Vern Gingerich is entering his fourth season as a volunteer assistant coach on the Notre Dame staff in 2011. Among other duties, Gingerich works with Fighting Irish goalkeepers.
Notre Dame has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in Gingerich's first three seasons with the Irish. The Fighting Irish have a combined 33-21-10 record, including a 21-7-3 mark in BIG EAST play, and the Notre Dame goalkeepers have posted 21 shutouts during that span.
The Irish have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship in each of the past three seasons. Notre Dame captured the 2008 BIG EAST Blue Division title during Gingerich's first season with the Fighting Irish.
In 2010, Notre Dame garnered the No. 9 seed and a first-round bye for the NCAA Championship. The Irish fell to Dartmouth, 2-1 in overtime, during the second round to finish the season with a 10-6-4 record and a No. 21 national ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
The Irish went 6-2-1 in BIG EAST play in 2010 and advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament for the third straight year. For the season, Irish goalkeepers Philip Tuttle and Will Walsh combined to notch six shutouts.
Five Notre Dame student-athletes received all-BIG EAST accolades for the 2010 season. Headlining the honorees were first-team selections Jeb Brovsky and Steven Perry. Perry led all BIG EAST players in goals with 12 and was tied for the points lead with 28. The senior duo also was named to the NSCAA Scholar All-America team.
Aaron Maund and Dillon Powers were named to the all-BIG EAST second team in 2010 and Harrison Shipp was selected to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
Brovsky, Perry and Bilal Duckett were picked in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, while Tuttle was taken in the supplemental draft. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC chose both Brovsky and Duckett, while the New England Revolution selected Perry. Brovsky was the first pick in the second round (19th overall selection) and Duckett was the first pick in the third round (37th overall). Perry went two picks after Duckett in the third round. The San Jose Earthquakes took Tuttle in the second round with the 33rd overall pick.
During the 2009 campaign, Notre Dame posted an 11-8-4 record and Irish goalkeepers Andrew Quinn and Tuttle combined to record eight clean sheets on the season. The Irish finished in second place in the BIG EAST Blue Division with an 8-3-0 record. Notre Dame missed out on winning the BIG EAST Championship as the Irish were taken down in penalty kicks by St. John's, 5-3, following a scoreless draw in the title game.
In the 2009 NCAA Championship, the Fighting Irish produced a 2-1 win over Green Bay in the first round before suffering a 3-1 setback at Northwestern.
Six Notre Dame players garnered all-BIG EAST honors in 2009. Bright Dike, who led the league in points (26) and goals (11), was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Michael Thomas joined Dike on the all-BIG EAST first team, while Justin Morrow was a second-team pick. Brovsky and Maund were selected to the third team and Powers was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
Dike, Thomas and Morrow all were selected during the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Dike went in the first round to the Columbus Crew, while the San Jose Earthquakes picked Thomas and Morrow in the second round. Thomas also was named a third-team Academic All-American. Quinn was not taken in the MLS SuperDraft, yet he did sign a contract with DC United.
Notre Dame compiled a 12-7-2 record, including a 7-2-2 mark in the BIG EAST, during the 2008 season. Quinn and Tuttle teamed up to post seven shutouts on the season.
The Fighting Irish, who peaked at No. 3 in the national polls during the 2008 campaign, were seeded 12th for the NCAA Championship and fell to Northwestern, 2-1, in the second round. Notre Dame concluded the season ranked 16th in the final NSCAA poll.
Accolades were in store for the Irish during the 2008 season. Senior Matt Besler became the first player in program history to be named a first-team All-American and first-team Academic All-American. In addition, Besler was the first Irish player to ever be named the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Besler and Dike both were first-team all-BIG EAST selections and headlined a group of five Notre Dame players that copped all-league honors.
Besler also heard his named called during the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. He was taken with the eighth pick overall in the first round by the Kansas City Wizards. That marked the highest a Fighting Irish player had ever been nabbed in the MLS draft. Jack Traynor went to the New York Red Bulls in the second round.
In addition to his duties with the Fighting Irish, Gingerich has been the goalkeepers coach for the Indiana Invaders (PDL) since 2008. He also was the director of goalkeeping for the Michiana Echo (both boys and girls) in 2008.
During the 2007-08 campaign, he served as goalkeeper coach at Holy Cross College (Notre Dame, Ind.). The Saints posted a 9-8-0 record that season.
Gingerich served as assistant coach/goalkeepers coach for Elkhart Central High School from 2002-06. During that span, the Blue Blazers posted a 72-17-8 record, including a 33-0-3 mark within the Northern Indiana Conference. He mentored several athletes who went on to play at the collegiate level, including Justin Holmes, a goalkeeper who played at the University of New Mexico. Alec Purdie (Indiana), Rubin Garrido (West Virginia) and Jorge Ramirez (IPFW) were other NCAA Division I players that Gingerich coached while at Elkhart Central.
His prep coaching career began at his alma mater, Northridge High School in Middlebury, Ind. Gingerich was the goalkeeper trainer for the Northridge men's team from 1995-97.
Gingerich also possesses a wealth of playing experience. In high school, he played goalkeeper at Northridge from 1992-93. He then went on to play collegiately as a goalkeeper at Tri-State (Trine) University from 1993-97. In 1997, he was named the team's MVP. Gingerich has played with the Elkhart Futbol League since 1998.
Gingerich is a 1997 graduate of Tri-State University in Angola, Ind. He earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He and his wife, Jessica, currently reside in Elkhart.
