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Penn State Behrend

Penn State Behrend Athletics
 Junker Center - 5103 Station Road Erie, PA 16563
Division 3 Pennsylvania Northeast
Public Small Developing team
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Dan Perritano

Dan Perritano is preparing to enter his 30th season as the head coach of the men's soccer program. He has guided the team to 24 winning seasons in the last 26 years, including 10 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships, in 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Perritano's 384 wins as the men's soccer coach make him the winningest coach in the history of the program and ranks him 12th amoung active coaches in the NCAA Division III. He been selected three times by his peers for AMCC Coach of the Year, with those honors coming in 1997 and 2003 and 2018.


In 2019, Behrend won its 10th AMCC title and advanced to the program's eighth NCAA Tournament. The Lions set a new school record for wins with a 19-2 overall record, going undefeated at home (10-0). The team was ranked nationally from start to finish, ranking a program-best 10th in Division III. Behrend finished the regular season with the highest winning percentage in the nation and were the final unbeaten/untied team in the nation. The previous year, Perritano guided the Lions to their first-ever Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament.


In 2013, Behrend hosted its first-ever NCAA Tournament game after the AMCC Crown with a 1-0 win over Medaille in the championship contest. The Lions finished 16-4-2 overall and 8-1 in conference play, while going 10-1-1 at home. In 2012, the Lions tied the longest winning-streak in all of Division III men's soccer last season with 11 consecutive wins. Behrend finished with a 17-5 overall record and took second in the conference, while earning the No. 1 seed in the ECAC Tournament and falling in the semifinals.


Perritano was also the Behrend women's soccer coach for nine seasons, from 1995 to 2003. Prior to the 2004 season, to strengthen his program, coach Perritano relinquished his duties as head women's soccer coach at Behrend after an incredible run to focus on the men's program. As women's coach the Behrend Lions dominated the conference winning four AMCC championships and placed second in another three. They earned three bids to the ECAC Tournament and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. His women's record at Behrend stands at 109-57-11 to go along with a 58-20-4 women's mark from two previous coaching stops.


Perritano has 460 men's and women's coaching victories in his illustrious career. He also holds an NSCAA Premier Diploma, USSF "B" and National Youth Coaching Licenses, and a Brazilian Football Federation Coaching Certificate.


His interest in the game goes beyond coaching. In the summer of 2006 Perritano took the Behrend men to Germany to compete and experience the culture of the host nation of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the summer of 2005 Perritano coached several of the region's finest Division III players in five games in Brazil including a contest in Maracana Stadium. He has attended both the European Cup Finals in London in 1996 and the World Cup Finals in 1994 in Los Angeles and has served on the NCAA Northeast region Selection Committee and as a coaching clinician and state coach for PA West ODP as well as guest coaching at various camps and clinics, including a summer 2003 soccer camp in Alaska.


In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Perritano is also a lecturer of health and physical education.

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Chris Ralph

Chris Ralph enters his second season as an assistant coach with Penn State Behrend men's soccer program. Ralph returns to the Lions after a successful three-year career under head coach Dan Perritano along with playing six seasons for the Erie Commodores of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). He also spent a year as a men's soccer graduate assistant coach at Mercyhurst University with Ryan Osborne and Austin Solomon, producing a 6-0 record in the Spring.


Ralph was an NSCAA All-American and a USC Scholar All-American, while being a two-time Scholar All-East Region selection. He started in every game he played to register a 43-9-6 overall record. Ralph made 170 saves and tallied 26 shutouts in three seasons. He boasted a 0.73 career goals-against average, helping the Lions to a pair of AMCC Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.


Ralph, the 2019 Penn State Behrend Co-Male Athlete of the Year, was also a two-time AMCC Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-AMCC first-team selection. He graduated from Penn State Behrend in 2019 with a B.S degree in project and supply chain management. Ralph holds a Level 1 United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping diploma.

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