ITHACA, N.Y. – Former Cornell men's soccer coach Dan Wood passed away on Thursday, May 7, at the age of 73.
 
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Cornell men's soccer's most successful coach, Dan Wood," said current Big Red head coach John Smith.
 
"Dan brought the program to prominence in the 1970's when he took the team to the final four in 1972, and brought home Cornell's first Ivy League Championship in 1975. I had the fortune of meeting Dan and Sandi in the first few months of my tenure here, and, from our very first conversation it was clear why Dan had been so successful. His knowledge of the game, and his passion for the student-athletes he coached was bountiful. Having chatted with Dan it wasn't a surprise to me that two of his former players – Bruce Arena and Dave Sarachan – went on to coach at the highest levels in this game. Dan will be missed dearly, but remembered fondly as the person who put Cornell men's soccer on the map."
 
Wood was one of the most prominent head coaches in program history, leading the team to a 52-20-6 mark over the course of his five-year tenure from 1971-1975. Wood's teams made five consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament during his time with the Big Red, advancing to the NCAA semifinals in 1972. Cornell was defeated in the semifinal by UCLA, 1-0. In 1975, Wood led Cornell to it's first Ivy League Championship.
 
On that 1972 team was current New England Revolution head coach and former U.S. men's national team head coach Bruce Arena, who joined the team as a goalkeeper following a slew of injuries at the position. Arena was a dual-sport athlete at Cornell, earning first team All-Ivy honors in both soccer and lacrosse.
 
Wood also coached Sarachan, who would go on to become the head coach at Cornell from 1988-1997 and an assistant under Arena with the men's national team from 1999-2002. Sarachan served as the head coach of the men's national team from 2017-2018 in an interim capacity.
 
"The passing of Dan Wood is very sad news to myself and all that knew him," said Sarachan.
 
"Dan had a profound influence on me and without his belief in me, my career as a student, professional player and coach could have taken me down a different path. He was a brilliant guy, fabulous teacher, passionate devotee to detail in both soccer and golf and a wonderful human being. I served as his captain and learned so many lessons on leadership, accountability and doing things the right way from Dan. Most of all, he had a true love of Cornell University and particularly of Cornell Soccer. It was his passion as a coach and remained his true interest and passion throughout the rest of his years. All of us that knew him and were influenced by him will truly miss him."
 
Following his time at Cornell, Wood coached professionally in the American Soccer League (ASL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL) with the Tacoma Tides, the Colorado Caribous and the Atlanta Chiefs. Wood was also an accomplished golfer, earning full PGA membership in 1988 and qualifying for the 1992 PGA Championship. In 2015, Wood retired as the head women's golf coach at Ithaca College.