Mark Gregory Ryan (born January 21, 1957) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who played as a defender in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League. He was the head coach of the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

from 2005 to 2007. He was previously the head coach at

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, and

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

, and was an assistant with the national team. In 1983, Ryan entered the coaching ranks, while still playing, when he served as an assistant coach with

men's soccer team. Ryan retired from playing after the first

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

season of the Sting in 1985 and moved to the

where he coached in various capacities until 1993. In 1991, he was named the women's college coach of the year. In 1996, he moved to

where he compiled a 37–21–5 record as the women's soccer coach. In 1999, he moved back to

. The national team finished first in first-round group play in the

2007 Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but t ...

held in China. In the quarterfinals, the team defeated

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

3–0. Heading into the semifinal match against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Ryan decided to bench regular goalkeeper

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Aft ...

in favor of veteran goalkeeper

Briana Scurry Briana Collette Scurry (born September 7, 1971) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper, and assistant coach of the Washington Spirit . Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team at the 1995 World Cu ...

. The team subsequently lost to Brazil 0–4 (the worst defeat in the team's history) and Ryan received considerable criticism for the sudden lineup change as well as defensive-minded substitutions made when the team arguably needed more offensive players to compete against the Brazilians. On Monday, October 22, 2007, U.S. Soccer President

Sunil Gulati Sunil Gulati ( ; born July 30, 1959) is an American sports administrator who presided over the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) from 2006 to 2018. On April 19, 2013, he was elected to a four-year term on the FIFA Council. In March 2014, he ...

announced that Ryan's contract would not be extended past its December 31, 2007 expiration date. Ryan accepted the position of head coach for the University of Michigan women's soccer team on Feb. 1, 2008. He became the second head coach in the program's 14-year history. After the team posted losing seasons in his first two years at the helm, the Michigan women's team qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2010 but lost in the first round. In 2012, they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and in 2013, they made it to the Elite Eight. Through seven seasons at Michigan, Ryan's record is 75–46–23. After the 2018 season, Michigan and Ryan parted ways.

Coaching record

References

External links

NCAA coaching records

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Greg 1957 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Minnesota Kicks players College women's soccer coaches in the United States SMU Mustangs men's soccer players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players New York Cosmos players United States women's national soccer team managers 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup managers German emigrants to the United States Footballers from Frankfurt Michigan Wolverines women's soccer coaches American women's soccer coaches Association football defenders Wisconsin Badgers women's soccer coaches SMU Mustangs women's soccer coaches All-American men's college soccer players