Robert "Bob" Lilley (born May 2, 1966) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach who is the head coach of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

club

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

. He has managed the

Hershey Wildcats Hershey Wildcats were a professional soccer team, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, that played in the USL A-League between 1997 and 2001. The team was owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. The team played in Hersheypa ...

, Montreal Impact,

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

Detroit Ignition The Detroit Ignition were an American indoor soccer team that has played three seasons, most recently 2008–09. In April 2006, Greg Bibb, president of Hantz Group Sports and Entertainment, introduced the teams as a new Major Indoor Soccer Leag ...

, and

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. A former

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he played collegiately at

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

before appearing at the professional level for

Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions were an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team. The Lions is a ni ...

and

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

and indoors with

Hershey Impact The Hershey Impact was an indoor soccer club based in Hershey, Pennsylvania that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. The team played its home games at the Hersheypark Arena for all of its 3 seasons. Staff and ownership * Presi ...

, Harrisburg Heat, and

Pittsburgh Stingers The Pittsburgh Stingers are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) for two seasons from 1994 to 1995. Year-by-year Players * Bob Lilley (1994) * P.J. Johns (1995) * David Moxom (1995) * Doug P ...

Playing career

Bob Lilley attended

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

and played for the

George Mason Patriots The George Mason Patriots are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing George Mason University (GMU), located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of t ...

from 1984 to 1987. He played in 82 games for the Patriots, which was the second-most appearances in school history Lilley served as team captain for the Patriots. In 1989, Lilley signed with the

of the American Soccer League. In 1990, the ASL merged with the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

to form the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. Lilley spent the 1990 season with the Lions in the new APSL. In the fall of 1990, he joined the

of the National Professional Soccer League. In 1992, he moved to the Harrisburg Heat. In 1994, he spent the summer indoor season with the

in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

. Following the 1996–1997 NPSL season, Lilley retired from playing and entered the coaching ranks.

Management career

His first coaching experience was with the

in 1997, experiencing much success with the club as being the team's one and only head coach. He led Hershey to the playoffs each year, as well winning A-League coach of the year in his rookie season. He was able to guide Hershey to one Northern Conference and three Atlantic Division titles as well as the 2001 A-League National Championship final, which they lost 2–0 to the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. After the 2001 season, the team was folded by the ownership, having decided that the team would not be successful financially. On January 23, 2002 he was appointed the new head coach of the Montreal Impact signing on a two-year contract. His first season with the Impact, the team finished first in the Northeast Division, and also claimed the

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup (french: Coupe des Voyageurs) is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's nationa ...

. In 2003, he led Montreal to the Eastern Conference title and, the Voyageurs Cup for the second time in a row. And for the second time in his career he wins the A-League Coach of the Year, becoming only the second two-time Coach of the Year recipient in league history, following Alan Hinton in 1994, and 1995. After the 2003 season he left the Impact for personal reasons, eventually signing a two-year deal with the

on November 1, 2004 becoming the team's first American coach, and the first coach never to have previously played for Vancouver. He led Vancouver to the playoffs in 2004 but were eliminated in the quarterfinals, but were able to claim the

Cascadia Cup The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for the ...

. In 2006, he led the Whitecaps to their first North American championship since 1979, when they defeated the Raging Rhinos 3–0 at

PAETEC Park Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium, also called the "downtown soccer stadium", is a soccer-specific stadium in Rochester, New York within the Rochester Community Sports Complex. It is home to the Flower City Union of the National Indepe ...

becoming the first team in USL First Division history to win the title on the road. Bob Lilley, 2008

Lilley was sacked as Vancouver Whitecaps head coach on September 18, 2007 two days after the Whitecaps were eliminated by the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in the first round of the United Soccer Leagues First Division playoffs. He was hired by the

of the Major Indoor Soccer League as their assistant coach afterwards and promoted to head coach on November 6, 2007. On November 16, 2009 the

announced the hiring of Lilley as the club's new head coach for the 2010 season. During their match on January 25, 2013, the new Harrisburg Heat of the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

honored Lilley with a halftime ceremony for his service with the original Heat franchise in the mid-1990s.

Jesse Myers Jesse Myers was the head coach of the Rochester Rhinos in the USL Pro until his dismissal following a 1-6-1 start to the 2013 season. He was the assistant coach of the Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer cl ...

took Lilley's coaching position with the Rochester Rhinos starting in the 2012 season. However, Lilley was rehired by the Rhinos for the 2014 season. He remained with the Rochester Rhinos through the end of the 2017 season. As Rochester's 2018 season looked increasingly shaky following years of declining attendance, Lilley departed the club to become the head coach of the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

. The Rochester Rhinos would ultimately go on hiatus for the 2018 season, and Lilley would be joined in Pittsburgh by Rhinos assistant coach

Mark Pulisic Mark Pulisic (born September 20, 1968) is an American soccer former footballer and coach who is currently the assistant manager of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the USL Championship. College Pulisic attended George Mason University, where he pla ...

as well as many of the players on the Rhinos squad. Under Lilley's management, the Riverhounds underwent drastic improvement when compared to the prior two seasons, in which the club had finished with a losing record. The Riverhounds held a clean sheet through the first four matches, the first time the club had achieved such a streak since the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

formed in 2011. The team went undefeated for their first ten matches before finally posting their first loss on May 30, 2018. Lilley told reporters after a May 26 draw that he remained unhappy with the team's performance, as only four of those unbeaten matches were wins and the team was in 4th place on the Eastern Conference standings. However, the team would go on to win five of their next six matches after the May 30 loss before posting their next loss. As of August 12, 2018, the Riverhounds hold a 12–3–7 record, putting them in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference behind

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

Managerial stats

* ''Note: Pittsburgh statistics are through the end of the 2021 USL Championship season.''

References

External links

Whitecaps profile of Bob Lilley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilley, Bob 1966 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Expatriate soccer managers in Canada Association football midfielders George Mason Patriots men's soccer players Harrisburg Heat players Hershey Impact players Maryland Bays players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Orlando Lions players People from Monmouth County, New Jersey Pittsburgh Stingers players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) coaches Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) coaches Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC coaches Rochester New York FC coaches