Now in his 34th season as the head soccer coach at Washington and Lee is Rolf Piranian. Add to his coaching tenure his four years as a player at W&L, and it is easy to see that Piranian has had a huge impact on W&L's soccer program.
Piranian graduated from W&L in 1974 after a steller athletic career. He was a four-time letterman in soccer and earned two letters in both lacrosse and wrestling. He was recognized for his contributions to the soccer program by being named to the All-State team as a junior and as a senior as well as earning All-South honors his senior season.
After graduating from W&L, Piranian coached high school soccer and was a history teacher in Jacksonville, Fla., before being named W&L's head coach in 1976. During his 32 seasons at W&L he has accomplished some impressive feats, and is responsible for some of W&L's best season's ever, including a record-setting 19-2 campaign in 2000. That season, the Generals won the ODAC Championship, advanced to the NCAA South Region Finals and finished the year with a final national ranking of eighth. Piranian has also led the Generals to some very successful seasons over the past 15 seasons, including a 12-6 campaign in 1996, 11-6 record in 1997, a 10-4-3 mark in 1998, a 12-3-2 record in 2006 and a 12-3-3 record in 2007.
Entering the 2009 season, Piranian is 271-216-38
(.552) over his 33 seasons as head coach. He has been named Old
Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year seven times, in
1977, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1989, 2000 and 2005. His 1986, 1989 and
2000 squads were ODAC champions.
Piranian is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association
and holds his class A license from the U.S. Soccer Federation. He
is the past chairman of the NCAA Men's Soccer Committee where his
responsibilities included ranking teams and selecting teams to play
in the NCAA Championship Tournament.
In addition to his soccer responsibilities, Piranian is an
assistant wrestling coach and an associate professor of physical
education at W&L. Piranian remains involved and committed to
working with youth soccer in the community. He is active in FCA and
is a top-rated college lacrosse official.
Rolf and his wife Diane make their home in Lexington. The two have
a daughter, Coleen, and a son, Michael, who was the program's
assistant coach from 2004-08 following a stellar playing career at
Virginia Tech.
Geoff del Forn is in his second season as an assistant coach at Washington and Lee.
In his first season with with the Generals, W&L posted a 9-6-2 (4-5-1 ODAC) record and advanced to the ODAC quarterfinals.
A 2008 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in sport management, del Forn was a three-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks and a two-time member of the Conference USA Academic Honor Roll.
Prior to attending South Carolina, del Forn played for Piedmont College of the Great South Athletic Conference, earning GSAC All-Freshmen accolades in 2005, as well as National Christian College Athletic Association First Team All-South honors.
In addition to his collegiate experience, del Forn has trained
and played with the Atlanta Silverbacks' professional team, as well
as the Silverbacks' U23 developmental team.
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