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The 2008 season marks the first for John Byford as head coach at Villanova. He is in his second stint at the University, having also served as a women's soccer assistant coach from 1995 to 1997. Byford returns to the Main Line after spending three seasons as head coach at Loyola (Md.) from 2005-07.
Byford's three years as head coach at Loyola were all highly successful, as the Greyhounds won regular season titles in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2005 and 2006 and then won the league's tournament championship in 2007. His teams posted a 35-18-7 (.642) overall record and a nearly unblemished 22-1-4 (.889) mark in regular season conference games.
In his three seasons as head coach, Byford had his players earn All-MAAC honors 28 times, including 10 first team selections. Postseason awards for the Greyhounds also included one Offensive Player of the Year and two Defensive Players of the Year. In addition, several players were named to the conference Academic Team each year.
In 2007, Byford led his team to an undefeated record in conference play for the second time in three years. Loyola finished the year with a 10-6-5 record and went 5-0-4 in MAAC play. The Greyhounds went on to win their first conference tournament title under Byford and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Byford earned MAAC Coach of the Year honors in 2006, when Loyola went 10-7-2 and posted an 8-1 conference mark. The Greyhounds captured their second straight regular season conference championship and had 11 players earn all-conference honors.
After spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola, Byford took the reigns as head coach in 2005 and led the team to a 15-5 overall record and perfect 9-0 mark in conference play. The Greyhounds were ranked as high as fifth in the Mid-Atlantic region during the season. As an assistant coach with the Greyhounds in 2003 and 2004, Byford helped coach the team to consecutive league titles and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to joining the Loyola coaching staff, Byford most recently was the Director of Coaching and Player Development for the Mandeville (La.) Soccer Club. He worked with coaches from the recreational level and travel teams and was responsible for coaching education. He also set curriculums for different age and ability levels of players, wrote articles for the club newsletter and evaluated the players and coaches involved with the club.
An experienced coach who has had success at many different levels of soccer, Byford also has collegiate head coaching experience from Saint Joseph's University (1999-2000) and Delaware Valley College (1994).
After being named the first head coach at Delaware Valley when the program ascended to a varsity sport, Byford came to Villanova in 1995 and served as an assistant coach for three seasons. The Wildcats won 27 games during that span and posted at least a .500 record in BIG EAST play each season. From Villanova, Byford went on to Kutztown University and was an assistant coach for the men's program.
Byford also has had success in the ODP ranks, most recently working with the Maryland state ODP program during his time at Loyola. He previously had been the head coach for the Region I ODP U-13 Girls team from 2000-02 and was an assistant coach of the squad before that. In all, Byford had seven years of experience with the Region 1 girls ODP squad and six years of experience with the Eastern Pennsylvania Girls ODP program. His team won the ODP national championship in 2002 and the regional championship in 1998 and 2001. Byford began his coaching career at Villa Joseph Marie High School in Holland, Pa., where he was the assistant coach of the 1993 state championship team. He also led the Downingtown High School girls' soccer team to the league and district championship and to the state playoffs for the first time in school history in 1998. |
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