University of Memphis

University of Memphis Men's Soccer
570 Normal, AOB Room #207 Memphis, TN 38152

Division 1 Tennessee Southeast

Public Large National competitor

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Richard Mulrooney

Richard Mulrooney was named the program’s fourth head coach on Feb. 25, 2014. The former Major League Soccer and United States Men’s National Team player, a Memphis native, returned to his hometown in January of 2013 when he was named a Tigers assistant coach under then-head coach Richie Grant. He served as an assistant for one season before being promoted to his current position.

Mulrooney and the Tigers finished the historic 2022 season with a 9-6-4 overall record and a big to the NCAA Tournament - the first since the 2004 season and the first at-large bid for the program. Memphis would get there after making it to the semi-final round of the AAC Championship following an overtime game-winning strike from Lineker Rodriguez dos Santos in the 99' of play. Along with the team's outstanding postseason run, three were named to All-AAC Teams (Alberto Cruz, Lineker Rodriguez dos Santos and Colin Welsh) while Rodriguez dos Santos, Welsh and Cam Weston were all selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Team.

During the Tigers record-breaking season, Memphis would find themselves ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer polls in back-to-back weeks, getting as high as No. 22. During those two weeks, Memphis would get wins over then No. 23 UCF and undefeated Green Bay - a bubble team in the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer rankings. They would also eliminate nationally ranked Tulsa in the AAC Championship Quarterfinals in Oklahoma while collecting draws with No. 13 Charlotte and No. 12 Lipscomb.

Mulrooney led the team to a third place finish in the American Athletic Conference during the 2021 season that included a season sweeps of SMU, includuing a win over the Mustangs when they were ranked No. 10, and Temple. Six Tiger players were named All-AAC including Maxi Galizzi and Artur De Luca, who were both named to the All-AAC First Team.

After a shortened and shifted season due to COVID-19, the Tigers recorded two double-overtime wins in the 2020 season (played in Spring 2021) over Temple and South Florida.

Memphis continued to reach new heights under Mulrooney’s watch in 2019, as the team reached several firsts for the head coach. The Tigers claimed two top-ten wins, upending then-No. 10 Xavier and No. 3 SMU, both on the road. The win over SMU marked the highest-ranked opponent Memphis has ever defeated, and would end up being the Mustangs’ only loss of the regular season. Defeating SMU also gave Memphis a new program record of five-consecutive road wins. The Tigers also earned a hosting bid for the first round of the AAC Championship for the first time in school history, as Memphis hosted Temple.

With 10 wins on the year, it also marked the first time a Tiger squad has reached double-digit wins since 2011. For the season, five student-athletes were recognized by the conference. Sam Ashton was named first team All-AAC, while Ben Roberts landed his third all-conference nod, making the second team with Gurman Sangha. Additionally, Peter Chang and Ford Hunt were named to the all-rookie team.

A new high-point was established for Mulrooney and the Tigers in 2018. David Zalzman and Ben Roberts repeated as All-AAC performers, this season claiming first team spots, and the team ushered in a first for the program in 2018. After finishing the regular season tied for fifth in the AAC standings, the Tigers faced USF in the opening round after falling to the Bulls in the season finale. Undeterred, Memphis went to the host city of Orlando, Fla., and took a 3-1 win, marking the first AAC Championship tournament win as a member of The American. Mulrooney's squad also saw Gurman Sangha earn an all-rookie team spot.

The 2017 season saw Mulrooney land two Second-Team All-Conference players in David Zalzman and Ben Roberts. Zalzman led the Tigers with seven points on two goals and three assists. Roberts tied with Zalzman for leading goal scorer on the squad with two scores to his name.

In 2016, Mulrooney and his staff guided freshman Jackson Morse (All-Rookie) and senior Raul Gonzalez (Second-Team) to All-Conference recognition. Gonzalez finished his Memphis career with three All-Conference nods. Morse led the team with six goals and was tabbed a Top 100 Freshman by Top Drawer Soccer.

In Mulrooney’s first two seasons at the helm, he led the Tigers to the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Following his first win as head coach, 2-1 over SIU-Edwardsville, he took down his first ranked opponent, No. 15 Saint Louis. The Tigers hammered the Billikens, 4-0, in Mulrooney’s third game as head coach.

