Bradley Soccer added a veteran Missouri Valley Conference assistant to its staff with the news Joe Burger has joined the Braves for the 2015 season.
Burger twice has launched soccer programs as head coach. He oversaw the introduction of both men’s and women’s varsity soccer at Barton County Community College in 2001 and he led the BCCC men’s team to a 63-30-11 (.659) record and a pair of NJCAA/adidas top 10 national finishes during his five-year tenure. Burger comes to Bradley from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, where he launched the men’s soccer program in 2012, and his collegiate coaching experience also includes six years at Bradley’s Valley rival Drake (2006-11), as well as two seasons at Missouri State (1999-2000).
Burger’s tenure at both Drake and Missouri State coincided with some of the most-successful years in the history of both programs. Burger helped Drake to a 63-41-16 (.592) record and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, capped by a run to the quarterfinals of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. Those 2009 Bulldogs set the school record with 15 wins and climbed to a program-best No. 8 in the NSCAA/adidas national rankings.