lead his alma mater Southern Connecticut State University to back-to-back NCAA National Championships as an assistant coach in 1998 and 1999. In his three-year tenure as an assistant at SCSU, the Owls went 61-3-2 from 1997-99.   Pollard was a head coach for the women’s soccer team at Purchase College for two seasons (2009-10) and has been a performance consultant since 2005.   Following his two-year stay at Duke, Pollard went on to serve as an assistant coach for the USA U-19 Women’s National Team at the FIFA World Cup. The US went on to win the bronze medal in that competition.   He also coached at the professional level, serving as an assistant for the New York Metro Stars (Major League Soccer) in 1999-00 while he was an assistant for the Philadelphia Charge (Women’s United Soccer Association) from 2003-04.   Pollard graduated from SCSU with a bachelor’s degree in human performance in 1994 and he earned his master’s degree in exercise science from SCSU in 2001. He resides in Guilford, Connecticut.