Inverso retires after 12-year, 3-championship tenure
By Jake Tiger
Rider men’s soccer Head Coach Charlie Inverso announced his retirement on Nov. 1 after 12 years and a 95-91-25 record with the team, a Rider Athletics press release stated.
The decision comes after a 2022 season that saw the Broncs fall to a 2-8-6 record in 16 games, their worst record since 2012, when a recently-hired Inverso was still building up the struggling program.
“I just need a change, but I definitely want to keep coaching,” said Inverso in a Rider Athletics press release. “If you want to do this job the right way, it takes 10-12 hours a day and very few of those hours are on the field. I want to be on the field more and to keep learning and improving as a coach wherever that will take me. I still have a lot of things I want to accomplish in this game and hopefully God has a plan for me.”
Inverso came to Rider in 2011 following a 24-year run at Mercer County Community College, in which he earned a 434-46-14 as a head coach. At the time, Rider men’s soccer was coming off of a 2-15-1 season, the team’s worst record since 1961.
The Broncs were in desperate need of a culture change and Inverso was the ideal candidate.
“When Charlie was hired in 2011, his main charge was to improve the competitive standing of the men’s soccer program and the competitive experience for our student athletes,” said Rider Athletic Director Don Harnum. “That certainly happened in a big way and I appreciate his tireless efforts. I wish Charlie and his family nothing but the best moving forward. We will begin a search for a new coach immediately.”
Inverso went on to lead Rider to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2016, Rider was nationally ranked as high as No. 22.
With a .509 winning percentage, Inverso ends his 12-year tenure as the most successful head coach in Rider men’s soccer history.
Inverso will coach his final game at Rider on Nov. 2 when the Broncs take on Canisius at home for their regular season conclusion.
“Honestly, I came here with the intention of staying 4-5 years, get the team in the playoffs and move on,” said Inverso. “What the team accomplished starting in 2015 went beyond my wildest dreams and I thank the players and assistant coaches for this. I always saw Rider as a place to build something great. My dad graduated from Rider after going to night school for eight years. He was [a] first generation Italian and the youngest of eight and the only one in his family to attend college. He had so much pride in the school. He would always say, ‘best business school in the country, kid.’”
