KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The St. Olaf College men's soccer team's coaching staff was named the 2025 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Region IX Coaching Staff of the Year, as announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Head coach Justin Oliver and assistant coaches Matthew Gibbons, John Moening, and Liam Vance were honored by their peers as the top coaching staff in the region, marking the third time in the last five seasons that St. Olaf's staff earned the accolade (2021, 2023, 2025). The staff led St. Olaf to its second-ever appearance in the national semifinals, a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title, and a program-record-tying 20 wins this season.

St. Olaf finished the season 20-3-3 to tie the 2023 national championship team's single-season wins record while joining the 2023 team as the lone teams in program history to advance to the Final Four. The Oles went undefeated (9-0-1) in the MIAC to win the regular-season title for the fourth time in five seasons before winning four consecutive games to move onto the national semifinals before falling to eventual national champion Tufts University. Last month, Oliver was voted the MIAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year by his peers for the first time in his third season leading the program.

St. Olaf finished the season ranked No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, marking the second-highest end-of-season ranking in program history. Junior Ryan Bechtel and senior Robi Buzakovic were both named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, were among four Oles to earn United Soccer Coaches All-Region IX honors, and were part of a group of six Oles to earn All-MIAC honors. Bechtel was selected as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year as well.