Nike Soccer Camp at Gettysburg College

Under Garrett, the Bullets have posted 12 consecutive winning seasons and have won at least 10 matches eight times. Gettysburg has competed in the postseason in 10 of the last 11 campaigns. The team returned to the national playoffs for the first time in five seasons in 2019, compiling a 13-5-1 overall record and finishing runner-up in the conference tournament. The Bullets maintained a spot in the regional rankings throughout the campaign and ranked as high as 25th in the Division III poll.

In the fall of 2015, Garrett steered the Orange and Blue to a 10-2-6 record, including a 7-2-1 mark in conference play. The team allowed only six goals during the entire campaign and tied the program record for shutouts for the third consecutive season with 13. Four Bullets were named All-Centennial Conference with Eliza Gray ’16 being tagged CC Player of the Year. Gray would garner first-team All-America status and finish as the program’s career leader in wins (47), GAA (0.46), and save percentage (.863).

The team also enjoyed an outstanding season in 2014, finishing 13-4-2 and earning an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Championship. Gettysburg also went 9-0-1 in the Centennial Conference to place first in the CC standings, marking the top finish for the Bullets under Garrett. He was honored as the 2014 CC Coach of the Year.

Garrett’s teams have been typified by stingy defenses that have yielded less than one goal per game in nine of his 13 campaigns at the helm. Over the last 12 seasons, Gettysburg has racked up 116 shutouts in 237 matches.

Under Garrett, the Bullets have received 48 all-conference citations, including 12 on the first team. Garrett’s players have also received 11 all-region awards and two All-America certificates.

Garrett arrived at Gettysburg following a three-year assistant-coaching stint with the men’s soccer team at his alma mater, NCAA Division II Slippery Rock University. During his tenure, the team qualified for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs for the first time in 20 years and won its first championship in 30 seasons. The team made the PSAC playoffs again in 2006.

Prior to his return to Slippery Rock, Garrett spent three seasons as an assistant men’s soccer coach at NCAA Division I Robert Morris University. The Colonials won the Northeast Conference regular-season championship in 2001 and made the conference playoffs in all three seasons with Garrett on the staff.

Garrett has also achieved success as a coach at the club level. He coached the Pennsylvania Under-19 champion Northern Steel in 1998. At the Under-16 level, he mentored his team to the 2003 and 2004 regional championships and qualified for the U.S. Club Soccer National Championships in the top Premier Division.

A four-year starter and letterwinner at The Rock, Garrett was named captain his senior season. After graduating with a bachelor’s in sports management, he went on to play semi-professionally for various English soccer clubs in the south of western England. Along with these impressive credentials, Garrett has amassed a number of awards and certifications, including National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National and National Advanced Coaching Badges and English FA Prelim and Goalkeeping Badges.

Career Highlights

• 16th year at Gettysburg
• Overall record: 142-80-32 (.622)
• Conference Record: 85-42-13 (.654)
• Has appeared in the Centennial Conference playoffs 11 times
• Led team to NCAA playoffs in 2014 and 2019
• Recorded 100th career victory on Oct. 22, 2016
• Bullets have received 53 all-conference citations, 14 all-region selections, and two All-America certificates
• Posted 11 consecutive winning seasons

During his tenure as the Raider head coach, Spering has directed SU men’s soccer to numerous milestones – including school records for single-season wins, most consecutive victories, longest undefeated streak, single-season goals, and the most all-conference selections in a single season.

In 2018, Shippensburg went 10-3-4 – marking the fewest losses in a single season in 31 years. SU hosted its first conference playoff match in eight years while allowing its fewest goals (14) and recording its most shutouts (eight) in a season since the school records for each were set back in 1987.

The 2018 campaign also featured SU’s first men’s soccer player to receive a PSAC Fall Top 10 award (All-PSAC and All-Region midfielder Patrick Luebben), the PSAC’s points leader (All-PSAC and All-Region forward Cole Kropnick), the PSAC’s leader in save percentage (goalkeeper Garret Watson), and two Google Cloud Academic All-District honorees (Luebben and senior defender Logan Koch).

