Coaching Experience
• Head Coach, Cornell women's soccer (2020-present)
• Assistant Coach, Cornell women's soccer (2019-2020)
• Director of Coaching, WNY Flash Academy (2016-2019)
• Head Coach, Huston-Tillotson men's soccer (2014-16)
• Head Coach, Huston-Tillotson women's soccer (2015-16)
• Director of Business, Lonestar Soccer Club (2008-15)
• Head Coach, Albion Hurricanes FC
• Head Coach, FC Arsenal
• Regional Manager, Brittania Soccer/ProExcel
Coaching Credentials
• USSF ‘A’ Coaching License
• USSF National Youth License
• NSCAA GK Diploma
Education
• B.A., Sports Studies and Business Management, University of Manchester (England).
At Cornell
Ferguson, who is entering his sixth season as the head coach of the Cornell women's soccer team, was hired as the sixth head coach in program history in February 2020. Prior to his appointment as head coach, Ferguson served as an assistant coach for the Big Red for the 2019 campaign under previous head coach Dwight Hornibrook.
His most recent season in 2024 saw Cornell have an overall record of 3-9-4 and a 2-5-0 mark in Ivy League action, matching the most conference wins by the Big Red under Ferguson (2-3-2 in 2022). The Big Red had two Second Team All-Ivy honorees in junior midfielder Abigail Bishara and senior defender Lily Ellingson.
Cornell opened the 2024 campaign without a loss in its first three matches, highlighted by a 2-1 victory over Syracuse (Sept. 1, 2024), the second consecutive year the Big Red defeated its Central New York rival. It marked the 12th instance in program history and the first time since 2014 and 2015 that it did not lose any of its first three matches in back-to-back years.
The 2023 campaign saw Cornell go 4-5-6 overall and 0-5-2 in Ivy League action. The Big Red had its highest offensive production in a season since 2015, as the Big Red recorded 21 goals and 58 points. Reagan Pauwels was named a Second Team All-Ivy selection for a second consecutive season while Mia Gonzalez (forward) and Cecily Pokigo (defender) earned Honorable Mention All-Ivy honors. The trio of Big Red players marked the first time Cornell has had at least three players earn All-Ivy honors in consecutive seasons since 2014 and 2015.
Cornell opened the 2023 campaign going unbeaten over its first six matches (2-0-4), marking the fifth time in program history the Big Red did not lose any of its first six matches (1986, 1991, 2005, 2015, 2023). The Big Red also went 2-0-3 in its first five home games to cap a program-record 11-game home unbeaten streak, which dated back to 2022 (5-0-6).
Posting a 4-7-5 record with a 2-3-2 Ivy League ledger in 2022, both of Cornell's conference victories — the most in a season since 2016 — came in the program's final two matches of the season. It was the first time Cornell had won consecutive Ivy League matches since the last match in 2014 and the first fixture in 2015. The Big Red had a 3-1-3 record on Berman Field, which included going unbeaten in its final six matches (3-0-3). The Big Red also had a trio of All-Ivy award winners, including Pauwels and Pokigo receiving Second Team All-Ivy honors.
After Ferguson's first year as head coach in 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cornell had a 3-11-2 mark in 2021, including a 1-6-0 Ivy League record. The Big Red recorded its first conference win at home against Columbia, its first Ancient Eight win since 2016.
In his first season on East Hill as an assistant coach on Hornibook's staff in 2019, Ferguson guided the Big Red to four consecutive victories to start the season – including three straight clean sheets over Siena, Bucknell, and St. Bonaventure. Cornell ultimately finished the season with a 4-10-1 record after the rigors of one some of the strongest Ivy League competition seen in recent years. Ferguson helped get the Big Red’s impact freshman class acclimated to collegiate competition, a group that included 2019 All-Ivy League honorable mention selection Ashley Durik.
Prior to Cornell
Ferguson first joined the Big Red after a very successful stint as the Director of Coaching with the WNY Flash Academy. He helped turn the program into a player development leader in Western New York, expanding the program's footprint from 15 teams to 34 teams and moving them into national recognition in Elite Clubs National League (ECNL). Under Ferguson’s leadership at the Flash their 03G ECNL and Flash 02G ECNL advanced into the Elite 8 in June 2018, and the club had their first US Youth National Team Camp call-up.
Before joining the WNY Flash Academy, Ferguson was the head coach of both the men's and women's soccer programs at NAIA Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Director of Business for Lonestar Soccer Club from 2008 until 2015. One of the largest and most successful youth soccer clubs in the country, Ferguson coached the Lonestar 96B Red, 93G Red, 94G Red and 95G Red, and he helped advance the 95G Red to the USYSNC Region III Championships in June 2013 and 2014.
Previous stops for Ferguson included a stint as the head coach with Albion Hurricanes FC in Houston, where he guided the AHFC 94G Blue to the USYSNC Regionals for the first time in their history. Before that, he was the Director of Coaching for FC Arsenal for three years in Bastrop, Texas, and he was a Regional Manager for Brittania Soccer/ProExcel, based in Seattle.
Personal
Ferguson lives with his wife, Kelsey, their two children, Maxwell and Mirann, and their two dogs, Bonsai and Charlie.
