Marlon LeBlanc

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University men’s soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc was named the 2006 FieldTurf Division I national coach of the year this past weekend.

“I would like to thank FieldTurf for this great honor,” says LeBlanc. “This award is a tribute to my assistants, players and staff for working hard and making this possible.

LeBlanc is the first coach in Mountaineer soccer history to earn a national coach of the year honor. He swept the major awards for Division I coaches this season as he was named the Soccer America national coach of the year on Dec. 13. LeBlanc was named the NSCAA/adidas Northeast regional coach of the year on December 7.

After taking over the Mountaineer soccer program on the first day of the preseason, LeBlanc guided the team to its most successful season in school history. West Virginia posted a 15-3-3 overall record and 9-0-1 conference clip that included a BIG EAST regular season championship and a runner-up finish in the conference tournament. For his efforts he was named the BIG EAST coach of the year on Nov. 2.

WVU defeated four ranked opponents during the 2006 season and ranked as high as third nationally. In all, LeBlanc’s Mountaineers spent eight weeks ranked in the top 10 and five in the top 5. He helped guide Jarrod Smith and Nick Noble to All-America honors, marking the first players in school history to do so since 1981.