The journey to success

With the birth of UTRGV in 2015 came the creation of a new soccer program. The UTRGV Men’s Soccer Team needed a leader and head coach. That was when Paul Leese was selected to take the reins.

This season, Leese led UTRGV to a second-place finish in the WAC. The success he and the team had during the season earned him the honor of being named the 2018 Western Athletic Conference Head Coach of the Year during a ceremony in Seattle, Wash.

Of all the coaches in the room, Leese said he did not expect to be named Coach of the Year.

“I think it was well within their right, of every coach, to vote for the head coach of Air Force [Academy], so it was very pleasing for me,” he said. “When I was at the banquet, a lot of coaches, after I was named Coach of the Year, they were very complimentary and came over and congratulated me greatly. That makes me feel good, knowing the other coaches have seen what we’re doing here at UTRGV.”

Leese coached the Vaqueros to a 4-1 victory against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the quarterfinal round of the WAC Tournament on Nov. 7, earning the Vaqueros their first-ever WAC Tournament victory.

He said the team had a strong performance at the WAC Tournament

“Actually, it was a really enjoyable experience,” Leese said. “I never had any worry. I knew we were playing a strong team, UNLV. They’ve been conference champions a couple of times, I think in the last four years, so we knew they were a strong team.

“But, I just felt we were in a very strong position. We were playing very good soccer. We were in a good rhythm. The boys were very united and had a strong belief that we could continue to be successful.”

The Vaqueros then moved on to the semifinal round of the tournament, but fell 1-0 to San Jose State University on Nov. 9.

Coach Leese said that despite the loss, the entire tournament experience was unforgettable.

“So even though we went 1-nil down, the opening 15 minutes of the game, as they usually are in a tournament, were very tentative, both teams feeling each other out, and we conceded the first goal,” he said.

Not only did Leese earn Coach of the Year, but some of his players also received WAC awards.

Junior forward Kyle Edwards and senior defender Antone Jarvis were named to the All-WAC First Team. Junior forward William Akio was named to the All-WAC Second Team.

All-WAC Honorable Mention athletes were midfielder Bryce Box and defender Guillermo Martinez, both sophomores; forward Isidro Martinez, a senior; and, goalie Andy Rios and midfielder Arthur Rogers, both juniors.

Edwards and fellow forward Rooby Dalusma, a senior, were also named to the 2018 WAC Men’s Soccer All-Tournament Team.

From 2009 to 2013, Leese was head coach at Coker College in Hartsville, S.C. His first year there, he led the Cobras to the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship. In 2011, he coached the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He was named the 2012 Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year.

In 2015, Leese began his journey at UTRGV from scratch. The first thing he did was form a roster.

Since then, the history-making moments started. That same season, the Vaqueros upset defending WAC Champions UNLV. From that season on, Leese would change things for the Vaqueros.

The biggest surprise came during the 2016 season, when Leese guided UTRGV to its first WAC Tournament appearance. He also defied the odds and coached the Vaqueros to a fifth-place finish after being picked to finish 11th in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

In 2017, Leese led the Vaqueros to their second WAC Tournament appearance, but fell to San Jose State University.

“The games we’ve played, the style of soccer and the individual performances by some of our players will make it much more difficult next year,” he said. “They’ll be preparing for us now the same way I was preparing for everyone this year.”