WESTFIELD, Mass. –  Westfield State alumnus and newly minted Athletic Hall-of-Famer Dr. Christopher Streeter '99 has been named as the new head coach of the men's soccer team, announced Owls' director of athletics Dick Lenfest today.

Streeter takes the reins of the program immediately.

"First and foremost, I am so humbled and honored to coach where two of my mentors – John Kurty and Paul Whalley coached," said Streeter. "It's an honor to follow in their footsteps and I hope to be as successful as they were."

"I loved my time as a player and as a student on campus at Westfield State, and I can't wait to be back out on the turf and coaching, and see if we can bring some more great memories to this group of student-athletes and bring the program back to regional and national prominence."

"I'm confident that Chris will bring energy and enthusiasm to our program," said Lenfest.  "As an alumnus of Westfield State he's very familiar with our campus, academics, and athletics program and will hit the ground running.  He brings an excellent pedigree as both a player and coach, where he's led a team to the NCAA Tournament in the past, and I am looking forward to having him as part of our coaching staff."

Streeter will inherit a young roster at Westfield State from retiring coach John Evans.

"Coach Evans gave a decade to the Westfield State men's team, and as an alumnus I am grateful for all the work that he did, and I look forward to building upon the foundation he has left us," said Streeter.  "As an alumnus, I have followed the team closely for 20 years, and last year I saw virtually every game, whether in person or on video, and I am excited about the returning players that we have. I think there is a ton of potential and I am excited to work with them."

"I think we have a base of both talented athletes and soccer IQ and ability," added Streeter.  "There's a lot to look forward to, and I can't wait to get out on the field with them."

Streeter brings an impressive coaching and playing resume, which saw him inducted into the Westfield State Athletics Hall of Fame in the fall of 2021.

As a college coach, Streeter spent time with Westfield, Mount Holyoke, and UMass as an assistant coach. He completed a two-year stint as the head coach of the Bay Path women's team in 2005-06, returning for a three-year term as head coach at Bay Path from 2013-2015.

He led the Elms College men's team as head coach from 2009-12, leading the team to an 11-win season and an NCAA Tournament bid in 2012, as the team won the NECC title and Streeter was named the circuit's coach of the year.

Streeter also has experience as an academy coach with the New England Revolution, and as the Director of Coaching and Technical Development for Amherst Youth Soccer, Northampton Youth Soccer, and Hudson Youth Soccer. He has served as head coach for the U16, U17, an U18 boys GPS premier teams and was a player personnel coordinator for Nigeria, Argentina, Italy, and Greece during FIFA's 1994 World Cup.

Coming to Westfield as a transfer student from Division II Merrimack, Streeter stepped directly into the lineup for coach Paul Whalley and promptly earned back-to-back MASCAC first-team all-conference honors as a midfielder, and was named to the league's All-Academic honor roll both seasons.

Streeter helped lead the team to an ECAC Tournament appearance in 1997, as the Owls finished 13-4-1 and won the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title.

Streeter stayed with the program as an assistant coach, and was known as a strong recruiter that helped build the foundation of the Owls 2000 NCAA Tournament team.

As a player at Merrimack College, Streeter was the Northeast-10 conference rookie of the year in 1993 before eventually transferring to Westfield State.

After Westfield, he continued to play professionally for the Western Massachusetts Pioneers (1997-99) of the United Soccer League as well as the Massachusetts Twisters (2000-03) of the American Indoor Soccer League. As a player, Streeter has also competed in Belgium and South Korea.

A graduate of Springfield's Cathedral High School, Streeter was a first-team All-Western Mass pick in both soccer and baseball.

Streeter graduated from Westfield State College in 1999 with a B.A. in Psychology and B.S. in Education. He earned a Master's Degree in Sport Psychology from California University of Pennsylvania, and holds a Doctorate in Performance Psychology from Grand Canyon University.

Professionally, Streeter is an assistant professor of sport management at Nichols College.

He is the son of Westfield State Hall of Famer Al Streeter '72 and Westfield State alumna Verna Streeter '71, Christopher is happily married for 13 years to his wife, Margaret, and has a son, Owen, and a daughter, Nora.

Release courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information