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Jake DeClute

Entering his fifth season at the helm of Gordon Men’s Soccer, Head Coach Jake DeClute continues to build Gordon into a national caliber program and premier soccer institution.
 
DeClute signed on in 2007 as the ninth head coach in Gordon’s soccer history after spending six seasons at Wheaton College (Ill.). As the top assistant coach for the Thunder, he helped lead the team to the NCAA National Championship in 2006 and a No. 2 NSCAA ranking.
 
In addition to coaching collegiately, DeClute has spent time coaching in the professional ranks, serving in 2007 as an assistant coach with the USL-2 National Champion Cleveland City Stars (USL-2) under the tutelage of Head Coach Martin Rennie. He also served as an assistant to Rennie with the Carolina Railhawks, helping the team to a USL-1 second place finish in 2009 and a first place D2 Pro League conference finish in 2010. (Rennie, incidentally, will be the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps in their 2012 MLS season.) 
 
An alumnus of Wheaton, DeClute was a four-year starter and two-year captain of a Thunder squad that went undefeated in 66 matches and captured the 1997 National Championship. Following his graduation in 1999 with a degree in Christian education he went on to obtain a graduate degree in biblical studies from Wheaton. 
 
Under his direction, the Fighting Scots' program has shown steady improvement. In 2010, the Scots advanced to The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) championship game and finished with an overall record of 10-4-6 (8-1-4 in conference). In recent years, Gordon has scheduled non-conference national powerhouses including Messiah, St. Lawrence, Bowdoin, and Amherst and scrimmaged Division 1 schools in the area including Harvard, Dartmouth, and Hartford. Additionally, a four-year starter from DeClute’s program, Matt Horth ’11, was signed by the Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) and led the league in scoring among first-year players in his rookie debut.
 
Says DeClute of his post, "My goal is to build a team that is not only competitive within the [Commonwealth Coast] conference every year, but one that is consistently competing on a national level.”
 
DeClute holds a UEFA “B” Level license and is currently taking his UEFA “A” license under the Northern Ireland Football Association (IFA).