Upon his arrival at Shippensburg in 2008, Spering inherited a rebuilding program. After winning just one game in each of his first two seasons, Spering guided SU to a school-record 14 victories in 2010 – marking the year’s largest single-season turnaround in Division II. The memorable 2010 campaign featured SU’s first PSAC championship since 1975 and its first NCAA tournament berth in the history of the program.

Since the start of the 2010 campaign, Spering has directed SU to 77 victories – including nine or more victories in four seasons. The Raiders have also qualified for three PSAC Tournaments and made two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Spering, the 2010 PSAC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year and NSCAA/Mondo Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, guided the Raiders to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011 – the first two such berths in school history.

In 2011, Shippensburg posted a 9-6-2 record and boasted a defense that allowed just 17 goals in 16 regular season games – the lowest regular season opponent goals total since the current school record of nine goals allowed was established in the 1987 season.

Among the many records set by Spering’s squad in the historic 2010 season included the mark for the longest winning streak (11), longest unbeaten streak (12), wins (14) and goals scored (50). SU scored five more goals in just the second half of its matches (28) than it scored through every minute of every game from the 2008 and 2009 seasons combined. SU had already surpassed the 23 combined goals scored in 2008 and 2009 by the 11th game of the 2010 season.

Spering guided Shippensburg to a 13-win improvement from both the 2008 and the 2009 seasons. He had yet to win a home game or a league game entering the 2010 season, but SU emerged as the PSAC’s regular season and overall conference champions after posting a 6-3 mark in league play and an 8-2-1 mark at David See Field.

According to the NCAA record books, Shippensburg’s improvement from 2009 to 2010 is the sixth-best in Division II history – a 10-game margin – and ties the greatest single-season turnaround by a PSAC program. SU entered the 2010 season picked 10th out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches poll. Five of its players achieved All-PSAC recognition, the most for an SU squad since 2003.

Shippensburg made a radical transformation in terms of its record in close games. In Spering’s first two seasons, the Raiders were 0-10 in games decided by one goal. The 2010 squad finished 7-3 in one-goal games.

The 2010 and 2011 campaigns marked the first back-to-back winning seasons for SU men’s soccer since 2002-03. SU compiled a 23-12-3 record from 2010-11 after going 2-27-7 in the 2008-09 seasons.

Before arriving at Shippensburg, Spering spent four years as an assistant coach at two different institutions. In 2007, Spering was the assistant women’s soccer coach at Gettysburg Col­lege, helping guide the Bullets to a 6-4 conference record and an appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament semifinals.

Overall, Spering had a part in 44 wins in four seasons as an assistant. He was a three-year veteran of the men’s soccer coaching staff at James Madi­son from 2004-06 and while at the school he earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology. During his tenure with the Dukes, the team averaged 12 wins per seasons and made an NCAA tournament appearance in 2005.

Spering graduated from Slippery Rock in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He was a two-year starter and two-year letter winner on The Rock men’s soccer team after lettering at Elmira College in 1997 and 1998. He also trained with the Bolton Wander­ers English Soccer Club in 1994 and the New Jersey Stallions professional soccer team from 1995-96.

While in the Pittsburgh area, Spering served as a volunteer assistant coach at Slippery Rock from 2002-04 and as a high school head coach at Knoch Area and Slippery Rock Area high schools. He also coached the Northern Steel Select youth soccer club in Butler from 1999-2004. In 2002, he guided Slip­pery Rock to the Mercer County Athletic Confer­ence championship.

Spering holds an advanced national coaching license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The 15-year collegiate coaching veteran is also a specialist in strength and conditioning and has consulted with several camps and training programs. In 2008, Spering joined current women’s soccer head coach Rob Fulton as instructors at the Slippery Rock Men’s Soccer Camp.

