By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western athletic director Andy Carter named Jacob Plocher as the sixth head women's soccer coach in program history Friday.
"We were impressed by the caliber of coaches who expressed interest in this position," said Carter in a statement. "Jacob Plocher's strong track record speaks for itself, and we are excited to see what he will do as the new leader of Griffon soccer."
Plocher comes to Missouri Western after six highly successful seasons at Eastern Oregon University, an NAIA institution in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC). Previous to taking the reins at EOU, Plocher spent four years at Presentation College.
"I am excited and ready to get to work," said Plocher. "I would like to thank Andy Carter and the search committee. I am grateful for this opportunity to lead this program and looking forward to being back in Missouri and the MIAA."
Plocher took the EOU Women's Soccer program to new heights, qualifying for the NAIA National Championship Tournament four of the six years he was in charge, the only four times EOU has qualified for the National Championships.
Plocher's teams never posted a sub-.500 record and climbed as high as No. 6 in the NAIA Poll. Twice his team made it to the NAIA quarterfinals, and EOU won two regular season CCC titles and two CCC Tournament titles. Plocher's teams finished ranked in the top 15 of the NAIA polls twice.
Plocher was named CCC Coach of the year in 2017. Plocher also coached Kiara Fontanilla, a goalkeeper on the Philippines National Team who competed for the country in the World Cup.
During his stint at Presentation College, Plocher compiled 27 wins. During the 2016 campaign, he guided the Saints to an 11-6-2 record, the best in program history. Under his leadership, Presentation College broke nearly every offensive school record this past season, including goals (42), assists (29), points (119), shots (354), shots on goal (191), and game-winners (10).
Prior to Presentation College, Plocher coached at Kansas Wesleyan University, William Penn University and West Plains High School. He served as an assistant coach to both the men's and women's soccer programs at Kansas Wesleyan.
Plocher began his coaching career in West Plains, Missouri, where he was the assistant coach for the West Plains High School boys' varsity soccer team. He directed the squad to a third-place finish at the state tournament for the first time in school history. He also served as the head coach for the school's junior varsity team.
During his playing days, Plocher was a team captain at William Penn after transferring from Missouri Southern. He ultimately earned his Bachelor of Arts in Wellness, Recreation, and Physical Education, and he later added a Master of Business Leadership degree.
Plocher succeeds interim head coach Leah Stringer, who took over the Griffons after former head coach Damian Macias stepped down this past July.
Macias was hired by Missouri Western in 2020, and his first season was canceled due to COVID-19. In the spring of 2021, an unofficial season, he guided the Griffons to an 8-3-2 record overall and a 4-1 mark in the MIAA Northwest division.
His first and only official season in the fall of 2021 saw Western go 9-8-2 overall and 6-5 in the MIAA. At one point, the Griffons were ranked 13th in the country - the best ranking in program history.
Stringer, who spent three total years on staff at Missouri Western, guided the Griffons to a 5-10-4 record this past fall, including a 3-6-2 mark in MIAA play.