Bryant & Stratton College - Syracuse has found their new leader for the Bobcats men's soccer program in Stewart Flaherty, a seasoned veteran in coaching, analysis, and psychology in the soccer realm.
"We are thrilled to welcome Coach Stew to our men's soccer program here at Bryant & Stratton College," said Brooke Paro, Bryant & Stratton College - Syracuse Athletics Director. "His vision, leadership, and passion for the game align perfectly with our commitment to excellence both on and off the field. With his expertise, we are confident that he will elevate our team to new heights and inspire a culture of success that will resonate with our players, students, and college as a whole."
Flaherty started his collegiate coaching career in NCAA Division 2 with the Felician University men's soccer program in New Jersey back in 2008, where he oversaw a team that featured a future professional.
From there, he spent six years at Bates College in Maine, an elite academic institution inside NCAA Division 3, where he led the men's soccer program. Flaherty inherited a team at Bates that had been winless in conference play the season prior to when he arrived. In his time at Bates, he would guide the men's soccer program to the postseason, snapping a nine-year drought, defeating four Top 25 nationally-ranked opponents along the way. He would coach a future professional during his time at Bates as well.
Flaherty would move on to spend eight years as an assistant coach for the Portland Phoenix, also in Maine, in the USL League 2 (USL2), which competes from early May to mid-July. While he was on staff with Portland, the Phoenix won five Northeast Division titles and competed in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup three times, including a 1-0 road victory over the Rochester Rhinos. His time with the Phoenix included an opportunity to coach 62 players that would become professionals, including Major League Soccer (MLS) veteran Wyatt Omsberg, who just joined the New England Revolution in January 2025.
He would remain in the northeast part of the United States for his next four years of coaching, leaving the Phoenix to become an assistant coach for the Dartmouth College men's soccer program inside the Ivy League in NCAA Division 1. In Flaherty’s time at Dartmouth, the Big Green would defeat the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference and would tie the UConn Huskies of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), coaching five student-athletes that would go on to become professional soccer players.
In his most recent coaching stop, Flaherty was on staff of Michigan Stars FC, a professional soccer team that competes in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). He was named head coach of the Stars mid-season, with the team in fifth place. At the end of that 2022 season, that fifth-place team would rise under Flaherty up to the NISA national championship game, a match where they defeated ALBION San Diego 1-0 to become 2022 NISA National Champions.
Along with that national championship, the Michigan Stars would win two NISA Independent Cup titles in the Great Lakes Region while Flaherty was at the helm of the club.
This leads up to the last half of a year, a time in which Flaherty has been scouting for the USL Championship club Indy Eleven in an off-field role.
"For the last six months, I have been involved in a support role at a high level," Flaherty shared. "While it has been educational and enjoyable, my heart remains on the field coaching and I am very excited to return to that capacity," Flaherty stated as to why this was the right time to step back onto the field as a head coach.
"Brooke and Mary have been a joy to talk to in the search process and I look forward to meeting the players and building the program," Flaherty expressed, speaking on his interaction with Brooke Paro, Bryant & Stratton College - Syracuse Athletics Director, as well as Mary Hawkins, Director of Syracuse Campuses at Bryant & Stratton College.
Flaherty is also involved in the soccer world through Erimus Sport Psychology consultancy, where his client base includes teams, athletes, and coaching staff from all three NCAA divisions as well as professional clientele that are UFC fighters and world-level boxers.
His third angle into the soccer realm comes in journalism, where Flaherty has provided game analysis and tactics for a range of websites and outlets along with hosting interviews with world-level soccer figures, including Anson Dorrance, Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea, Warren Barton, and James Beattie.
As aforementioned, Flaherty brings a wealth of experience and success that spans NCAA Division 1, 2, and 3 as well as into the professional ranks of soccer in the United States.
"I believe programs like Bryant & Stratton must master the art of maximizing and excelling in our current situation in life," he offered. "It's balance of creating current success and building greater future pathways and opportunities for the players."
"We will do exactly that," Flaherty shared to all those interested in an opportunity to offer their talents in the classroom and on the field for the Bobcats as they surge forward toward a new era on the pitch.
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