A native of Frenchtown, N.J., Spering earned all-state and all-conference honors at Delaware Valley Regional High School where he was captain of the soccer team and participated in the Olympic Devel­opment Program.

Spering resides in Gettysburg with his girlfriend Sadie. They are the proud parents of their two children: son, Calvin, and daughter, Jayde.

Spering At-A-Glance

Shippensburg University
Year Overall PSAC Postseason
2021 4-10-3 2-10
2020 No season, COVID-19 pandemic
2019 2-10-3 2-9-1
2018 10-3-4 6-2-3 PSAC Quarterfinals
2017 7-8-2 5-6-0
2016 6-12-0 2-9-0
2015 7-9-0 3-8-0
2014 6-9-2 4-7-0
2013 9-7-2 6-4-1 PSAC Quarterfinals
2012 5-9-2 2-6-1
2011 9-6-2 3-4-2 NCAA Tournament
2010 14-6-1 6-3-0 PSAC Champions
NCAA Tournament
2009 1-13-4 0-6-2
2008 1-14-3 0-8-2
Total 81-116-28 41-82-12

Fulton, the 2013 PSAC and NSCAA Atlantic Region Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year, has transitioned SU women’s soccer into a consistently competitive program and established several team firsts along the way.

On Oct. 15, 2017, Fulton achieved his 100th career head coaching victory with the Raiders – a 3-0 road victory at Millersville. Two years earlier, on Oct. 7, 2015, Fulton became the all-time coaching wins leader for Shippensburg University women’s soccer.

Under Fulton’s direction, the SU women have advanced in the PSAC Tournament, qualified for the NCAA Tournament and won a match in the NCAA Tournament – all tasks never before achieved at Shippensburg until his arrival.

Since taking over as the head coach in 2006, Fulton has guided the team to four PSAC Tournament appearances and averaged more than eight victories per season. In the 12 seasons prior to Fulton’s arrival, the Raider program boasted just one playoff appearance (2002).

Fulton has a history of solid recruiting – having mentored 20 different all-conference athletes in 13 seasons. SU has had 29 total All-PSAC selections during his tenure.

Among his top players have been goalkeeper Beth Long – who recorded a school-record 24.5 shutouts and tied the school record with 493 career saves – and Gayle Kuntzmann – a four-time All-PSAC performer who ranks second in SU history with 46 career goals. Kuntzmann played for the Boston Aztecs of the Women’s Professional Soccer League after her graduation.

In 2015, Shippensburg finished with an 11-7-1 overall record and 9-6-1 PSAC record – a four-win improvement – to finish sixth in the PSAC. SU reached the PSAC Tournament for the second time in a three-year stretch.

The 2013 season was one of the most memorable in school history, as the Raiders posted 12 victories and achieved several milestones. In SU’s 20th season of women’s soccer, Fulton’s team advanced in the PSAC Tournament for the first time, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and later won its first NCAA Tournament game.

Shippensburg claimed its first-ever undefeated regular-season home mark (8-0-1) in 2013, finishing 12-6-1 overall. SU also attained its first national ranking in more than seven years, as its No. 22-ranking at the end of the regular season was just the fifth in school history. The Raiders later entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 24 in Division II after having briefly dropped out of the rankings.

Another fascinating aspect of the 2013 season was that SU did not suffer back-to-back losses – the first time that feat has ever been achieved in school history. The Raiders also had a flare for the dramatic, going undefeated in five regular-season overtime games with four victories.

In 2010, Shippensburg posted a 10-8-1 record and qualified for the conference quarterfinals with a balanced scoring attack. SU had 14 different players score at least one goal while adding six more tallies to its total output from the previous season. The 35 goals scored by the Raiders were the most in seven years.

In 2008, Fulton guided the Raiders to an 11-8-1 record – at the time SU’s most successful season in 11 years. The campaign marked the most wins for the Raiders during Fulton’s tenure until 2013 and the most for Shippensburg since the team finished 13-6 in 1997.

