Josh Ruggiero – Head Coach

Biography

joshua.j.ruggiero@wilmu.edu
302-356-6743

Josh Ruggiero will enter his fifth season as women’s soccer head coach at Wilmington University in the fall of 2012. Prior to being named head coach in 2008, Ruggiero spent two seasons as the top assistant coach of the women’s program.

The longest tenured coach of the Wildcats’ program, Ruggiero has compiled a 34-35-5 (.493) overall record. He helped orchestrate one of the team’s best overall seasons in 2010 (15-5), going undefeated (12-0) in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and earning the CACC Coach of the Year award. That 2010 squad reached the semifinals of the CACC Tournament. Under his tutelage, 10 Wildcat student-athletes have been named an All-CACC selection.

Ruggiero led Wilmington to a 5-12-1 record in 2011, but returns 16 letterwinners to the field in 2012. The 2012 squad will also have the chance to open Wilmington University’s brand new turf field and facility with its first home game on September 1 against Le Moyne.

Prior to starting his coaching career at Wilmington, Ruggiero played for two seasons as a goalkeeper for the men’s team at Wilmington. He was the starting keeper for the Wildcat’s 2003 squad that captured the CACC regular-season championship. Ruggiero is a former All-CACC selection, having posted an astounding 0.86 goals against average in 2003, followed by a 1.39 average in 2004.

Ruggiero has also have prior coaching experience, working with the Under-11 girls’ team at the Kirkwood Soccer Club and spent the 205 season as an assistant coach at Division III Widener University, where he focused on the goalkeepers and the defense.

Ruggiero graduated from Wilmington with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management in 2005, and recently complete his master’s degree in Sports Administration from Delaware State University. He currently works as the Online Coordinator for the College of Social and Behavior Sciences at Wilmington University.

Ruggiero Year by Year Coaching Record: