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Otterbein University

Otterbein Athletics
 1 South Grove Street Westerville, OH 43081
Division 3 Ohio Midwest
Private Small Developing team
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Coaches

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Jason Griffiths

Jason Griffiths, holding a career record of 70-28-8, begins his seventh season as head coach of the Otterbein men's soccer program.


Griffiths, 35, emerged from a deep pool of applicants and immediately resurrected the Cardinal program. He guided Otterbein to a 19-3 record, including a 17-match winning streak to go undefeated in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) to claim both the regular-season and tournament titles. It was the program's first OAC trophy since 2003.


Even more recently, he oversaw the 2021 Otterbein team to a 15-2-4 record and 7-0-2 mark in conference play. Despite being picked sixth in the league's preseason poll, the Cardinals soared up to No. 6 in the national rankings and shared the OAC regular-season title with John Carroll.


Griffiths is a 2x OAC Coach of the Year and has made the NCAA Championships twice in four full seasons. His Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 (in Chicago) during that inaugural 2017 run and then made the second round in 2021 after being chosen as a regional host. The Cards were eliminated by eventual national semifinalist UChicago.


Otterbein settled 11th and 24th, respectively, in the final United Soccer Coaches national rankings during each of the two postseason runs. He has already coached a pair of All-Americans in defender Jaden Lunger (2017) and forward Will Isaac (2021).


Griffiths joined Otterbein after three-plus years as a Senior Director of Coaching at Classics Eagles Soccer Club in Columbus, where he managed 30 coaches and teams, implemented year-round training sessions for all age groups, coached “elite teams” at regional/national events and spearheaded travel, presentation and summer camp responsibilities. He also served as an assistant coach for Otterbein from 2013-15, specializing in training and recruiting.


A native of Bracknell, England, Griffiths was a two-time all-conference and all-region selection at the University of Kentucky before being chosen by the New England Revolution with the 48th pick in the 2010 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. He played one professional season before suffering a tough injury and retiring.


In addition to his experience at Classics Eagles, Griffiths briefly served as an assistant at Kentucky before moving to Ohio and beginning local stints with Locker Soccer Academy and Individual Fitness Solutions. Griffiths holds a United States Soccer Federation National “B” License along with his NSCAA level two goalkeeping certification.


He and his wife, Tara, who served as a graduate assistant for the Otterbein women's program in 2009 and 2010, currently reside in Dublin with their young sons, Blake and Jaxson.

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Marc Johnson

Marc Johnson begins his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Otterbein men’s soccer program in the fall of 2023, overseeing the goalkeepers. He has most recently guided a pair of All-OAC selections between the posts in Andrew McIlvoy (2021) and Casey Thompson (2022).


The Cardinals have kept opponents under one goal per game during that span, posting respective goals-against averages of 0.83 and 0.95 the past two years.


Johnson brought a multitude of experience with him to Westerville, having served stints with Thomas More, Cincinnati State Community College, Xavier, fellow Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) school Wilmington and various high schools.


He was the head coach at Cincinnati State in 2016-17, hired to relaunch the program after athletics had been eliminated. Johnson ultimately turned a six-player roster into 21 individuals that competed across a 13-game schedule.


Prior to that, Johnson worked as the lead assistant under legendary coach Bud Lewis at Wilmington from 2014-16. He helped oversee day-to-day operations of the program such as budgeting, equipment purchases, goalkeeper training, recruiting and offseason fitness.


Johnson holds his USSF “D” License, Canadian "C" License, La Liga Level II, NSCAA Premier Diploma and Advanced National GK Diploma.


He and his wife, Samantha, live in New Albany with their son Cameron.

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Liam Heard

Liam Heard enters his second season as a Graduate Assistant coach under Jason Griffiths in 2023, after recently completing a nice playing career for the Cardinals.


A 2022 graduate, Heard played a shortened career for Otterbein through the COVID-19 pandemic. He started 47 matches (at multiple positons) over two-plus seasons, helping the program deliver a combined 31-14-5 record while spending time in the national rankings.


As a senior, Heard started all 21 contests on the back line as a defender and helped Otterbein share the OAC regular-season crown before also making the NCAA Division III Championships. His group advanced to the second round and bowed out to eventual Final Four participant UChicago.


Heard received his bachelor's degree in sport management and compiled a near-perfect GPA in the process. He earned multiple Academic All-OAC awards and was voted CoSIDA Academic All-District as a senior.


A native of Wairarapa, New Zealand, he has coached at various clubs and academies both back home and in Ohio. He is currently working toward a master's degree at Otterbein while obtaining his USSF D license.

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