April 17, 2009
Bryan Scales, a native of Medway, MA, was named the Head Coach of the UMass Lowell men’s soccer program, Director of Athletics Dana Skinner announced Friday afternoon.
Scales replaces former coach Ted Priestly, who accepted the head post at the College of the Holy Cross in February, ending a splendid 12-year reign that included a 131-76-28 record.
“Bryan will be a great addition to the UMass Lowell athletic staff," Skinner said. "He emerged from a large pool of applicants and had a very successful visit to campus. Bryan is well regarded for his knowledge and passion for soccer, and these qualities are needed to keep moving the program forward.”
Scales will begin his position on Apr. 27.
Scales comes to UMass Lowell following 11 years as the head coach at Cornell University (1998-2008), preceded by four years as an assistant with the Big Red (1994-98); two years as an assistant at Harvard (1992-94) and one season as an assistant at Plattsburgh State (1991-92) after a stellar career at Hartwick College.
Scales was recently named a scout for the U.S. Men’s National Team and an assistant coach with the U-15 boys national team, which he will accompany on a two-week trip to Moenchengladbach, Germany this summer.
“What attracted me to UMass Lowell was the success of the program and the broad range of academic offerings at the University, a combination which certainly enhances recruiting,” Scales said. “I think Coach Priestly deserves a huge amount of credit for putting together an incredible group and establishing one of the best Division II programs in the country.
“The chance to come back to Massachusetts was very enticing for me and my family too,” he added.
Scales inherits a River Hawk team that posted a 13-4-4 record (9-1-3 in the Northeast-10 Conference), won a share of the NE-10 regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament East Region Championship/NCAA Quarterfinal.
UMass Lowell returns 19 players and seven starters from 2008 squad.
“The expectations of the players, alumni and the administration are extremely high,” Scales noted. “They want to continue to do well. We have some outstanding student-athletes and it is one of the premier teams in the country.”
Scales enjoyed a plethora of honors during his years at Cornell. In 2001, He was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I Coach of the Year for the New York Region and was a finalist for national coach of the year honors after leading the Big Red to a 9-4-3 season.
That year, he led Cornell to the No. 22 ranking in the NSCAA Division I poll.
Scales was also instrumental in guiding five players to All-Ivy League First Team status as well as NSCAA All-New York Region honors.
Additionally, six players from his tenure enjoyed professional careers in Major League Soccer, USL First Division and Norwegian First Division.
Scales’ players excelled academically as well, as 10 were named to Cornell’s 400 Club, which honors athletes with 4.0 grade point averages or higher. His 2007 squad vaunted a 3.3 grade point average and received the NSCAA Team Academic Award.
Scales also organized and led the Big Red on three European tours – to England, Scotland and Holland – during his time. He also had the privilege of observing the training sessions of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Middlesborough of the Premiership as well as Glasgow Celtic and Rangers of the Scottish Premier League.
After assistant coaching stints at Plattsburgh and Harvard, Scales became an assistant to then-coach Dave Sarachan in 1994 and helped Cornell from a 2-10-3 record in 1994 to a 15-2-1 clip, the Ivy League Championship and an NCAA Tournament bid in 1995.
Scales was tabbed the head coach at Cornell after Sarachan joined MLS Champion D.C. United after the 1997 season.
A 1991 graduate of Hartwick, Scales was a two-year starter in the midfield and defense and helped the Hawks to the 1987 and 1989 NCAA tournaments.
Hartwick ranked on top of the New York Region and spent much of the season ranked in the top 10 nationally. A four-year letter winner, Scales received his bachelor’s degree in political science.
During summers throughout college, Scales was a regular in the renown LASA League as well as the Cape Cod Amateur Soccer League.
Previously, Scales was a standout at Newton North H.S., from where he graduated in 1986.
He and his wife, Mindy, have three children: Aiden (9), Ciara (7) and Jack (5).