Gonzalez was named a first team All-Conference selection in 2015 after leading the team with 16 points and seven goals.

Forward Hector Cantele had a great first season at Memphis under Mulrooney and was named to the American Conference’s All-Rookie team after he led the Tigers with seven goals.

In his one season as an assistant, Mulrooney helped the Tigers program transition to the American Athletic Conference from Conference USA. In its inaugural season in The American, Memphis posted an overall winning record (9-8-1) and earned a conference tournament berth.

Mulrooney also aided in player development and had some earn postseason accolades. Mark Sherrod was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America third team for the second time in his illustrious career, becoming the first Tigers player to receive All-America distinction two times or more. Sherrod and Liam Collins both earned all-conference honors, and Gonzalez was named to The American All-Rookie Team.

The Tigers, with Mulrooney on staff, also made their mark in the classroom. The squad has earned the NSCAA Academic Team Award, and Sherrod, Cody Uzcategui, and Chandler Klemm have received national academic recognition. After the 2016-17 season, Mulrooney’s Tigers finished with a 3.57 team GPA, the highest mark in program history.

Mulrooney wasn’t completely new to the collegiate coaching ranks when he joined the Tigers in January of 2013. He previously served as a volunteer assistant on head coach Bret Simon’s staff at Stanford University in 2001 and 2002, helping the Cardinal advance to consecutive NCAA College Cups. Stanford lost to North Carolina in the 2001 NCAA semifinal round and dropped the 2002 NCAA title match to UCLA.

From 2003-05, he was director of the Coach Mulrooney Soccer Academy Camps located in San Jose, Calif. Additionally, he coached the De Anza Force Select Club team (San Jose, Calif.) from 1999-2004.

At the same time he was coaching on the West Coast, Mulrooney started a lengthy, 12-year Major League Soccer (MLS) career. As a player in MLS from 1999-2011, Mulrooney starred for the San Jose Clash/Earthquakes (1999-2004), FC Dallas (2005-06) and, most recently, the Houston Dynamo (2007-10).

Mulrooney was a member of three MLS Cup-winning teams (2001, 2003, 2007) and was a three-time MLS All-Star selection (2002, 2004, 2006). He was named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2006. On May 18, 2019, the former San Jose Earthquake was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. As a midfelder for the Earthquakes, Mulrooney tallied four goals and 45 assists, the second-most assists in Earthquakes’ history. A twotme All-Star, he led the club to both of its MLS Cup championships, winning in 2001 and 2003.

Mulrooney also saw time with the United States National Team from 2001-04, with 14 appearances in the squad’s 2002 Gold Cup win. He made the 2002 U.S. World Cup team as an alternate.

Prior to his MLS career, Mulrooney was a collegiate standout at Creighton University from 1995-98. He helped lead the Blue Jays to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1996 College Cup (national semifinal). Creighton posted a combined 63-17-6 four-year record, including an impressive 19-2-3 mark in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play. Mulrooney’s teams won two MVC regular-season titles and three league tournament championships.

As for individual honors, Mulrooney earned NSCAA All-America first team (1998), NSCAA All-Midwest Region twice (1997, 1998), MVC Player of the Year (1998) and All-MVC first team three times (1996, 1997, 1998) honors.

Mulrooney, a 2018 Tennessee State Soccer Association Hall of Fame inductee and 2008 Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, still holds the school’s career record with 51 assists. His 51 career assists are 15 more than the No. 2 player in school history, and he posted 16 assists in a season twice in his career (1996, 1998).

Mulrooney earned a degree in marketing from Creighton in 2005.

Before his stellar collegiate career, Mulrooney was an All-America performer at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis. He was named a Soccer America “Super 11 Recruit” and one of USA Today’s “Top-25 Seniors” in 1994. Mulrooney also played on the winning South Team at the 1995 Puma Cup and was a member of the United States Under-20 National Team.

Mulrooney is married to the former Shelley Steinwand, and they have two boys, Hayden and Logan, and a daughter, Kenzie.

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Tony McManus

Tony McManus, joined the Tigers program after spending the 2013 season at Stetson University as an assistant coach, recruiting and travel coordinator for the Hatters.

McManus, who spent nine years playing professionally, spent four years as an assistant with the Tigers and remained in that role when Richard Mulrooney took over as the program's head coach.

