MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- It was a historic evening Friday night as Dr. John Bratcher won his 500th career coaching victory when Indiana Wesleyan University women’s soccer shutout host Bethel (Ind.) College 4-0 in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Bratcher reaches a milestone that few have achieved at the collegiate coaching level. He is only the second women’s soccer coach to reach the 500 win milestone and 12th overall among men’s and women’s coaches. Bratcher is currently ninth among all active coaches with his 500 wins.
“I would like to thank God for the ability to coach this long,” said Bratcher. “He has given me good health to be able to coach this long and to reach 500. I’ve also survived this long because of the support of my wife and kids. And all these years I’ve been blessed with quality players, not just quality on the field, but academically and spiritually. It takes a bunch of animals to make a zoo and it’s been a bunch of special people to help me reach this point and I want to thank every one of them.”
According to the NSCAA, Bratcher is the second women’s soccer coach to reach 500 career victories, behind legendary University of North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance. The UNC coach has well over 700 victories in 40+ years on the sideline.
On the field Friday night, senior forward Kylie Dial was the star of the game with a hat trick. The three goal game is the first this season for Dial and the third in her career as she has earned one in each of the last three seasons.
Freshman forward Katie Pannabecker did not have three goals but she did score the game-winning goal in the 18th minute of play. After the Pannabecker goal, her 10th of the season, is when Dial went to work.
Dial scored two quick goals in the 30th and 34 minutes to give Indiana Wesleyan a robust 3-0 advantage at halftime. The senior then recorded the lone goal of the second half with a goal in the 55th minute that hit off the crossbar.
“It was a breakout night for Kylie,” said Bratcher. “She really came through and she did not get any cheap goals tonight. She played extremely well and it is exciting to see.”
The Wildcats outshot the Pilots 16-9 for the game and 9-1 in the first half. Senior keeper Jamie Speidel stopped all three Pilot shots that were on target for the shutout. Pilot keeper Mallory Conrad was able to stop six of the 10 Wildcat shots on goal.
“The team played well today,” said Bratcher. “We played 90 minutes as we were able to pressure them the whole time. We moved the ball well, checked back well, turned and looked for targets, possessed the ball. I am very happy with the way we played.”
Indiana Wesleyan improves to 10-3-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the Crossroads League while Bethel falls to 7-7-0 and 2-4-0 in the league play.
Bratcher has coached 32 years at the collegiate level and boasts a 500-198-44 record (.716). He holds a 175-41-15 record in his 11 years at the helm of the Wildcat women’s soccer program. Prior to Indiana Wesleyan, Bratcher coached the Lee (Tenn.) University men’s soccer team to a 170-102-17 record and the Lee women’s soccer team to a 36-21-2 mark. His first job came at Grand Rapids Baptist (Mich.) College, which is now Cornerstone (Mich.) University, where he managed a 119-34-10 record.
“I’ve been blessed to have the support of three great institutions at Cornerstone, Lee, and of course Indiana Wesleyan,” continued Bratcher. “Thank you to the administrations and fellow coaches for all the support throughout the year, that is what helps me survive.”
“I have had great, great coaching staffs through the years and they are a great support. This year has been especially great with Janelle Carmichael who sits in the office and listens to all the things I say and Tim Strands who had done great work with the goalkeepers. Thank you.”
“I never thought I would want to coach soccer,” stated Bratcher. “But God led me to the places that I went and the things that I did. A dream came true that was never a goal.”
Story courtesy of Kyle Schmidt, Indiana Wesleyan University SID.