Pacheco unites with manager Ruben Resendes on first Peoria City staff
PEORIA, IL (April 5, 2022) – Franklin Pierce men’s soccer assistant coach Brendan Pacheco will fill the same role for manager Ruben Resendes during the inaugural Peoria City season in 2022, according to an announcement from the USL League Two expansion team Tuesday afternoon.
For the past three seasons, Pacheco has assisted Resendes during a dominant run by the NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce men’s soccer program. Since the start of the 2019 season, FPU has accumulated a 41-5-3 (.867) overall record with deep NCAA Tournament runs and top 12 national rankings in each of the last three seasons. The Franklin Pierce staff has been named United Soccer Coaches East Region Coaching Staff of the Year each of the last two years.
“Our club is very fortunate to not only have an extremely high level professional, but also an amazing person in Brendan Pacheco on staff for the inaugural Peoria City season,” said Resendes. “We have worked together for almost 10 years in a few different capacities and I couldn’t think of a better person to help set necessary standards and build the right culture for our team and club here in Peoria this summer.”
This past season, Resendes and Pacheco led Franklin Pierce to a 20-1-1 record, a sweep of the Northeast-10 Conference regular-season and tournament championships and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship. The Ravens ended the year with a No. 12 NCAA Division II national ranking.
During the abbreviated and delayed 2020-21 COVID season, Franklin Pierce finished 6-0-0, including a sweep of its three NCAA Division I opponents Providence, Rhode Island and Albany, and earned a No. 2 national ranking. In their first season at FPU in 2019, