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Derek Marinatos
Entering his 13th season at the helm of the North Florida men’s soccer program, Derek Marinatos has transformed the Ospreys into a perennial power in the ASUN Conference.
NOTABLE DATES
Sept. 3, 2011: First win as UNF Coach vs. Longwood
Nov. 15, 2012: Upset top seeded FGCU to advance ASUN Championship game
Oct. 4, 2014: Beat Jacksonville
Nov. 14, 2014: Knocked off top seeded Lipscomb to advance to ASUN Championship game
Oct. 24, 2015: Beat Jacksonville
Oct. 31, 2015: Clinched UNF’s first ASUN Regular Season title after win over USC Upstate
Nov. 7, 2015: Defeated Lipscomb in double-overtime to advance to ASUN Championship game
Nov. 14, 2015: Beat USC Upstate 7-0 to win first ASUN Championship in UNF history
Nov. 19, 2015: First appearance in NCAA College Cup
Jan. 14, 2014: Alex Morrell became the first North Florida men's soccer player to be taken in the MLS SuperDraft
Sep. 4, 2016: Took down No. 27 N.C. State
Oct. 14, 2016: Beat Jacksonville
Oct. 18, 2016: Won on the road over No. 11 FGCU
Oct. 29, 2016: Defeated USC Upstate to clinch back-to-back ASUN Regular Season titles
Sept. 17, 2019: Tied No. 22 FIU on the road
Nov. 8, 2019: Took down Liberty to advance to its first ASUN semifinal since 2015
Feb. 21, 2021: Defeated No. 25 FIU on the road
Sept. 7, 2021: Tied No. 13 FIU at home
Nov. 1, 2022: Beat Jacksonville
ATHLETE HONORS
11 ASUN All-Academic Team honorees
12 ASUN All-Freshman Team honorees
10 First-Team All-Conference selections
17 Second-Team All-Conference selections
12 NSCAA All-Region selections
3 CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees
2014 Goalkeeper of the Year
2015 ASUN Tournament MVP
2015 NSCAA All-American honoree
2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American honoree
2016 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year
2016 ASUN Freshman of the Year
2015, 2016 ASUN Coach of the Year
NORTH FLORIDA HIGHLIGHTS
In 2022, LJ Estes became the first Osprey since 2015 to be awarded First-Team All-ASUN and ASUN All-Academic in the same season.
Micah Gun also earned back-to-back ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week honors after posting a pair of shutouts with 11 combined saves.
Joaquin Acuña is awarded ASUN All-Freshman honors after leading team with five goals in 2021.
In 2019, North Florida defeated a top-50 opponent, had a tie against a top-20 foe, and posted more shutouts than the previous two years combined.
Two players earned ASUN All-Conference second team honors, while three earned All-Freshmen nods. Torian Went and Padraic Gilley were named to the ASUN All-Academic team, while Went was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
North Florida moved up 65 spots in the RPI thanks to a program record for fewest goals allowed during the regular season (15) in the DI era, matching the program record for lowest GAA and posting the best defense in the ASUN, surrendering just five goals in conference play.
The Ospreys went undefeated in ASUN Conference play in back-to-back seasons, boasting a 4-0-1 conference record in 2015 and a 5-0-1 conference record in 2016.
In 2016, Jay Bolt was named the ASUN Defender of the year, while Adrian Nunez was awarded the Freshman of the Year.
UNF received its first ranking in the top-25 in school history and rose to as high as 21 in 2016.
The Ospreys burst onto the national scene in 2015 after capturing the school’s first ever conference championship and a berth into the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament.
Marinatos received back-to-back ASUN Coach of the Year honors in 2015 and 2016.
In 2015, UNF compiled its first 10-win season in 15 years.
Marinatos guided the Ospreys to three-straight ASUN Conference Championship games after just the program had just made one playoff appearance prior to his arrival.
In 2015, a total of eight players garnered All-Conference honors, four went on to be named to the NSCAA All-Region team and Helge Pietschmann became the program’s first ever All-American.
In 2014, the Ospreys were regionally ranked in all but one week and finished the year ninth in the NSCAA Southeast Region.
Five players garnered NSCAA Region honors and five listed on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference team, both program records.
Goalkeeper Kyle Nasta was named the Atlantic Sun Goalkeeper of the Year, the first Osprey to take home an individual league honor since 2004.
In 2013, UNF produced the program’s first winning record in more than a decade and the first in the school’s Division I era.
The 2013 Ospreys set a new bar, finishing with an overall record of 8-7-3 and garnering its first All-Conference selection since 2009.
Marinatos’ squad set the school record with a 1.17 team goals against average and a then Division I mark with five shutouts.
Goalkeepers Brad Sienkiewicz and Kyle Nasta quickly rose to the top of the school record books. Sienkiewicz made 138 saves in two seasons, which is the second most in school history, while Nasta set the single season, school record for goals against average (1.10) in 2014.
In addition to the on the field improvements, Marinatos’ influence also carried over into the classroom. Four-straight teams have received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSAA) team award for posting a team GPA of a 3.0 or higher. The team boasted its highest grade point average ever with a 3.15 GPA in the spring of 2013 and over a 3.04 GPA for the entire 2012-13 academic year. In four years a total of 53 players have been placed on the ASUN Academic Honor Roll, including a program-high, 15 in 2013.
PRIOR TO UNFMarinatos came to UNF following a five-year coaching stint at Furman University having most recently served as associate head coach. During his tenure, the Paladins compiled a 49-27-4 record and were the 2010 Southern Conference regular season champions.
As an assistant at Furman, Marinatos had responsibilities with all aspects of the Paladin program including recruiting, film analysis, scheduling, equipment, budgets, alumni relations and academics. In addition to capturing the 2010 So-Con title, he helped guide Furman to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007 following a 19-4-0 finish that included a Top 20 national ranking and both the Southern Conference regular season and tournament crowns.
Three of his recruiting classes at Furman earned high national rankings with his 2008 group listed 17th; the 2009 class ranking 27th; and his 2010 class ranking 3rd in the NCAA.
Prior to his time at Furman, Marinatos served a six-year stint as an assistant and goalkeeper coach at his alma mater, Emory. The Eagles made a pair of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances including a 15-4-0 finish in 2005.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Marinatos is currently a U.S. Academy Scout in charge of identifying players for the U-15, U-17, U-18, and U-20 men’s national teams and served as goalkeeper coach for the 2009 United States U-20 women’s national team. During the summer of 2006, he served as goalkeeper coach and advance scout for the United States U-21 women’s national team that participated in the prestigious Nordic Cup.
A certified USSF “A” license national coach, Marinatos serves as the head coach of the 1995 ODP Boys Age Group and is a member of the Region II Goalkeeping staff. He worked as an assistant and goalkeeper coach for the Georgia Olympic Development Program. He is the founder of “The Derek Marinatos Goalkeeper Academy” and was an assistant director for the “Doug Allison Soccer Academy.”
As a player at Emory, Marinatos helped guide the Eagles to three straight NCAA Tournament while garnering three first-team all-league honors. A two-year team captain, he was twice named All-South Region. Marinatos played with the Atlanta Silverbacks of the United Soccer League’s First Division in 1999 and earned a full tryout with AC Milan in the Italian Seria A.
PERSONALMarinatos holds a bachelor’s degree economics from Emory and earned his master’s in sports administration at Georgia State University. In addition, he is a 1994 graduate of the Bolles School.
Marinatos, who grew up in Jacksonville, is married to the former Brittany Braun of Riverside, Calif. The couple has three sons, Maxwell, Jaxon and Hudson.
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