Jeremy Payne stepped into leadership of Eastern Men's Soccer in the spring of 2017. In the fall of 2018, Eastern University Men's Soccer had a streak of 18 matches without a loss, won a MAC Freedom title, and enjoyed a historic run to the third round (Sweet 16) of the NCAA tournament Coach Payne and his staff earned Mid-Atlantic Region Staff of the Year Honors from United Soccer Coaches.
In his first two years at the helm, Coach Payne has a 31-7-4 record and helped six players earn Mid-Atlantic All-Region and one player earn USC All-American. In two years as the head coach, Eastern has had 13 players earn All-Conference recognition. Payne also played a significant role, as an assistant coach, during the 2015 and 2016 seasons that saw Eastern win back-to-back MAC Freedom Championships and play in the NCAA Tournament.
He joined the Eastern University Men's Soccer coaching staff in 2015 after a very successful career as an attacking player for the Messiah College Falcons. In four years, Payne won two National Championships, was a three-time First-Team All-American (NSCAA & D3Soccer), was named the D3Soccer Midfielder of the Year twice, D3Soccer Forward of the Year once and NSCAA National Player of the Year in both 2012 and 2014. Payne also played in the PDL with the Southern West Virginia King's Warriors.
In the classroom, Payne studied business administration and was a member of the MAC Academic All-Conference team in 2013, 2014. Payne is nearly finished with his MBA from Eastern.
In addition to coaching at Eastern, he has worked at the Messiah College and U.S. Naval Academy soccer camps. He has coached with Penn Fusion and currently coaches at the club level with Lower Merion Soccer Club.
He and his wife Sarah live in Phoenixville, Pa.
Below is a summary of Coach Payne's career as a player and coach:
Player:
- NSCAA DIII Soccer National Player of the Year (2012, 2014)
- D3Soccer.com Forward of the Year (2014)
- D3Soccer.com Midfielder of the Year (2012, 2013)
- NSCAA DIII First Team All-American (2012, 2013, 2014)
- D3Soccer.com First Team All-American (2012, 2013, 2014)
- MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year (2012, 2013, 2014)
- MAC Academic All-Conference Team (2013, 2014)
- Played in USL League 2 with the Southern West Virginia King's Warriors and led the team in goals during the 2014 season
- Trained with the Philadelphia Union (MLS) and was offered a contract with the Harrisburg City Islanders (USL)
Coach:
- Overall record of 31-7-4 as a head coach (2017-2018)
- Coached 1 All-American, 6 All-Region players, and 13 All-Conference players (2017-2018)
- Won one conference championship (2018)
- Advanced to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament and won 18 games in a season for the first time in program history (2018)
- Awarded Mid-Atlantic Region Staff of the Year (2018)
- On staff with West Chester United SC (NPSL), where he coaches players from Notre Dame, Villanova, Penn State, Syracuse and more...
Coach Payne can be contacted via email at jeremy.payne@eastern.edu
