Joey Petrich is entering his first season as the UT Tyler men’s soccer assistant coach for a Patriot program which is coming off its sixth American Southwest Conference regular-season championship.

An Elk River, Minnesota native, Petrich was a goalkeeper at Saint Mary’s University where he recorded 135 career saves in his four seasons in Winona, Minnesota. A two-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference selection, Petrich is coming off working as an assistant coach at Concordia College (MN) where his main coaching focus was on training goalkeepers.

Along with coaching at Concordia last season, Petrich has gained leadership experience as a club coach where he coached the Northern Lights Soccer Club from 2011-13 and was the head goalkeeper trainer for the Tri-City Soccer Club last year. His coaching resume also includes a USSF National E License and NSCAA Levels 1-3 Goalkeeper diplomas.

In addition to his playing and coaching experience, he graduated Cum Laude from Saint Mary’s in the Spring of 2015 with a degree in psychology and interned with a sports psychologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.