Isaacson named Simpson men's soccer coach

INDIANOLA – Athletic director John Sirianni announced Friday the hiring of Rick Isaacson as Simpson's head men's soccer coach.

Isaacson comes to Simpson from Ankeny High School, where he served as head boys soccer coach for the past six years. He led the Hawks to a 110-25 record during his tenure, winning the Iowa High School Class 2A State Championship in 2007 and finishing the season with a No. 7 national ranking by the NSCAA.

"We are very excited to have Rick on our staff," Sirianni said. "He has an exceptional background as a high school coach and strong ties to the Iowa Conference. We feel he has the drive and vision to return our program to prominence."

During Isaacson's tenure, he earned CIML Central Conference Coach of the Year honors three times while guiding Ankeny to the state tournament on four occasions. He also earned the State of Iowa Coach's Achievement Award in 2007.

"I'm excited to be a part of the Simpson College community," Isaacson said. "I'm eager to be a part of the soccer program and I'm ready to get things back on track."

Isaacson began his career as an assistant girls coach at Urbandale before taking over as the head boys coach at Decorah in 2004. Since 2003, he has also served as a coach and director of goalkeeping for the Ankeny and Iowa Rush soccer clubs.

"I feel fortunate to have this opportunity and I think it's a great situation," Isaacson said. "Expectations will be at an all time high and I'm excited to compete for conference championships."

He played collegiately at Luther College and was a four-year starter at goalkeeper for the Norse. During his career, Isaacson led Luther to three Iowa Conference championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2001, 2002). He was a two-time NSCAA Second Team All-West Region selection, a three-time all-conference performer and earned Iowa Conference MVP honors in 2002. He is Luther's career-leader with 40 shutouts and in 2001, Isaacson helped the Norse to an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.

Isaacson becomes the third coach in program history. In 2010, Simpson went 5-12 and missed the IIAC Tournament for the first time in 15 seasons.