Perritano Announces Retirement from Men’s Soccer Program

ERIE, Pa. – Penn State Behrend men's soccer head coach Dan Perritano has announced his retirement after 31 seasons at the helm of the men's soccer program, effective May 2024.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the many wonderful people who I have had the opportunity to work beside over my time here at Behrend," Perritano stated.  "Thanks to our assistant coaches, co-workers, alumni, and especially to the many players who have made this their home for four years. I have many great memories and look forward to supporting the program in a new role …. super fan."

Perritano began his coaching career at Behrend as the men's soccer head coach in 1993. In 1995, he would take on double-duty, becoming the women's soccer head coach, while remaining head of the men's program.

During his nine years as the leader of the women's program, Perritano tallied 109 victories, guiding the team to a 36-game winning streak to start the league with four consecutive AMCC titles (1997-2000).

Also, as the women's coach, he propelled the program to three ECAC bids and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, while leading the team to seven-winning seasons.

Prior to the 2004 season, Perritano decided to relinquish his duties as head women's soccer coach and strictly focus on the men's program.

Over his 31 seasons, the men's soccer team earned 10 conference titles, 10 ECAC bids, eight NCAA appearances, one ECAC Championship (2009), and were four-time AMCC regular season champions (2012/2015/2017/2018).

During his time as head coach, the Lions recorded several historic seasons.

In 2012, Behrend tied the longest winning streak in all of Division III men's soccer with 11 consecutive wins. During the 2013 season, the Lions hosted their first-ever NCAA Tournament game. In 2018, Perritano guided Behrend to its first-ever Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament and during the 2019 season, the Lions set a new school record for wins with a 19-2 overall record, going undefeated at home (10-0). During this season, the team was ranked nationally from start to finish, ranking a program-best 10th in Division III men's soccer.

Dating back to 1997, Perritano has coached 204 AMCC All-Conference players (164 Men/40 Women); this includes 83 First Team selections, 56 Second Team selections, 33 Third Team Selections, seven Conference Player of the Year honorees, 10 Defensive Player of the Year honorees, four Newcomer of the Year honorees, four honorable mention selections, and one Offensive Player of the Year.

On three occasions during his career, he was selected by his peers as the AMCC Coach of the Year (1997/2003/2018).

Perritano's 397 career wins as the men's head coach makes him the winningest coach in the history of the program and ranks him the 10th all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division III soccer. He also ranks in the top-50 in winning percentage (.636) among current and former head coaches in the Division III soccer record books.

Coming in to the 2023 season, there were only 16 active Division III coaches that amassed more than 300 career wins.

Prior to Behrend, Perritano served two years as the Graduate Assistant at Springfield (1987-1989) and started his coaching career at Redlands in 1989. Before he came to Erie, he was head of the women's soccer team at Monroe Community College for two seasons (1990-92), where he led the team to the national title game in 1992.

Along with coaching soccer at Behrend, he was the head baseball coach for two years (1994-1995), registering an overall record of 19-35.

Starting in 1998, he has made nine international trips with the soccer programs which has spanned to 11 different countries. He also made numerous alumni trips throughout the years.

Overall, Perritano ends his illustrious 37-year coaching career in soccer with an overall record of 564-254-65 and in his career at Behrend he holds a record of 525-269-61.

Amongst the Behrend coaching ranks, Perritano is currently the third winningest coach in school history. He sits only behind current head baseball coach Paul Benim (699 career wins) and men's basketball head coach Dave Niland (550 career wins).

Being involved in the community has been a major part of Perritano's career as he has been a part of TOPSoccer for 25 years, while hosting many youth events such as tournaments and camps over the years.

As an avid soccer fan, he attended the 1994 World Cup Final in Los Angeles and the 1996 Euro Final in England.

Assistant coach Chris Ralph, who had a successful three-year playing career under Perritano (2016-2018) and has been his assistant for the past three seasons, will serve as the interim men's soccer head coach.