Former University of Maryland assistant coach Brian Rowland will become the men’s soccer program’s new coach, the athletic department announced in a release on Friday.
“Brian Rowland is the perfect person to lead the Temple men’s soccer program,” Athletic Director Pat Kraft said in a release. “After an exhaustive national search that included many highly qualified candidates, it was Brian’s experience with a high-caliber program along with his energy and passion that put him over the top.”
Rowland spent the past eight seasons with the Terrapins and worked as an associate coach for the past three seasons. Maryland won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2012 and 2013 before it won the Big Ten Conference tournament in each of the next three seasons.
The Terrapins made the NCAA tournament for the 16th year in a row. They peaked at No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches poll this season and maintained that ranking for six weeks. Maryland ultimately dropped out of the poll after its first-round NCAA loss.
While at Maryland, Rowland also worked as the program’s recruiting coordinator. The 11-player group the Terrapins added from the high school class of 2015 ranked No. 1 on College Soccer News and included seven players ranked in the top 100 of Top Drawer Soccer’s prospect list.
This year, freshman forward Eric Matzelevich ranked No. 75 on Top Drawer Soccer’s postseason list of the top 100 freshmen in Division I. He played 18 games, scored two goals and dished an assist.
“I am delighted for Brian to get the opportunity to lead Temple Men’s Soccer and I would like to thank him for his great service to Maryland these past eight years,” Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said in a release. “I have seen Brian emerge as one of the finest young coaches in collegiate soccer. He has been involved in all aspects of our operation at Maryland. He is an outstanding person, a terrific leader and a relentless recruiter and I know he will do great things at Temple.”
Rowland is a 2003 alumnus of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he played goalkeeper for four seasons and captained the team twice. Rowland is the Retrievers’ all-time single-season shutouts leader with 11 in 2002. He is also the career shutouts leader with 25 from 1999-2002.
Rowland will replace former coach David MacWilliams, who led the Owls from 2000-17. MacWilliams took the Owls to the American Athletic Conference tournament in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. Temple went 0-4 in their appearances in The American tournament and did not score.
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