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Men's Soccer

Rockhurst staffers serve key roles on national soccer committees

Greg Herdlick, left, and Mike Koehler will be going to Seattle next month as national soccer committee members.
When the final brackets for the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Soccer Championships are announced tonight, Rockhurst's Mike Koehler and Greg Herdlick will be able to take a deep breath and relax for a few days.

Koehler and Herdlick have been putting in countless hours serving on the national committees for the D-II Men's and Women's Soccer Championships. Koehler is the associate athletic director at Rockhurst and Herdlick is in his 24th year as the head women's soccer coach at Rockhurst.

"I've been involved in eight of the last nine national men's tournaments," said Koehler, who is the chairman of the men's soccer national committee and is completing his fifth and final year on the national committee.

Koehler became interested in serving on the national committee after attending the 2013 and 2015 Men's Soccer Championships when Rockhurst advanced to the national semifinals in Georgia and Texas.

"I also played a role in the Men's Championships in Kansas City when Rockhurst was the co-host in 2016 and 2017," Koehler said. "I have gained a lot of experience. I've seen how the National Championships are run and seen some of the things that work well so we can make it better the next year."

Koehler and Herdlick serve as the NCAA Midwest representatives for the two championships. For the past four weeks, they have been on regional calls on Tuesdays and national calls on Wednesdays to rank the top teams in their regions and work with the other regions around the country.

"I lead the Midwest Regional calls each week and we discuss the top nine teams and rank them accordingly," Herdlick said. "After we do our last regional ranking Sunday night (Nov. 6), the national committee will talk (today) and finalize each region."

The women have eight regions with 56 schools assigned to the bracket. Some of the regions have eight teams, some others have seven or six teams. The men have four super regions with a total of 40 schools with 10 teams in each super region. The women have a larger bracket due to more women's soccer programs than the men in Division II.

As the chair of the men's committee, Koehler will work with the NCAA Championship liaison for men's soccer heading into the Men's Championship on Dec. 1 and 3 in Seattle. Herdlick will also be serving a key role at the Women's Championships in Seattle.

"We are grateful for the dedication and service given to these committees by Mike and Greg. They bring a wealth of experience and leadership to their groups. We think it's important to give back to the NCAA," said Rockhurst Director of Athletics Kristy Bayer, who serves on the NCAA D-II Championships Committee.

Rockhurst baseball coach Gary Burns, along with RU men's and women's tennis coach Jamie McDonald, also serve on NCAA regional committees. Burns is in his third year on the baseball regional committee, while McDonald is beginning his first year on the men's tennis regional committee.
 
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