Keith Byrnes enters his 17th season as head coach of the Frostburg State men’s soccer program in 2018 and has led the Bobcats to a 159-121-30 overall record. He is the second-winningest coach in the 77-year history of the Frostburg men’s program.
Over the last seven seasons, Byrnes has guided the Bobcats to 62 wins, 17 ties and four appearances in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament (2011-13 & 2015). FSU has posted 29 wins and eight ties in the Capital Athletic Conference and has earned six berths in the CAC Tournament. In 2011, Byrnes was named the CAC Coach of the Year after leading Frostburg to an 11-3-5 overall record and 4-2-2 league slate.
A year ago, Frostburg won six matches despite a handful of ranked teams on the schedule and the Bobcats advanced to the CAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season. The Bobcats finished third in the CAC in saves (79) and fifth with five shutouts.
In 2016, the Bobcats finished with nine wins against one of the toughest schedules in the country. Frostburg posted five shutouts, earned its fifth trip to the CAC Tournament and defeated Penn State Harrisburg, 3-2, in the opening round.
Frostburg emerged as one of the top defensive teams in the nation following the 2014 and 2015 seasons. In ‘15, the Bobcats finished eighth in the nation in save percentage (.883) after ranking second nationally (.909) following the ’14 campaign.
In 2015, Frostburg was 21st in DIII in team goals against average (.64) and 35th in shutout percentage (0.50). FSU finished with nine shutouts, including four in the CAC. The Bobcats also opened the season with five shutouts in their first six games.
At the other end of the field, Frostburg finished second in the CAC in points per game (5.94) and second in scoring offense (2.22).
In 2014, Frostburg captured fifth DIII in team goals against average (.45) and 16th in shutout percentage (.58). FSU, which finished 10-6-3 overall, posted 11 shutouts, including five in the CAC.
The Bobcats played to a 13-7 overall mark behind a perfect 9-0 record at home in 2013. FSU posted six shutouts, including five at home and won the FSU Tournament Championship for the third-straight year. Byrnes’ team finished third in the CAC in scoring (2.0 gpg), fourth in goals (40) and fifth in assists (26).
In 2012, Byrnes guided Frostburg State to a 10-0-3 start, one of just 11 NCAA Division III schools to open the season undefeated through the first 13 contests. FSU finished 2012 with a 12-3-4 overall record.
The 2010 year marked the first for Frostburg as a member of the CAC, one of the nation’s toughest leagues. The Bobcats finished 4-10-3 overall and 1-4-3 in the CAC.
Prior to 2010, Byrnes guided his Bobcats to eight-straight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal appearances and back-to-back ECAC South Region Tournaments in 2007 and 2008.
The Bobcats posted an overall record of 83-66-10 in Byrnes’ first eight years at the helm. During that stretch, 36 players earned All-AMCC honors and Byrnes was named the league’s coach of the year in 2008.
In ‘08, Byrnes eclipsed the 100-win plateau for his career with an ECAC Tournament first round win over Washington & Jefferson (1-0). He also guided FSU to the most wins in a season since taking over the program in 2002 (14-5-1) and the most wins since the Bobcats won 16 games in 2000.
In 2007, the Bobcats won six of their final eight games, including a run to the ECAC South Region Championship game. FSU also set the school’s single-game scoring record with a 16-0 defeat of Mt. Aloysius.
Byrnes came to Frostburg after a two-year stint as the part-time head coach at Plymouth State (N.H.) College, where he led the Panthers to a 29-11 overall record, a pair of post-season appearances and Little East Conference Player of the Year honors in both years.
In his first season at Plymouth State, Byrnes guided the Panthers to Little East Conference regular-season and tournament championships and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. PSC advanced to the second round and finished with a 15-5 overall record.
Byrnes then led the Panthers to a 14-6 overall mark in 2001, finishing as the runner-up in the LEC and winning the ECAC New England Tournament Championship.
A 1995 graduate of Plattsburgh State (N.Y.), where he played four years for the Cardinals, Byrnes was an assistant coach at his alma mater for one season before serving as an assistant coach at Norwich University for two years. He helped Norwich win a school-record 17 games in 1999, capture the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Byrnes’ career as a player included three NCAA Tournament appearances and two State University of New York Athletic Conference championships. He was also a SUNYAC All-Academic Team selection all four years.
Byrnes has his national license from the NSCAA and his “B” license from the USSF. He has also been very active in the local community as he is the Co-Director of Frostburg State Soccer Camps and is the Head Coach for the Far West Region of the Maryland State Youth Soccer Associations District Development Program.
