The Indiana State women’s soccer team heads into its seventh year under the direction of head coach Vernon Croft. Having started the program from the ground up, Croft is anxious to continue building the Sycamores into a national power.

In 2005, Indiana State’s season was headlined by a 2-1 win over nationally-ranked Illinois, the first win for ISU over a Big-Ten program. The Sycamores also advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament for the second year in a row. Following the end of the season, ISU pulled in the most conference accolades in the Valley with five players named all-conference.

Success on the field is only part of the program that Croft has built, as the academic success is just as impressive. The Sycamores earned the number one academic ranking among all NCAA Division I soccer programs during the 2003-04 school year according to the NSCAA as their 3.54 team GPA led the nation. It was the fourth straight year the ISU program was recognized by the NSCAA for its academic performance and the fourth straight year the Sycamores were the highest ranked school in the MVC.

Croft earned 2004 MVC co-Coach of the Year honors after the Sycamores posted their best season in school history and advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. ISU also set new records with nine wins overall and four victories in league play. Along with three players being named all-conference, freshman Lauren Podolski picked up ISU’s first ever MVC Freshman of the Year honor.

Three Sycamores earned all-conference honors in 2003 with Croft at the helm. It marked the second consecutive season in which at least one Sycamore was named first team all-conference. ISU earned two MVC Players of the Week awards, while Natalie Contosta was named to the MVC All-Academic Team. The Sycamores continued their strong defensive play, a hallmark under Croft, as they limited their opponents to a then, school-best 29 goals on the season.

In 2002, he directed the Sycamores to a then school record seven wins, landed three players on the All-MVC team and a pair of freshmen on the All-Freshmen team. Croft made adjustments to the schedule as Indiana State faced its toughest lineup in the history of the program, including three teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament.

In 2001, the Sycamores doubled its win total from 2000. As a result, ISU was the lone Missouri Valley Conference school recognized nationally for its improvement. The Sycamore defense recorded the first three shutouts in school history. Offensively they tallied 13 more goals on 85 more shot attempts in comparison to 2000. The improvements on the field translated into four Sycamores being named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference team.

In 2000, the first year of the program, Croft and the Sycamores were ranked No. 5 among first-year programs, according to Soccer Buzz. He also landed a pair of players on the Soccer Buzz First-Year Programs All-National Team. In addition, the Sycamores earned a berth in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Croft, who was named head coach on December 15, 1999, came to Indiana State with solid experience in building programs from the ground level. Previously, he had served at Missouri State, where he assisted in launching the Lady Bears soccer program. In his four seasons with MSU, the Lady Bears made appearances in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and advanced to the semifinals every year, including the championship game in 1999. While at the Springfield, Mo., institution, Croft also served as the men’s goalkeeper coach from 1996-97, which finished its season ranked No. 12 in the nation.

Prior to MSU, Croft served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Widener University in Chester, Pa., helping begin the women’s soccer program from 1995-96. He helped guide the Pioneers to a second-place finish in the Middle Atlantic Conference with a 15-2-1 record and a berth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament and a regional ranking of No. 4.

Croft began his college coaching career at Lynchburg College in 1994 as the assistant men’s soccer coach.

On the club level, Croft developed the Springfield, Mo., Bears Futbol Club from the ground level and served as president and director of coaching and player development. He currently works with the Wabash Valley United Soccer Club, which he helped launch in 2003. Croft serves as a technical director for the club. Recently, he has been asked to serve as a consultant to the Parke County Youth Soccer Association, which began in the fall of 2002.

Croft played collegiate soccer at Rider University for one year before a four-year stint at Lynchburg College where he was a two-year captain at goalkeeper and currently holds a Lynchburg College record for saves in a career.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in health, movement science and recreation in 1994 from Lynchburg and his master’s in education from Widener in 1996.

The Fairfax, Va., native played two seasons as goalkeeper in the United Systems Independent Soccer League, competing for the Roanoke (Va.) Riverdawgs in 1994 and the Reading (Pa.) Rage in 1995.

Croft currently holds licenses from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and has the United States Soccer Federation A License. He is also a staff coach for the Indiana Youth Soccer Association/Olympic Development Program and the Missouri Valley Conference representative to the NSCAA Women’s Division I Sub-Committee. Additionally, Croft is on the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Advisory Committee. He also serves as director of the Vernon Croft Training Academy.

Croft was married in the summer of 2003 to the former Maria Theisz of Terre Haute and were joined by twins Kelsey and Keegan, born January 2006.