UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND: Irwin enters his third season as the Director of Soccer at the University of Portland. Following the passing of legendary head coach Clive Charles, Irwin was promoted in the fall of 2003 after serving 17 years as an assistant. Irwin and the Pilot coaching staff are responsible for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams as a combined staff. His inaugural season at the helm was capped when both the men’s and women’s teams earned NCAA playoff berths, with the men advancing to the second round and the women reaching the third round. The Pilot women finished with an 18-3-2 overall mark, while the men endured a challenging schedule to finish 10-9-1 overall.
The 2004 campaign also featured a high success rate as each program again advanced to the NCAA playoffs. The women achieved a 20-win season for the fourth time in program history and reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual national champion Notre Dame. The men’s squad finished 12-8-2 and defeated Washington in the first round of the tournament, advancing to the second round for the fourth consecutive season.
Irwin came to The Bluff as an assistant coach prior to the 1987 season and was reunited with Charles, his long time friend and former professional teammate beginning at Cardiff City in the English Second Division in 1971. Irwin has a distinguished record as a goalkeeping specialist as all five starting men’s goalkeepers who trained under Irwin at UP have gone on to play professionally: Greg Maas, Kasey Keller, Stuart Dobson, Scott Hileman and most recently Curtis Spiteri. Keller, a three-time All-American and the 1991 Adidas Goalkeeper of the Year, is a regular on the U.S. National Team (1990, 98 and 2002 World Cups) and captained the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team in Atlanta.
In the women’s net, Michelle Voiland (1991-94) was a three-time all-West Coast Conference pick. Erin Fahey (1991-93, 95) earned All-America status in ’95 after leading the nation with a school-record 16 shutouts in 23 games and recording the country’s third-lowest goals-against average, 0.46. Cheryl Loveless became the third Irwin-coached keeper to be named All-America after posting a 0.42 GAA (No. 2 nationally) and 13 shutouts (No. 3 nationally) in 1996. In 1997, Angela Harrison was named first team all-Far West region to become the fourth Irwin protégé to earn post-season regional or national honors. In 1998, Harrison bested her own school and WCC goals-against average with a 0.30 effort, finishing third in the nation. The Pilots posted a school-record 17 shutouts en route to the 2002 NCAA Championship, and followed with 16 shutouts in 2003 with freshman keeper Cori Alexander minding the nets each contest.
NATIONAL TEAM COACHING EXPERIENCE: Irwin has extensive experience on both the men’s and women’s side of the U.S. National Team circuit as a goalkeeper coach. Earlier this year, he was with the full women’s squad serving along with newly hired head coach Greg Ryan. In 2004, he was with the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team which cruised to the Nordic Cup title in Iceland. He also has worked with the U-18 Boy’s National Team, and was named goalkeeper coach of the U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team in 1997. Irwin has served as goalkeeper coach for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team since 1999, including a trip to the 2001 World Youth Championships in Argentina. Irwin has also trained keepers on the 1998 World Cup team, the 2000 Olympic team, and U-18, U-17 and U-16 national teams. In addition, Irwin is a national staff coach, and OYSA staff coach.
CLUB COACHING EXPERIENCE: F.C. Portland staff coach, and has coached U-15 and U-16 girls to the Oregon State Championship. Also coaches U-15 and U-18 boys in the F.C. program. He is certified as an “A” licensed coach and is a member of the Region IV staff.
PROFESSIONAL PLAYING EXPERIENCE: Irwin’s soccer background includes 17 years in the pro ranks. He began playing semi-pro as a 16-year-old in Northern Ireland, where he earned several youth and amateur international caps. He played eight seasons in England with Cardiff City, winning several Welsh Cups, and played in the European Cup Winner’s Cup competition, before moving to the United States in 1978. Signed and played three years with the NASL’s Washington Diplomats. His seven-year NASL experience also took him the Dallas Tornado (1981), Portland Timbers (1982) and San Jose Earthquakes (1983-84). His final two pro campaigns were in the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Minnesota Strikers (1985) and the Wichita Wings (1986).
PERSONAL: Irwin, 54, and his wife, Liz, live in Portland and are the parents of two sons: Bryan (19) and Nicholas (13).