Nate Kopunek - Men's Soccer Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Nate Kopunek

Title:
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach
Email:
natek@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7071

2020(-21) USC NORTH REGION STAFF OF THE YEAR

Nate Kopunek completed his fourth season on the men's soccer coaching staff at Bowling Green State University in the fall of 2022. Head coach Eric Nichols announced the hiring of Kopunek, who came to BGSU from Georgia Southern University, in May of 2019.

The Falcons compiled an overall record of 37-23-10 (.600) in Kopunek's four years in Northwest Ohio. BGSU advanced to the championship match of the MAC Tournament in his first year on the staff, and the Falcons played in the NCAA tourney in each of his next two seasons.

BGSU went 6-5-5 overall in 2022, and the Falcons went 4-2-2 in MAC play to finish third in the standings in the league's final year. Nichols and the Falcons once again navigated an arduous non-league schedule, then went 4-2-1 in the final month of the season, outscoring opponents by a 16-4 count in those seven matches.

BGSU's final MAC game saw the Falcons blitz Northern Illinois, 6-0, at Cochrane Stadium. The goal total was the Falcons' highest in a MAC match in over a quarter century.

The 2022 Falcons set a school record for fewest goals allowed in a season, surrendering just 10 in 16 matches. BG's goals-against average of 0.63 was the second-lowest in school history. Brendan Graves played every second between the posts, and his individual GAA (0.63, obviously) was the lowest since 1995.

Graves was named the MAC's co-Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022, with Joey Akpunonu and Sergi Martinez joining him on the All-MAC First Team. Six players were named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team, with Akpunonu going on to be named an Academic All-American.

Akpunonu was named to the 2023 MLS Generation adidas class, and was a first-round pick (22nd overall) by FC Cincinnati in the MLS SuperDraft. Akpunonu became the first player in school history to be drafted in the first round.

The fall 2021 campaign saw the Falcons post an overall record of 11-6-3, and BGSU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Ten of BGSU's 20 matches on the season were played against teams that, like the Falcons, advanced to the national tournament. And, BG played 10 contests vs. teams in the top-50 of the final RPI rankings.

BGSU went to Louisville for the first round of the 2021 NCAA Championships and came away with a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals, the program's first national tournament victory since that '97 season.

BGSU won six true road matches in 2021, the third time the Falcons had turned that trick in the Nichols Era. No BG team has won more true road contests since 1997.

BG ended the '21 season ranked number 30 in the final College Soccer News poll for the second consecutive season, and the Falcons finished the year ranked 27th (second team listed among 'receiving votes') in the final United Soccer Coaches poll.

The Falcons had entered that 2021 season as the defending MAC champions for the first time in nearly two decades. BGSU captured the conference crown and advanced to the NCAA Championships in the spring of '21

The 2020(-21) team finished the season ranked No. 30 in the final College Soccer News poll. The Falcons finished third in the final United Soccer Coaches North Region poll, and the coaching staff was named the North Region Staff of the Year.

The Falcons’ outright MAC regular-season title was the program’s first since 1996. BGSU participated in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997 and saw a school-record six players named to the All-MAC Team.

The 2019 season saw the Falcons win 13 contests, the highest total in five years and only the second double-digit victory total since 1998. The Brown and Orange kept 11 clean sheets, recording a double-figure shutout total for the first time since that '98 campaign.

BG advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match for the first time in five years. Along the way, the Falcons downed Northern Illinois at home in the quarterfinal round, then defeated Akron on the Zips' home field in the semifinals. The latter match marked BGSU's first victory over the Zips since 2002, and was the program's first road win since 1997.

The 2019 Falcons more than doubled the win total from the previous season. BG won four total matches vs. MAC foes in a season for the first time since 2003. BGSU landed a school-record six players on the All-MAC Team in 2019 (a total equaled in 2020-21).

In his lone season with Georgia Southern, Kopunek helped the Eagles advance to the championship match of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. GSU went 7-7-3 overall and 2-1-1 in conference play, tying for second in the league standings.

The Eagles ended the season ranked 75th in the RPI after being ranked as high as 69th, the best ranking in program history, during the year. Senior Javier Carbonell was named the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year while sharing overall league Player-of-the-Year honors.

Kopunek had joined the Eagles from Yale University where he served as the team’s Director of Operations and Player Personnel. He helped the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the Ivy League in 2017, the program’s best finish since the 2005 season. Yale saw four players named to the All-Ivy League Team, and the men’s soccer Bulldogs also earned an NCAA APR Public Recognition award.

Prior to Yale, Kopunek spent four seasons at George Mason University, helping the Patriots to a No. 12 national ranking and a final RPI of 33 in 2014. George Mason featured one All-American and three All-Region performers in his time there, and the Patriots also had players signed by both the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union of MLS.

Kopunek also has extensive club experience, coaching on the AC Connecticut Juniors staff as well as Maryland United FC, the Baltimore Bays Chelsea USSF Development Academy and the Fewster FC club. He also assisted with DC United game-day operations beginning in 2007.

A native of Annapolis, Md., Kopunek is a 2014 graduate of Towson University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in legal studies. He also holds a USSF National C License, a United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeping Level 1 Diploma and a United Soccer Coaches Special Topics Diploma: The Art of the Assistant.