Stu Riddle (born 23 May 1976) is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker. He is currently the head coach at

D'Youville University D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of Fall 2020 D'Youville Co ...

and was formerly the head coach of the men's soccer team at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

, and

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

Playing career

Riddle went to Wellington's Scots College. Riddle played for

Wellington United Wellington United AFC is an association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand, that competes in the Central League. History Wellington Diamond United Wellington Diamond United was the result of the merger of Diamond and Zealandia/Well ...

in the New Zealand Superclub competition. At the age of 19, Riddle was the member of Bobby Clark's 1996 New Zealand Olympic Team, where he made four appearances including one as a substitute, in a 1–0 victory over then Oceania rivals Australia. After brief stints with several clubs including

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

in the UK, Riddle turned to the US college system and spent two years with the

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

-based

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

before being signed by Kiwi football icon

Wynton Rufer Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...

for the

Kingz The Football Kingz were New Zealand's first professional football club. They played in the Australian National Soccer League from 1999 until their disestablishment in 2004, when they were replaced by the New Zealand Knights as an inaugural parti ...

debut season in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

in 1999. Although he signed a two-year contract, Riddle struggled to regularly feature in the Kingz side and only managed nine appearances with a return of two goals, both of which came away from home against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

and

Brisbane Strikers Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two ...

. Better form would be found in the lower United States leagues with Riddle being a mainstay of the

Laurie Calloway Laurence John Calloway (born 17 June 1945) is an English retired footballer who played as defender, spending thirteen years in the English leagues and five years in the North American Soccer League. Since retiring from playing professionally, ...

-coached

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two duri ...

side that would achieve an undefeated season in the 2002

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

competition. Riddle turned to the UK again in the hope of being signed by a

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

side but again struggled with the higher level of play and had short spells at

Oxford City Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane. ...

and

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

before being reunited with former Kingz teammates

Marcus Stergiopoulos Marcus Stergiopoulos (born 12 June 1974) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a midfielder. Stergiopoulos signed for English club Lincoln City in August 2000. He scored once for the club, in a League Cup tie against Sheffield ...

and

Levent Osman Levent Osman (born 8 March 1977, in Melbourne) is an Australian former association football player of Turkish Cypriot descent. He played as a defender. He has previously played for Trabzonspor in Turkey, FCU Politehnica Timişoara in Romania, ...

at the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

-based

Altona Magic Altona Magic Soccer Club (Commonly known as Altona Vardar SC) is a soccer team based in Altona North, a western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Magic currently compete in the second tier of the Australian soccer league system. Fo ...

in the

Victorian Premier League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

. He fell out of favour with the management of the Macedonian flavoured club and returned to the United States.

Management career

In 2006, he became a coach in the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

when he accepted a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

ing job with

Kalamazoo Kingdom Kalamazoo Kingdom were an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2006, when the team left the league and th ...

in the

, United States elite development league. In 2008, he served as the head coach for the

Kalamazoo Outrage Kalamazoo Outrage was an American soccer team based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The franchise folded at the ...

in the

, United States elite development league team in the franchises inaugural year. On 13 July 2008 the Kalamazoo Outrage qualified for the 2008

playoffs in their inaugural year. Riddle guided his side to second place in the Central Conferences Midwest Division narrowly finishing behind the

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. Th ...

in the regular season standings. His side would get their revenge eliminating the

from the 2008 playoffs by virtue of a 2–0 victory at

Toyota Park SeatGeek Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, about twelve miles southwest of downtown Chicago. It is the home stadium of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League, Chicago Fire FC II of the MLS Next Pr ...

on 22 July. The teams run would continue under Riddle and they defeated perennial

powerhouse the

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American association football, soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mi ...

on 26 July to advance to the national quarter finals where the

Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Chill Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Chapples Park S ...

would end the Outrage's season. Riddle became the sixth head coach of

when he was named the men's soccer coach on 30 January 2009. With this announcement he became the first New Zealander to be a head men's soccer coach at the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) Division I level. Riddle coached at the

for four seasons where he compiled a record of 28-32-13. In his final two seasons as head coach, he guided the Bulls to the MAC championship, falling short both times. He was hired as the 4th coach in

men's soccer program history. He led the Norse to an overall record of 37-36-5 during his 5 seasons at the helm of the program. This included a Horizon League Regular Season Championship and being named Horizon League Coach of the Year. Coach Riddle resigned as head coach of the Norse in December of 2021. In January 2023, Riddle was appointed head coach of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

D'Youville Saints.

Personal

Riddle earned his master's degree in public service administration from the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

in 2007 while serving as an assistant coach for the Purple Aces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Stu 1976 births Living people Men's association football forwards Buffalo Bulls men's soccer coaches Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's soccer players Des Moines Menace players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Football Kingz FC players Greenock Morton F.C. players Kalamazoo Kingdom players Kalamazoo Outrage players Nelson Suburbs FC players New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand expatriate men's association footballers New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States New Zealand people of English descent Northern Kentucky Norse men's soccer coaches Oxford City F.C. players People educated at Scots College, Wellington Footballers from Luton USL League Two players Wellington United players West Michigan Edge players Western Michigan Broncos men's soccer coaches New Zealand association football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Chelmsford City F.C. players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Miramar Rangers AFC players Western Suburbs FC players Manawatu United players Altona Magic SC players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's soccer coaches Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles men's soccer coaches Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer coaches USL League Two coaches Fairfield Stags men's soccer coaches Men's association football player-managers D'Youville Saints University of Evansville alumni