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Russell Payne
Russell Payne is set to begin his fifth season leading the Northwestern University men's soccer program in 2025. Payne, who was named the program's fourth head coach on May 7, 2021, arrived in Evanston following 11 seasons as head coach at Army West Point.
Across his first four seasons with the 'Cats, Payne has mentored seven All-Big Ten Conference selections and six United Soccer Coaches All-North Region honorees. Following the 2024 season, Collin McCamy, a three-time All-Big Ten pick under Payne, became just the seventh student-athlete in program history to be selected in the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft after going 54th overall to New York City FC.
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.
In the summer of 2024, Payne continued his work with the U.S. U-23 Men's National Team, serving as an assistant coach as the side represented the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The stacked roster included Major League Soccer stars Walker Zimmerman and Djordie Mihailovic, as well as goalkeepers Patrick Schulte and Gaga Slonina, the latter of whom plies his trade for Chelsea in the English Premier League. Following dominant wins over New Zealand, 4-1, and Guinea, 3-0, in the group stage, the United States clinched their first Olympic knockout round berth since 2000, ending a 24-year drought.
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 MLS SuperDraft selection in 2020.
Northwestern's strides on the recruiting trail paid dividends in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, as the 'Cats piled up 19 wins, their most in a two-year span in over a decade, en route to finishing with back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since 2013-14. Payne's crew spent multiple weeks ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 during both seasons, climbing as high as ninth in the national poll during the 2024 season after getting off to a program-record 4-0 start.
In Payne's debut season in Evanston, Northwestern caught fire late in the year, winning two of their last three regular season games. The Wildcats carried that momentum into the Big Ten Tournament, knocking off second-seeded Maryland on penalty kicks to book a semifinal-round berth.
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 and current head coach of the Canadian Men's National Team. “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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