Emmett Rutkowski joins the Mercer staff as an assistant coach for the upcoming 2017-2018 season. Rutkowski returns to Mercer after serving as an assistant under Ruzzo during the 2013-14 season when he helped the Bears to an ASUN Conference Tournament semifinal appearance. He held the head coach position at Centenary College (La.) the past two seasons after taking over a rebuilding project and led the Gents to an improved win percentage and the program’s first win against conference rival Southwestern (Texas).
Other successes for Centenary under Rutkowski’s tutelage included Gents goalkeeper Rylan Whan ranking in the top-two of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and in the top-35 in the nation in saves per game. The team also saw nearly a half-goal per game improvement on offense in Rutkowski’s second year.
Prior to his first stint at Mercer, Rutkowski served as the goalkeeper coach for Dartmouth College (N.H.) during the 2012 season and as an assistant coach for Frostburg State (Md.) from 2010-2012. Other coaching experience includes serving as an assistant coach for the Shreveport Rafters FC this summer during its inaugural season.
Rutkowski played collegiately at the University of Mary Washington from 2006-2010, earning All-Conference and All-Region First Team recognition as a senior goalkeeper before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. He went on to play semi-professionally in the Premier Developmental League (PDL) with the Fredericksburg Hotspurs before earning his Master’s of Education from Frostburg State in the spring of 2012.