Ralph Polson announced his retirement from Wofford College on Monday, October 12, 2018 after spending 11 seasons at the helm of the Wofford men’s soccer program. He joined the Terriers after eight seasons as associate head coach at the College of Charleston and 17 seasons as head coach at Presbyterian College. He has helped the team earn two Southern Conference titles.
Polson was awarded the Bill Jeffrey College Long-Term Award by the United Soccer Coaches on Wednesday, October 14, 2018, recognizing long-term service to United Soccer Coaches and intercollegiate soccer as a whole. The award is named after the former Penn State coach who played a major role in shaping soccer and the association. Each year, United Soccer Coaches presents this award to a person who has raised intercollegiate soccer to new heights through his or her long-term dedication to the game.
Along with his decorated resume, he served as the President of the NSCAA in 2012, is currently a member of the NSCAA Board of Governors Advisory Council, Chairman of the NSCAA Senior College Men’s National All-America, and Chairman of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer Playing Rules Committee.
The 2017 Terriers were young but Coach Polson’s squad improved throughout the season. Wofford went 4-6 in the Southern Conference including away victories at UNCG, Furman and VMI as Polson coached Lucas Altman to an All-SoCon selection and Zach Aversano to an All-Freshman selection.
In 2016 the Terriers continued their winning ways, finishing with a record of 12-7. The 12 wins matched the school record for wins which was set in 2009, Polson’s second season with the club. This marked the fifth consecutive winning season for Wofford. The Southern Conference honored nine Terriers for their 2016 season, including five who were named to the All-Freshman team.
The 2015 team provided another solid season for the Terriers, as Polson guided them to a 9-7-2 record. During the season, Polson helped six players earn All-SoCon honors, including three who were named to the All-Freshman team.
The 2014 team continued to reach new heights under Polson’s direction. The Terriers ended the campaign with an 11-6-1 mark overall, going 7-2-1 in conference play. The squad boasted six all-conference selcetions in Matthew Aurednik, Connor Davis, Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez, Ryan Hurst, Nestor Jaramillo and Forest Lasso. Aurednik and Lasso both earned NSCAA All-Region First Team selections, while Jaramillo was named to the All-Region Third Team. Lasso also became the program’s fifth-ever All-America selection, as he was named to the third team.
Coach Polson continued to produce one of the most feared offenses in the nation during the 2014 campaign. The team ended the year finishing No. 3 in points per game with a 6.44 average, and had the fourth-best scoring offense in the country, averaging 2.22 goals per game. The team also went undefeated at home for the first time in school history, recording a 7-0-0 record at Snyder Field.
Coach Polson’s squad also continued to achieve off the field, grabbing a seventh consecutive NSCAA team academic honor award, given to teams earning a 3.0 GPA or higher. Senior Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez also earned NSCAA All-Academic South region honors under Coach Polson’s guidance.
During the 2013 season, Wofford earned another Southern Conference Championship as the team claimed its second regular season title Southern Conference title in school history. The Terriers finished 5-1 in conference play to claim the title. It was also Wofford’s second winning record in the men’s soccer team’s NCAA Division I era.
The 2012 Terriers posted only the second winning record in Wofford’s Division I era. The team fell to Elon 2-1 in the SoCon Championship game. Nestor Jaramillo was named SoCon Freshman of the Year, and Alex Hutchins, Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez, Forrest Lasso and Connor Davis all received postseason SoCon honors.
The 2011 season saw the Terriers improve on the previous season’s record, with Alex Hutchins, Carlos-Dominguez Gonzalez, and Forrest Lasso each earning postseason SoCon honors.
After the 2010 fall season, six different men’s soccer student athletes were named to the Southern Conference All-Academic team. Coach Polson strives to push his student-athletes to excel in school as well as on the field. In Coach Polson’s five year tenure at Wofford, he has had 39 Southern Conference All-Academic selections awarded to his student-athletes.
In only his second season at Wofford, Polson turned a team that had won only six Southern Conference games in the previous nine years into tournament and regular season conference champions. Overall, the Terriers were 12-3-3 on the season, marking the second-most wins in school history and the most since 14 wins in 1994. In conference play, Wofford was 5-1-1 to claim the regular season championship. Prior to 2009, the most SoCon games won in a season was two.
Once Wofford claimed the Southern Conference regular season title with a 4-3 win at Furman, the Terriers hosted the 2009 conference tournament at Snyder Field. Following a 3-1 win over UNCG in the semifinals, the Terriers defeated Elon 2-1 to win the tournament title. Along with the tournament championship came the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Wofford faced #5 UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the tournament and were defeated 1-0 in front of over 2,000 fans.
With the success of the team, six players were named to the Southern Conference All-Conference team and Polson was named the SoCon Coach of the Year. In addition, senior Nick Schuermann earned All-America and NSCAA Scholar All-America honors. Polson was also named NCSAA South Coach of the Year and was a finalist for national coach of the year honors.
Wofford named Ralph Polson as head men’s soccer coach January 14, 2008. “We are pleased to have Ralph Polson as head coach of the men’s soccer program at Wofford College,” said Director of Athletics Richard Johnson. “Ralph brings a wealth of experience to the position and is very familiar with the Southern Conference. We hope to continue to build on the progress made this past season by the team.”
In his eight seasons at the College of Charleston, the Cougars reached the Southern Conference semifinals five times and the finals twice. In 2004, the Cougars won the Southern Conference Championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. They defeated South Carolina 3-2 in the first round before falling to UNCG.
Polson coached nine All-Southern Conference first-team players while at College of Charleston who earned 12 honors. Overall, the Cougars were 89-59-14 in his eight seasons, which included seven winning campaigns.
He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Erskine, as an assistant coach. Polson was named head coach at Presbyterian in 1983. In his 17 years at Presbyterian, he posted a 196-104-26 overall record and had 15 non-losing seasons. He was named NAIA District 6 Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1988. In 1992 and 1996 he earned South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors.
Presbyterian won the South Atlantic Conference Tournament in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1996. In 1995, the Blue Hose participated in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in school history.
Polson holds a USSFA license and has been a member of the USYSA Region III Olympic Development Program coaching staff since 1983. He is a staff coach for the SCYSA State Select Team Program and also worked as a coach for the Bridge Futbol Alliance. Since 1992, he has served as the assistant director of the Ralph Lundy Soccer Academy.
He has served as a member of the NSCAA Senior Recognition Committee and served as the NCAA Division II Representative to the NSCAA.
In the spring of 2008, Polson was appointed as the secretary for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and a member of the Executive Committee. He was elected to a three-year term as Vice-President of Conventions and Awards of the NSCAA in January 2009. In January 2012, he became the 64th president of the NSCAA.
From 2001 to 2014, he had been NSCAA Division I All-America Committee National Chairman and South Region Chairman. He is also treasurer of the Walt Chyzowych Memorial Fund.
Polson is a 1980 Erskine graduate. He was a member of the 1977 men’s soccer team at Erskine which reached the NAIA national semifinals.
He and his wife, Susan, have a daughter, Megan and a son, Ralph, who both graduated from Wofford. The family resides in Spartanburg.
