April 8, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland women's soccer head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski announced the hiring of Mike Bristol as a new assistant coach on Thursday. Bristol comes to the Terps after serving as an assistant coach at Illinois State for the last two years, helping the Redbirds to the Missouri Valley Conference championship and an NCAA berth in 2003.
"Mike really separated himself from the other candidates with outstanding energy and enthusiasm," said Higgins-Cirovski. "He has great experience working with goalkeepers, and recruiting in a Division I setting."
Over the last two years at Illinois State, Bristol coached the Redbirds backs and goalkeepers. In 2003, he helped them to a 0.71 goals against average, ranking in the Top 20 in the nation and 12 shutouts, ranking 10th in the country in shutout percentage.
Illinois State captured the conference regular-season and tournament titles in 2003 reaching the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 12-6-2 record. Defender Heather Forsyth was named MVC Player of the Year and goalkeeper Allison Farrington was also named to the MVC first team.
While at Illinois State, he was also responsible for recruiting, equipment, team travel and team budget.
He has also been a staff member of the Illinois ODP Program since 2002 and Region 2 staff since 2003, working with the goalkeepers.
In addition to directing high school and university-level soccer camps, he was the head boys and girls soccer coach at Macomb High School during the 2001-02 season. He also contributed to the 2001-02 Boys and Girls Missouri Olympic Development Program and University of Texas Soccer Camp, both as the goalkeeping coach. During the 2000-01 season, Bristol was a volunteer coach for the Western Illinois women's soccer program.
He graduated from Western Illinois University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education. He also obtained his Master's of Science degree from Western Illinois in 2002 in Sport Management.
Bristol played on the Granite City High School team for four years including a year on the Illinois Olympic Development Team before joining the Western Illinois University soccer program in 1995. After breaking his wrist, he had a brief stint playing football for the Leathernecks before rejoining the soccer team in 1999. He also played on the Cocoa Expos Soccer Team in the Professional Developmental League in 1999. While at WIU, Bristol was the 1995 WIU Western Courier Male Newcomer Athlete of the Year and the 1995 MVP of the WIU men's soccer team.
Bristol received his Level 3 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/United States Soccer Coaches Organization Goalkeeping License in 2001. Then in 2002, he earned the NSCAA Premier National Diploma.
