Jason O’Keefe named men’s soccer head coach

Jason O’Keefe was named the men’s soccer head coach. Photo Credit: Tyler Gallo

Ethan Morrison, Contributor
November 23, 2020

MOON TOWNSHIP- On Monday morning, Robert Morris Vice President and Director of Athletics Chris King announced that Jason O’Keefe has been named the next head coach of the men’s soccer program. O’Keefe will be the successor to longtime head coach Bill Denniston after he stepped down earlier this year.

 

O’Keefe, a native of Washington DC, grew up in Herndon, Virginia, and takes over the program with 20 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level under his belt.

“Selecting Jason O’Keefe as our next head coach sets the course for a new era of success in all phases of our men’s soccer program,” King said.

O’Keefe spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Appalachian State. During his tenure, he led the Mountaineers to back-to-back winning seasons, and to top it off in 2019, Appalachian State defeated the nationally-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels 1-0 on the road in Chapel Hill, the program’s first win against the Tar Heels in 39 years.

While at App. State in 2018, O’Keefe’s team owned the best defense in the Sun Belt Conference, allowing only allowed 15 goals during the season. Appalachian State also led the conference in goals-against average at .844, which ranked 29th in the nation.

O’Keefe helped the Mountaineers move up in the RPI rankings from 160 to as high as 43 during the 2019 campaign.

Prior to his time with Appalachian State, O’Keefe spent two seasons as an assistant coach for North Carolina. During his stint with UNC, the team made two trips to the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Elite Eight in 2014. North Carolina also posted a pair of top-ten finishes in O’Keefe’s time with the team.

He also spent time with Saint Louis University from 2010-2013 as an assistant coach, where he helped the Billikens win two Atlantic 10 championships and a 2012 NCAA Tournament berth. He was named the United Soccer Coaches Mid-Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012. He was also named one of the nation’s top 15 assistant coaches according to CollegeSoccerNews.com in 2013.

“I’m honored and humbled by this fantastic opportunity to become the next head coach of the RMU Men’s soccer program,” O’Keefe said. “I would like to thank RMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Chris King and the search committee for their time, consideration, and confidence in me to lead such a historic program. I’m excited and looking forward to building on the legacy that former student-athletes and coaches have built.”