Roanoke College

Salem, VA 24153

Virginia Northeast

Private Small Developing team

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Coaches

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Phil Benne

Phil Benne is entering his 30th season as Head Women's Soccer Coach for the 2018 season.

The Chicago native is the winningest women’s soccer coach in the college’s history with an impressive overall record of 327-192-48. He is also among the nation's elite, ranked among the top-15 in NCAA Div. III for victories among active coaches, top-20 all-time in Division III in career wins.

Benne is a five-time ODAC Coach of the Year, his latest award coming after the 2015 season. Previous ODAC Coach of the Year Awards came in 1990, 1992, 1998, and 2007. He was named NSCAA South Region Coach of the Year in 1991 and 2007. Benne also received the VaSID State Coach of the Year Award in 2007.

Benne led his team to the ODAC Championship in 2015, where they fell to Lynchburg in penalty kicks. Six Maroons earned All-ODAC honors; senior Natalie Torres was named to the second-team All-Region and VaSID All-State honors. Benne celebrated his 300th win against Southern Virginia in September.

The 2011 season was another banner year for Benne's program, as the women finished 14-5-2 and made their third NCAA Tournament appearance. The Maroons fell to nationally ranked Centre in penalty kicks after a scoreless tie. It was the sixth-straight season with at least 11 wins.

In 2010, he guided his squad to a 13-4-3 record, including a 9-0-2 mark in ODAC play. It was the program's second undefeated conference record, with the last coming in 1988 (6-0) under previous head coach, Bob Hartman. The Maroons finished the year on a 13-game unbeaten streak (11-0-2) before falling in the ODAC semifinals. He produced two NSCAA All-South Region selections for the fourth consecutive year.

The 2007 season was a successful one, leading the Maroons to a school-record 18 wins, an ODAC runner-up finish and the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance. They defeated Methodist in the first round for Roanoke's first-ever post-season win. After falling to Lynchburg in the second round, the Maroons capped their season with an 18-4-1 record.

In the summer of 2013, Benne took the women's soccer team to Costa Rica on an exhibition trip. The Maroons take this trip every three years in which they participate in community outreach where the team has visited hospitals and helped with local day care facilities. During summer 2004, Benne took the team on a European exhibition trip. The team traveled to both the Netherlands and Germany during a two-week training, playing, and sightseeing journey.

The 1998 team finished 14-6-1 and won the ODAC Championship. In addition, the Maroons received a bid into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. This season began the string of five-straight seasons with at least 10 wins from 1998-2002. The Maroons won 14 games in 1995 and 12 in 1996, which capped seven straight years with at least 10 victories. They advanced to the ODAC Championship in both seasons.

In 1993, the Maroons finished 11-7-1 and advanced to the ODAC Championship game for the fourth-straight year. In 1992, Benne led his team to a 12-6-1 overall record, 6-1-1 in the ODAC. Benne was named ODAC Coach of the Year. The highlight of their season was knocking off third-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan on Parents' Weekend. In 1991, Roanoke was ranked as high as ninth nationally and finished with 10 wins. In 1990, Benne led his team to 13 wins and was voted ODAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after leading the Maroons to their second ODAC Championship.

In his 23 seasons as the Head Men's Tennis Coach, Benne has compiled 155 career wins, including 91 victories in the ODAC. In 2007, his team won a school-record 15 matches and went 7-1 in the ODAC, the best conference record in school history (tied with the 2004 season). They also landed on the ITA Atlantic South Rankings for the first time ever. He was named ODAC Coach of the Year following the 1999 and 2004 seasons.

Benne made history in the spring of 1999. Also serving as the Head Men's Tennis Coach, Benne was recognized in 1999 as the ODAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year, making him one of the very few coaches in league history to win a Coach of the Year award in two different sports in the same year.

After graduating from Wittenberg University in 1986, Benne joined Bob Hartman as an Assistant Women's Soccer Coach, leading the Maroons to the program's first winning season (9-3). He left Roanoke after one season to pursue a master’s degree at Alfred University, where he also served under Steve Allison as an Assistant Men's Soccer Coach for the Saxon's powerful program. After obtaining his graduate degree in 1987, he returned to Roanoke College as an Assistant Men's Soccer Coach in 1988 under Head Coach Scott Allison.

Benne completed a three-year stint on the South Region NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament Committee. He has also been a member of the NCAA South Region All-American Committee and served as chairman of the ISAA South Region in the past. He has an active role in local youth soccer, tennis, and basketball programs as a volunteer coach. He is also the director of several Roanoke College and Roanoke Valley area summer camps.

Benne, his wife Stephanie and three sons Andrew, Alex, and Max reside in Salem.

