Patrick Ritter enters his third season as assistant coach for the Missouri Southern women’s soccer program under head coach Aaron Tilsen in 2021.
In the 2020 spring season the Lions went 4-9 overall and were 1-4 in the South division of the MIAA. Making their first appearance in the MIAA conference tournament since 2017. During the season the Lions earned wins over Newman (1-0, 3-0), #8 Central Missouri (3-2 OT) and Evangel (3-1). In the win against the #8 Jennies was the Lions first win against them since 2013 and the first home win against the Jennies since 2005. Bailey Belcher was named a first-team All-MIAA forward and Rylie Johnson was a second-team All-MIAA defender. 16 Lions were named onto the MIAA Academic Honor Rolls and Belcher was named a MIAA Scholar-Athlete. Belcher, Johnson and Laver were named onto the USCA College Player Award of Distinction once again.
Year one the Lions had a 3-14-1 record and a 2-8-1 MIAA record. During the season, the Lions earned wins over Drury (1-0), Missouri Western (4-1) and Washburn (2-1) with a 1-1 draw with Nebraska Kearney. Southern had four All-MIAA Honorable Mention selections and placed four on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. Lariah Boone, Maya Greenquist, Jori Hays and Banner Williams were MIAA Academic Excellence award winners for transfers/newcomers. Belcher, Johnson and Riley Laver were named onto the USCA College Player Award of Distinction.
Ritter’s coaching experience spans across all levels of competitive soccer which include stints at NCAA D1, NJCAA, NAIA, Club, and high school programs.
Prior to joining the MSSU Staff, Ritter spent two seasons as an assistant for the Southern University Jaguars of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). During his time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was responsible for a defensive unit that reduced goals allowed in one season by 54% (2018) on top of setting program records for goals allowed and goals allowed average on top of holding opponents under 2.0 goals per game to close out the 2018 season; the only time in program history.
Before testing the Division I soccer landscape, Ritter coached in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as the assistant men’s coach at the University of Saint Mary for the 2016 season. The team went on to registered the program’s best overall record of 7-9-2 (.444) since going 10-7-2 overall 13 years earlier in 2003 and best conference record of 4-5-2 (.454) since the early 2000s.
His defense also shined by setting a record for fewest goals allowed in school history and helped the squad in ending nine year losing streaks to Tabor College and McPherson College. There members of the defensive unit went on to become All-Conference selections while two of them gained NAIA Scholar Athlete recognition.
The native kick started his college coaching journey at the Junior College level as men’s assistant at Western Wyoming CC for the 2011 season as he assisted the team to the school record for most wins in a season and leaded eight players to the all-region squad and ten of them to the Academic All-Conference team as well before switching over to assume the head coaching role of the women’s soccer program that summer.
Over the course of his three seasons as head coach from 2012 to 2014, Ritter developed the schools only NCAA D1 transfer, National Offensive Players of the Week, a goalkeeper to top-three status nationally in save statistics, five All-Region players, and 30 Academic All-Region recipients along with leading the women’s program to the most conference victories in school history, including the programs first victory in the post-season play.
Upon leaving WWCC, Ritter returned to his alma mater of Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, South Dakota to volunteer throughout the off season while working for the U-18 and U-16 Dakota Alliance Soccer Club teams and for Olympic Development Program in 2015.
Ritter completed his Masters of Education in Sports Administration at USM in 2018 and received a United Soccer Coaches National Diploma in 2014 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics at Dakota Wesleyan University in 2011 and taking home an Associates of Science degree in Physics from Western Wyoming Community College in 2009.
