Northwestern University

Northwestern University Wildcats Athletics
1501 Central Street Evanston, IL 60208

Division 1 Illinois Midwest

Private Medium National competitor

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Russell Payne

Russell Payne was named Northwestern’s head men’s soccer coach on Friday, May 7, 2021. Payne arrived in Evanston after 11 seasons as head coach at Army West Point.

Payne has developed talent at the highest level, serving as the United States Men’s National Team goalkeepers coach from 2015-17 and as a current assistant coach and goalkeepers coach for four youth national programs. He mentored 31 All-Patriot League standouts in his 11 years in West Point, including 16 All-Region selections, a two-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, and two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.

A top-flight recruiter in the college soccer community, Payne has signed several classes ranked among the Top-25 nationally - including the No. 5 class in 2022 - according to Top Drawer Soccer. He played a major role in the development of Zac McGraw, the program’s first Major League Soccer Superdraft selection in 2020.

In his first season in Evanston, the Wildcats picked up steam at the end of the year by winning two of the last three regular season games. The seventh-seeded Wildcats then proceeded to pull off a miraculous upset in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament over second-seeded Maryland, advancing to the semifinals on penalty kicks.

In 2013, Payne oversaw one of the best individual seasons in Army West Point history, as goalkeeper Winston Boldt earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America honors with a program-record 12 shutouts. In addition to becoming the Black Knights’ first All-American since 1974, Boldt was named back-to-back Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year in 2013 and 2014.

Before coming to West Point, Payne was an assistant at his alma mater, Maryland, for five seasons under renowned head coach Sasho Cirovski. In his time on the sidelines in College Park, the Terrapins won two national championships (2005, 2008) and compiled the best five-year win total in program history (83) en-route to five straight NCAA tournament appearances.

“In Russell Payne, Northwestern has hired an absolute gem!” said Cirovski. “Russell is made of the right stuff. He is a tireless worker, a personable recruiter and a skilled tactician. He is an incredibly competitive, caring and compassionate person that knows how to develop leaders and is the perfect person to build upon the highly respected program that Tim Lenahan has built."

At Maryland, Payne mentored eight NSCAA All-Americans, 15 All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selections, an NSCAA Player of the Year, a pair of Academic All-Americans, an NCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 12 MLS draft picks.

Payne also has coached internationally with the United States Soccer Federation. Under Jurgen Klinsmann, Payne was the goalkeepers coach of the senior men’s national team during the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2016 Copa America Centenario, where the USA made a run to the semifinals. Payne worked with acclaimed goalkeepers Tim Howard and Brad Guzan as well as current Brugge (Belgium) keeper Ethan Horvath and Colorado Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough.

In 2023, Payne was appointed as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men's National Team for the 2023 Concacaf Nations League Finals and 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, serving as an assistant on B.J. Callaghan's staff.

Prior to his time with the senior team, Payne was an assistant coach and goalkeepers coach of the USA U-20 men’s team during two U-20 World Cups in 2013 and 2015. Payne worked with American standouts Cody Cropper and Zack Steffen, who is the first-choice goalkeeper for the senior men’s national team and English Premier League club Manchester City, currently in pursuit of a historic treble.

Since 2017, Payne has been an assistant coach and goalkeepers coach for the U-14, U-15 and U-19 boys’ national teams and the U-15 girls’ national team.

Before coaching, Payne had a prolific international and domestic career, playing for SV Elversberg (Germany), Shamrock Rovers (Ireland) and AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), as well as New York/New Jersey Metrostars, Colorado Rapids and DC United in Major League Soccer. The highlight came in 2002 when he was named the Premier League of Ireland Goalkeeper of the Year during his second season with Derry City.

“Russell is the type of person and coach who cares about getting the most out of people as individuals while also creating a highly competitive environment to push the levels of team success,” said Jesse Marsch, former manager of Leeds United. “The Northwestern University soccer and sports community has hired a person that will definitely enhance the overall experience of its student athletes.”

