Follow Coach Brdarski on Twitter: @CoachSteveSB
Steve Brdarski will enter his 10th season at the helm of the St. Bonaventure University women's soccer team in 2022. Since starting in 2013, Brdarski has infused the program with his passion and enthusiasm for the game and the experience of being a student-athlete.
Throughout his tenure with the program, Brdarski's Bonnies have enjoyed accolades on the field and in the classroom. That continued following the 2021 season when forward Cristina Torres was selected to both the Atlantic 10 First Team and All-Academic Team after leading the league in goals. Freshman goalkeeper Chiara Gottinger (A-10 Second Team, All-Rookie Team) and freshman forward Chanel Alexander (All-Rookie Team) were honored by the A-10 after the Bonnies reached the conference tournament with a 5-4-1 record in league play.
Brdarski's Bonnies have consistently shined academically. Once again in 2022, the Bonnies were recognized by the NCAA Academic Progress Report (APR) for their academic success after having a perfect score in the latest NCAA academic figures. The Bonnies have been honored by the United States Soccer Coaches Association for academic success in 15 straight seasons as of 2022. To be honored with the Team Academic Award, teams must post a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher each year.
Beyond Atlantic 10 honors, St. Bonaventure student-athletes have also taken all-region accolades including most recently, Torres being named CoSIDA Academic All-Region (2021) and Sabrina Sousa-Sampson United Soccer Coaches Association All-Region (2019).
Brdarski brought a wealth of experience to SBU, having served in various coaching roles at the college, professional and national soccer levels. Most recently, he had held the title of Associate Head Coach at Longwood University since 2008 and was an assistant coach at the Virginia-based school since 2004.
Before his stint at Longwood, Brdarski was the men’s head coach and a women’s assistant coach at his alma mater, Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.
Outside of the college ranks, Brdarski was named head coach of the Haitian U20 Women’s Team in 2012, and he is also an assistant coach for Haiti’s Women’s National Team. Additionally, the Copley, Ohio, native was an assistant coach and director of scouting for FC Indiana of the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) from 2005-09.
Success has followed Brdarski at each of his coaching stops. The Longwood women’s team achieved a winning record in six of the last seven seasons with Brdarski on staff, and averaged 10 wins per season during that time. After moving to the Big South Conference, Longwood produced a program record for victories (13), highest RPI (120) and tied for second in the league standings.
With the help of Brdarski, FC Indiana became the first team to win WSPL and U.S. Open cup championships in the same year, and the first expansion club to capture the league title. Brdarski also assisted with the individual development of 41 professional players – including 14 World Cup and Olympic Games participants and 21 National Team members – during his time in Indiana.
As the men’s head coach at Pfeiffer from 2001-03, Brdarski improved the team’s record from 3-12-1 in his first season to 8-7-2 the following year. While a women’s assistant at Pfeiffer from 1999-2001 – the 1999 season being Brdarski’s junior year – the team posted a program record for wins in a season, earned its first conference championship and achieved its best ever NSCAA National Top 25 national and regional ranking.
As a three-year letterwinner for the Pfeiffer men’s soccer team, Brdarski started 42 consecutive games and helped lead Pfeiffer to a conference title in 1997. He did not play soccer his senior season to focus on coaching, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 2001.
Brdarski has also been active on committees, having served on the 2003 NSCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Committee and 2002 NCAA “Yes” Clinic. He is currently a board member for Habitat for Humanity.
In 2019, Brdarski became a St. Bonaventure alum when he earned his master's degree in strategic leadership.
