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Pete Curtis (Alderson Broaddus '87) is a veteran collegiate soccer coach who enters his 11th season as head coach at Washington & Jefferson College in 2017. A Hall of Fame member at his alma mater, Alderson-Broaddus University, and at The University of Charleston, the fall of 2016 marked the 27th year of collegiate coaching for Curtis, including head coaching stints at all three NCAA divisions.
A 2-1 overtime victory at Marietta early in the 2013 season provided Curtis with his 200th NCAA coaching victory. The 2010 Presidents' Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Curtis has compiled a 120-63-16 (.643) record in 10 seasons at Washington & Jefferson. In 26 years of coaching collegiate soccer, Curtis has compiled 243 career victories.
Curtis has transformed the W&J women's soccer program as the Presidents earned three consecutive conference championships from 2008-2010, the first three titles in school history. W&J competed in the PAC title match four times since Curtis arrived on campus.
Under Curtis’ guidance, Holly Shipley blossomed as a collegiate striker, and was named PAC Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2013. Shipley, who played her entire career as a defender prior to arriving in Washington, set a single-season W&J record by notching 20 goals in 2013. She played all four of her collegiate years under Curtis' direction and leaves W&J tied for the all-time lead with 61 career goals and as W&J’s first ever All American.
In 2011, following an 8-0-1 record in conference play, Curtis led the Presidents to the first regular-season PAC Championship in school history. Under Curtis' leadership, W&J set a new school-record low for goals allowed during three consecutive seasons. W&J gave up 13 goals in 2011, surpassing the record of 16 set in 2010.
W&J claimed the 2010 PAC championship with a 3-0 victory over Westminster, earning its third-straight trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament. That season also saw Curtis notch his third PAC Coach of the Year honor in just four seasons. The 2010 conference championship also followed two-straight, record-breaking seasons.
W&J knocked off Grove City 1-0 in 2009 to earn its second-straight trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The 2009 championship followed on the heels of a 2008 season that was historic for a number of reasons. In recognition of his role in leading the Presidents to their first PAC Championship and NCAA postseason appearance in school history, Curtis was selected as the PAC Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season. W&J also secured the first-ever NCAA victory for a women's program at the college after the Presidents advanced past Marywood on penalty kicks in the first round of the 2008 NCAA tournament. The Presidents finished that thrilling 2008 season with a school-best 15 wins, but also broke school records for team shutouts (12) and scoreless minutes (755).
Curtis helped to develop PAC 2008 Most Valuable Player Jackie Foltz into the premier goalkeeper in the conference, while also playing a significant role in the development of midfielder Spencer Ahrenholtz '10. Ahrenholtz became the 24th student-athlete overall and the first women's soccer player in school history to be selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. She earned All-PAC laurels in all three seasons under Curtis and made the 2009 NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region squad.
In 2007, Curtis helped the Presidents reach the PAC Tournament Championship Game for the first time in the program’s history. W&J battled Westminster to a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods, but fell by a 3-2 margin in the penalty-kick shootout. The Presidents won four of their last five games of Curtis’ first season in charge, including a 1-0 upset of top-seeded Thomas More in the conference tournament semifinals.
Prior to his arrival at W&J, Curtis served as the head men’s soccer coach at Division I Cleveland State for six seasons. Curtis took over a struggling program and led the 2002 Vikings to their most victories in a season (10) since 1990. Following the 2002 season, Curtis was honored as the Horizon League Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach in Cleveland State history to earn the honor.
In 2003, Curtis helped Stephen Ademolu earn Cleveland State’s first Horizon League Player of Year award.
Before his experience at Cleveland State, Curtis turned the University of Charleston into a Division II men’s soccer powerhouse. He compiled a 68-30-8 record and led the 2002 Golden Eagles to a 21-2 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II national semifinals. Charleston outscored its opponents that season by a 112-10 margin.
For his efforts, Curtis was named both the WVIAC and Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year, and was one of eight candidates in contention for the Division II National Coach of the Year Award. A USSF “A” licensed coach, he also taught in Charleston’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department.
From 1990-1995, Curtis was the head men’s soccer coach at Division III Marietta College. During his years with the Pioneers, he also spent time as the head women’s tennis coach and the assistant softball coach.
A native of Liverpool, England, Curtis has a lengthy association with the game, playing for a trio of English professional teams (Everton, Chester City and South Liverpool) as a young adult. After several years of coaching at soccer camps in the United States, he played for then NAIA-powerhouse Alderson-Broaddus College from 1983-1987, and captained the Battlers to the No. 1 ranking in the nation.
While completing his master’s degree in Sports Administration at Iowa State University, Curtis coached the Cyclones’ club program to the semifinals of the 1988 National Collegiate Club Soccer Championship.
| Year-by-Year Record |
| 2016 |
13-5-2 |
| 2015 |
14-2-2 |
| 2014 |
9-8-2 |
| 2013 |
10-8 |
| 2012 |
10-8-1 |
| 2011 |
14-4-1 |
| 2010 |
14-6-1 |
| 2009 |
12-6-2 |
| 2008 |
15-6-2 |
| 2007 |
9-10-3 |
| Before W&J |
123-169-15 |
| Total |
223-232-31 |