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Esteban Martinez

Esteban Martinez joined Roanoke College in the fall of 2004. His responsibilities include recruiting, practice planning, scouting and other administrative duties. In the summer of 2022, he traveled with the team to Costa Rica, the sixth time he had assisted head coach Phil Benne on the preseason trip. Student athletes compete, partake in outdoor adventures and community service. Martinez has helped coach the Maroons to a 205-122-35 record. Reaching the ODAC Tournament every season, including two conference Championship appearances and a pair of berths to the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship Tournament.

He is no stranger to soccer in the college scene in Virginia, as he has been around soccer in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) since 2001. For three years prior to joining the Roanoke staff, Martinez was the head coach at nearby Hollins University.

Martinez served as the head coach of the Cave Spring High School varsity girls soccer team until 2009. He was voted district coach of the year in 2005, after leading the Knights to the Class AA State Semifinals. In 2007, he was voted Region III Coach of the Year after a school-record 19 wins, claiming the Region III Championship and advanced to the State Semifinals. In 2008, he was selected by the Virginia High School League Coaches Association to coach the Senior game for the West Squad in Hampton VA. He finished his six-year tenure as the Knights head coach with an impressive 95-33-5 mark.

Martinez, who holds his United Soccer Coaches (formally NSCAA) Advanced National and National Diplomas. In addition to his NSCAA diploma, Martinez holds and NSCAA Regional Goalkeeper Diploma and a USSF-D license.

Originally from Ellenville, New York where he attended Ellenville High School, Martinez is a graduate of Bridgewater College, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team for three years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a minor in Special Education.

Dedicating more time to the game, Martinez has spent nearly two decades working at elite soccer camps at Virginia Tech, Penn State, High Point, Radford University and others. He has also coached at the youth level for local clubs including VBR & Valley United.

Martinez is entering his 26th year of teaching of which the last decade plus has been at nearby Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem, VA

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Ryan Pflugrad

Ryan Pflugrad '02, a Roanoke College soccer alumni, returned to Salem in 2013 to take over the head coaching role.

Since returning to his alma mater, in 2013, Pflugrad has led RC to 94 wins and a 51-13-19 record in ODAC play. In one of the finest seasons in Roanoke history, the 2019 Maroons went 14-2-4, including starting the season on a 14 game unbeaten streak (12-0-2), en route to earning an At-Large bid to the NCAA tournament and the program's seventh appearance. In 2014 and 2016, Pflugrad and the Maroons produced undefeated ODAC regular seasons. In 2017 the Maroons went 13-5-1 and 8-1 in the ODAC, capping a league-best four-year ODAC regular season run at 30-4-6 for that time period. Pflugrad was named the ODAC Coach of the Year in 2014 after leading RC to a 15-3-2 overall record and a 10-0-1 mark in the ODAC.

Under the guidance of Pflugrad, 21 Maroon players have earned a total of 50 all-conference honors, including 16 First-Team All-ODAC selections. In addition, 11 different RC players have earned all-region accolades, including Marc Dinkel who in 2014 was a Second-Team All-American and the ODAC Player of the Year. In 2020-21, Joe Carman was named VaSID State Defensive Player of the Year and after the 2021 season, Zach Behe was named a 1st-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Before returning to Salem, Pflugrad spent six years as Associate Head Men's Soccer Coach at the University of Denver. While at the NCAA Division I program, Pflugrad put together five nationally ranked recruiting classes and helped build the program to two conference championships. He also coached the team to multiple national rankings, seven MLS SuperDraft picks and the school's first two NCAA Division I tournament appearances (2008, 2010).

Prior to his time in Denver, Pflugrad spent a year as Assistant Coach at Wake Forest University. In that year, the Demon Deacons won an ACC regular season championships and went to their first-ever NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup. He helped guide Wake Forest to an 18-3-4 record, with 10 wins over nationally ranked teams.

While earning his master's degree at Goucher College, he also served as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach from 2002-03. From there, Pflugrad moved to Johns Hopkins, serving as Director of Athletic Games Operations. In the fall of 2004, he took his first men's assistant coaching position at Elon University. He then returned to Goucher and served as Interim Head Women's Soccer coach in the spring of 2005. Pflugrad landed his last position before heading to Winston-Salem, at High Point University, where he was Assistant Men's Soccer Coach for 2005.

He coached with the North Carolina and Colorado ODP systems prior to coming back to his alma mater. Pflugrad was an assistant coach for the North Carolina 89 unit, which won an ODP National Championship in 2007 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. He also served as head coach for the 90, 91, 92 Colorado boys ODP teams. Pflugrad holds a USSF "B" License.

Pflugrad received his bachelor's degree from Roanoke College in 2002, where he was a four-year starter on the Maroons men's soccer team. He ranked highly in many statistical categories. The midfielder was a four-time All-ODAC performer, including first-team honors in his final two seasons. He was named team captain as a senior in 2001, leading the team to their first ODAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly a decade.

He currently resides in Roanoke with his wife Briana Banks, Roanoke's Head Field Hockey Coach.