![Hector Marinaro celebrates a championship win](/sites/default/files/styles/news_featured_body/public/2019-11/Right-Homepage-Image-desktop_buildingaprogram.jpg?itok=Q3Id0VJk)
This story originally appeared in Onward: ÁńÁ«ĘÓƵ Alumni Magazine, which was mailed in early November. Check your mailbox over the next few weeks to get your copy.
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In 2005, the Blue Streak men’s soccer team reached the NCAA playoffs, their third berth in five years. When their head coaching position came open after the season, the search began for a leader to continue that tradition.
Enter Hector Marinaro. He was a household name in northeast Ohio, having led the NPSL’s Cleveland Crunch to three professional indoor soccer championships over his 19-year career. Marinaro left the game as the league’s all-time leading scorer, earning six MVP trophies.
“I had just retired, and I’d done some player-coaching with the Crunch,” Marinaro remembers. “I had offers, maybe go to the MLS as an assistant, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Then this job presented itself and it really intrigued me.”
It was a local legend, taking over a program with tradition. What’s not to love? In 2006, anticipation was high…and the Blue Streaks won five games. It was their worst mark since 1988.