The 2007 season, Fulton’s second guiding the Raiders, featured one of the best starts in program history. Shippensburg won five of its first six games to warrant a No. 13 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas national rankings, marking just the second time in program history that the team was nationally ranked. The 2007 squad was also named an NSCAA All-Academic team.

In 2006, Fulton inherited a Raider roster that had lost nine veterans to graduation, including a goaltender that had played every minute of every game for her entire career and an entire group of forwards from the previous year. Undaunted, Fulton brought in a wealth of talent and improved the offense by 10 goals, finishing with a 9-8-2 regular season record – a three-game improvement over the previous season – and SU made its first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2002.

In addition to its prowess on the field, Fulton’s 2006 squad also excelled with its sportsman­ship and maturity. Shippensburg was named as one of just 57 men and women’s soccer teams from the NCAA Divisions I, II and III to earn a NSCAA Team Ethics Award. The Raiders were one of just 34 teams through­out the NCAA and one of two from the PSAC that received the Silver Award for receiving fewer than five yellow cards and no red cards.

Fulton arrived at Shippensburg in 2004 and has been an assistant coach for the men’s soccer team since his arrival. He was the assistant women’s coach for two years before earning the chance to helm the Raiders in 2006.

Before Shippensburg, Fulton had two years of head coaching experience at the College of the Southwest, a NAIA school located in Hobbs, New Mexico. Fulton totaled a 22-16-1 record as the head coach of the women’s program from 2002-03. He also served as an assistant professor of physical education.

In 2003, Fulton guided the Lady Mustangs to a 13-6-1 record and the Red River Athletic Confer­ence (RRAC) regular-season title and an appearance in the conference championship game. He was also honored as the RRAC Coach of the Year.

Originally from Fort Collins, Colorado, Fulton came to the College of the Southwest from Austin, Texas where he was coaching with the ASC Eagles Soccer Club. Fulton began his coaching career in Colorado where he was the girls’ junior varsity coach at Love­land High School for two years beginning in 1994.

Fulton was then the head boys’ and assistant girls’ varsity coach at Poudre High School for three years where he helped lead the girls to a state champion­ship and earned the Northern Conference Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year in 1996. In addition to his experience at the high school level, Fulton also served as the soccer trainer for the Eagles Soccer Club in Round Rock, Texas from January 2001 to February 2002.

Fulton started his playing career at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and finished at Grace­land College in Lamoni, Iowa where he was a team captain and named his team’s Most Valuable Player as a senior. He holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in wellness program management from Graceland in 1992.

In 1999, Fulton received his master’s degree in edu­cation along with elementary and physical education certifications from Southwest Texas State University. Fulton is also a NSCAA and USSF licensed coach.
At Shippensburg, Fulton has compiled a 116-123-21 record in his 15 seasons.

Fulton lives in Carlisle with his wife, Allyson. The couple have two children: Austin and Addison.

Fulton At-A-Glance

Shippensburg University
Year Overall Conference Postseason
2021 5-11-2 5-9-2
2020 No season, COVID-19 pandemic
2019 8-10-0 6-10-0
2018 7-10-1 5-10-1
2017 6-11-1 5-11-0
2016 10-7-1 8-7-1
2015 11-7-1 9-6-1
2014 7-7-3 6-7-3
2013 12-6-1 10-5-1 PSAC Semifinals, NCAA Second Round
2012 6-9-3 4-8-2
2011 5-10-3 3-9-2
2010 10-8-1 7-7-0 PSAC Quarterfinals
2009 6-9-3 3-6-3
2008 11-8-1 4-7-1
2007 8-12-0 5-7-0
2006 9-9-2 6-4-2 PSAC Quarterfinals
Total 116-123-21 81-104-17

College of the Southwest
Year Overall Conference Postseason
2003 13-6-1 N/A RRAC Finals
2002 9-10-0 N/A RRAC Semifinals
Total 22-16-1 N/A