Payne also enjoyed a successful college playing career at Maryland from 1993 to 1996 as a four-year starter between the goalposts. He shined brightest as a senior, leading the ACC with an .835 save percentage and 0.88 goals against average while helping Maryland to its first-ever ACC Tournament Championship and garnering All-Tournament honors. A second-team All-ACC pick as a sophomore, Payne totaled 22.5 shutouts and 340 saves during his career at Maryland. His 10-save performance opposite Duke on Sept. 29, 1996 still stands as a single-game record in the Terrapin annals. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Maryland in 1998, Payne was the recipient of the Benjamin Banneker Fellowship for Math and Science.

Payne and his wife, Vanessa, have a daughter, Harper Elizabeth, and a son, Kellen James.

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Krystian Witkowski

A familiar face next to Payne on the sidelines, Witkowski spent the last five years prior to coming to Northwestern as an assistant coach at Army West Point. He brings a wealth of experience from both the collegiate and professional levels now entering his second year with the team.

Witkowski played a major role in the development of Army's 2020 class, which featured the program's first-ever Major League Soccer Superdraft selection and one of the program's all-time best scorers. Zac McGraw was selected in the third round by the Portland Timbers following his 2019 senior season, while Keenan O'Shea wrapped up his collegiate career ranked inside the Top-10 for program history in career points (60), goals (23) and assists (14). Both were All-Patriot League performers in the 2019 season as the duo garnered second team accolades.

He was also instrumental in the Black Knights' recruiting efforts during his time with the program, highlighted by back-to-back national ranked recruiting classes: 2021 class ranked No. 24 by Top Drawer Soccer & 2020 class ranked No. 18 by Top Drawer Soccer.

Witkowski came to West Point after serving as a Performance Analyst with the New York Red Bulls in MLS. During his time with the Red Bulls, Witkowski was tasked with utilizing video and data analysis for purposes of scouting, recruitment, and match analysis. He also assisted the technical staff in developing training sessions, while helping organize pre- and post-match tactical video sessions.

Witkowski worked as an assistant coach from 2013-16 with the men's soccer program at Marist, his alma mater. In his three years, he developed and conducted training sessions, strength, fitness and regenerative programs. He recruited prospective student-athletes and handled the recruitment database, while also serving as an academic liaison with the student-athletes.

As a student-athlete at Marist, Witkowski was a three-time All-MAAC First Team selection and a two-time NSCAA All-North Atlantic Region Second Team honoree. He also earned CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District First Team and Second Team nods during the 2011 and 2010 seasons, respectively. The Rochester, N.Y., native was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team in three of his four seasons as well.

In 71 games played for the Red Foxes, Witkowski started 67 of them. He compiled 54 total points, 21 career goals and seven game-winners.

Witkowski also played for the U-18 Polish National Team and for the Philadelphia Union for a season after being drafted in 2012. He received his Master's in Sports Management from Columbia in 2016.

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Ricardo Pinto

Pinto came to Northwestern in 2021 after serving as an assistant coach down Sheridan Road at Loyola University Chicago. He had been with the Ramblers since February of 2019 and helped the program to 18 wins in two seasons, including the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance.

Pinto joined Loyola after a one-year stint at University of North Carolina-Wilmington, where the team qualified for the 2018 NCAA tournament with a 12-5-3 record. Under his guidance, the Seahawks finished 18th nationally in goals-against-average and 19th nationally in team save percentage. Pinto also coached goalkeeper Ryan Cretens to a Second Team All-CAA honor.

A 2016 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Pinto's first job out of college was spending the 2017 season at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He helped the Hatters post a 7-7-2 record and capture the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship. He coached the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year in Joseph Melong and ASUN Freshman of the Year Deniz Dogan as the Hatters finished conference play unbeaten at a 4-0-2 clip.

Pinto was also a member of the coaching staff at GPS Florida, serving as the Director of Goalkeeping while acting as the head coach for the U-12 GPS Florida Select I team.

Prior to his arrival at Stetson, Pinto served as an assistant coach at Iowa Lakes Community College. The program registered a 14-5-0 record and earned a No. 15 national ranking with him on staff.

A native of Beaverton, Oregon, Pinto earned his 'D' license from the United States Soccer Federation in December of 2017. That same year, he earned his master’s degree from the University of South Dakota in Sport Management.