"Tony was a person I thought of right off the bat when I was first hired," said head coach Richard Mulrooney. "I got to meet Tony at a recruiting event in 2013 and the impression he made on me was huge. He is a first-class person who was raised here in the city of Memphis and brings a ton of credibility with him to the field from his playing days in college as well as MLS. He comes from Stetson University and the knowledge and experience he gained from there will help us tremendously here at Memphis."

McManus saw great improvement with the Tigers in the 2022 season - coaching three to All-AAC Team honors in Alberto Cruz, Lineker Rodriguez dos Santos and Colin Welsh while Rodriguez dos Santos, Welsh and Cam Weston were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Team. The Tigers, who finished the season with a 9-6-4 overall record, earned the team's first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after Memphis took down nationally-ranked Tulsa in the AAC Championship Quarterfinals. In addition, the Tigers would collect wins over then undefeated Green Bay and No. 23 UCF while taking draws with No. 13 Charlotte and No. 12 Lipscomb.

The Memphis, Tenn., native played a critical role in developing a team that reached new heights as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Memphis picked up 10 wins, the most in a single season during McManus’ Memphis career. McManus was also a factor in the Tigers having five all-conference players. Sam Ashton was named first team all-conference, while Ben Roberts and Gurman Sangha landed on the second team. Additionally, Peter Chang and Ford Hunt were named to the all-rookie team.

McManus has helped develop multiple AAC All-Conference selections including David Zalzman and Ben Roberts. Both players were selected to the Second-Team All-Conference. Zalzman led the team with seven points, and he tied with Roberts as leading scorers with two goals each.

The duo of Roberts and Zalzman repeated the feat in 2018, both earning First-Team All-AAC. Most notably, the pair led the Tigers to a first round win over USF in the AAC Championship, claiming the first conference tournament win as members of the AAC.

Under McManus' tutelage, Raul Gonzalez, an AAC All-Conference player, became the first player under the current coaching staff to sign a professional soccer contract. Former keeper Jake Leeker and Zalzman have since joined that list, inking professional contracts of their own.

Before arriving in Florida, McManus spent one season at Oglethorpe University, a Division III school in Atlanta, Ga. In his lone season with the Stormy Petrels, McManus helped guide the team to the conference tournament semifinals and a 9-7 season record.

Before his time in the coaching ranks, McManus spent nine seasons playing in Major League Soccer (MLS), United Soccer Leagues (USL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL). He began his professional career with the Chicago Fire of the MLS in 2004.

A native Memphian, McManus spent much of his professional career playing for the Atlanta Silverbacks of the USL First Division from 2005-08 as a midfielder. In 2007, McManus appeared in 30 matches and helped the Silverbacks to the USL Championship Game. In 2005 McManus was a brief teammate of Head Coach Richard Mulrooney at FC Dallas where he spent the end of the season on loan, although they never played together because of an ACL injury suffered by Coach Mulrooney.

In 2009, McManus moved west to the Portland Timbers of the USL, who went on a 24-match winning streak that season, one of the longest unbeaten streaks in U.S. soccer history. The Timbers went on to claim the USL First Division Commissioner's Cup.

McManus stayed at Portland through the 2011 MLS season before stints with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Carolina Railhawks, both of the NASL. McManus won the Supporters Shield that year with the Railhawks.

In 2012, McManus returned to the Atlanta Silverbacks in the NASL where he went on to finish out his career as the all-time appearance holder with 132 appearances before retiring following that season.

Since 2004, McManus has worked with numerous youth soccer clubs that include the Roswell Soccer Club, Bridlemile Soccer Club, Vestavia Steamers, Chicago Sockers Soccer Club and the Triangle Soccer Club. Currently he is coaching at CSA Lobos Rush in Collierville, Tenn. as well as on the ODP Region Staff. McManus holds a USSF A license.

A four-year letterwinner at UAB, McManus received his Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Health Education in 2003. McManus was a two-year captain for the Blazers during the 2002 and 2003 seasons as he captured National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and College Soccer News All-American honors during his senior campaign. He also garnered the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award and was selected to the C-USA First Team and the First Team All-South Region in 2003. During his time in Birmingham, UAB was crowned C-USA champions in 1999, advancing to the Elite Eight that season to begin a span of three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.