West Point U.S. Military Academy

United States Military Academy Athletics
ODIA, 639 Howard Rd. West Point, NY 10996

Division 1 New York Northeast

Public Small Competitive team

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Coaches

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Brian Plotkin

Brian Plotkin recently completed his second season at the helm of Army men's soccer after being named the 12th head coach in program history in May of 2021.

Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie believes Plotkin’s time as an assistant coach and a professional soccer player will help him lead the Black Knights to success.

"We are so excited to announce the hiring of Brian Plotkin as the next men's soccer head coach at Army West Point," said Buddie. "He brings a wealth of experience as an assistant coach throughout Division I, including Power Five schools and high-level academic institutions. As a standout player himself at Indiana University and an MLS Cup champion, he brings to West Point the highest level of playing experience. We are confident he is going to be a great leader of our cadet athletes, not only on the pitch but off it as we develop leaders of character for our nation."

Plotkin had a breakthrough campaign in his second season at West Point as Army won the Patriot League regular season championship for the first time in 26 seasons. The Black Knights finished the regular season with a 5-1-3 conference record and 8-5-3 record overall, including a win over Navy in Philadelphia. Unprecedented territory in this century for the program, Army suffered just one defeat in its final 13 contests of the season on its way to the number one seed in the postseason.

Plotkin was named 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year following the season. Army took home three major awards altogether, with sophomore Gage Guerra named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year and Max Andrews collecting Rookie of the Year honors. Guerra was one of three Black Knights named to the league's all-first team, joining midfielder Cooper Warren and defender Nick Atkinson. With Andrews on the All-Patriot League second-team, junior Sam Epitime and sophomore goalie Tomas Hut landed on the third-team. Plotkin became the first Army head coach to win the award since 1996.

In his first season at the helm of the program, Army had a record of 8-7-3 closing out the season at the Patriot League semifinals. Plotkin mentored Oscar Pereira, Jacob Suppiah, and John Poncy to earn All-Patriot League honors. He guided Pereira to United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region Second Team honors in his final season with the Black Knights.

His coaching career began in his own backyard of Chicago as an assistant for the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers from 2013-15. In his three seasons on staff, Loyola improved every season and earned spots in the NCAA Rankings twice. Plotkin was an integral part in developing multiple all-conference selections as well as three players of the year while in Chicago.

Plotkin made the jump from Chicago in 2016, when he was hired in an assistant coaching role by Dartmouth College and Head Coach Chad Riley. His time in Hanover was highlighted by two Ivy League Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. With the Big Green, Plotkin coached up three players of the year and helped Defenseman Wyatt Omsberg become the first MLS SuperDraft selection in program history.

In 2018, Plotkin made the move to South Bend with Coach Riley after he was hired as the Head Coach of Notre Dame. With Plotkin’s help, the Fighting Irish made the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments.

The Lisle, Ill. native played collegiate soccer at Indiana University where he helped the Hoosiers win back-to-back National Championships in 2003 and 2004. He played in 90 games for IU as a midfielder, scoring 24 goals and totaling 36 assists. As a senior, Plotkin finished as the runner-up for the Hermann Trophy Award - given every year to the nation’s top college soccer player - and was tabbed as the Big 10 Player of the Year.

His time in Bloomington resulted in a 20th overall selection in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire. Plotkin played in 23 games with the Fire from 2006-08 and was a part of the 2006 US Open Cup winning squad.

Plotkin signed with the Columbus Crew of the MLS for the 2008 season, where he was a member of the 2008 MLS Cup Championship team.

After a brief stint with the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division, Plotkin retired from professional soccer and began his career in coaching.

Plotkin earned both a United Soccer Coaches (NSCAA) Premier Diploma and a USSF ‘A' license in addition to a degree in General Studies from Indiana University.

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Jonathan Delano

Jonathan Delano joined the men's soccer program as an assistant coach in June 2021.

In his second season at West Point, Army won the Patriot League regular season championship for the first time in 26 seasons. The Black Knights finished the regular season with a 5-1-3 conference record and 8-5-3 record overall, including a win over Navy in Philadelphia. On the way to its best season in decades, Army suffered just one defeat in its final 13 contests of the season on its way to the number one seed in the postseason.

Before making his way to the banks of the Hudson, Delano made stops at Penn, Harvard and Dominican (Calif.).

Delano's most recent stop was with the University of Pennsylvania, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach. While in University City, the California native coached seven All-Ivy honorees including the 2019 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. In his second year with the team, Delano helped lead the Quakers to a 7-5-4 record, the team's best mark since the 2011 season. In addition to his work on the field, he played a major part in bringing in back-to-back top-25 recruiting classes to Penn.

Prior to his time in Pennsylvania, the Dominican University graduate served as the associate head coach of the Harvard Crimson men's soccer team. In his five seasons in Cambridge, he helped develop six professional players including 2017 MLS SuperDraft pick, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu. Delano oversaw 19 All-Ivy honorees in his five seasons with the Crimson and was named the NSCAA East Region Assistant Coach of the Year for his work with the team in the 2015 season.

Delano started his coaching career at his alma mater, Dominican University of California, in an assistant coaching capacity after his graduation in 2003. He was promoted to a head coaching role for the women's team in 2006 and was twice named the California Pacific Coast Conference Coach of the Year. As a result of his success with the women's program, Delano was elevated to director of soccer in 2009, putting him in charge of both the men's and women's teams in their first year competing at the NCAA Division II level. Delano also had stints as the director of athletic development at Dominican, and the head men's and women's golf coach.

The collegiate soccer standout also lettered in basketball for Dominican while competing as a student-athlete.

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Daniel Scheck

Daniel Scheck begins his first season as an assistant coach.

In his first season at West Point, Army won the Patriot League regular season championship for the first time in 26 seasons. The Black Knights finished the regular season with a 5-1-3 conference record and 8-5-3 record overall, including a win over Navy in Philadelphia. Apart of its best season in over two decades, Army suffered just one defeat in its final 13 contests of the season on its way to the number one seed in the postseason.

Scheck comes to West Point after a two-year stint at Stony Brook University as an assistant coach. While on Long Island, he helped the team improve from a 1-6-1 record in the Spring to 8-6-1 mark during Fall competition. Scheck also recruited and coached the America East Conference Rookie of the Year, Jonas Bickus and played a key role in the development of All-Academic Team player, Edmond Kaiser, who finished the year fourth in the conference for shutouts. Scheck served as the team's recruiting coordinator, managing on-going communication and relationships with potential prospects.

Before Stony Brook, Scheck spent two seasons as the goalkeepers coach at the University of Pennsylvania. While in Philadelphia, Scheck coached multiple conference leaders and Philadelphia Soccer 6 Team Selections.

Before Penn, Scheck spent two years with the University of Connecticut as the director of soccer quality control. In addition to assisting the coaching staff by planning practice sessions and game planning, Scheck promoted and generated ticket sales. In 2017, UConn ranked first in the country with a total attendance of 42,029 and an average attendance of 3,502 while Scheck was directing communication and promotional efforts.

A former Division I goalkeeper, Scheck locked down the net for the Temple Owls from 2011-14. In his senior season, Scheck served as team captain and earned an All-American Conference nod after starting 16 matches. As a junior, Scheck tied the program record of nine shutouts while netting two Goalkeeper of the Week awards from the American Conference.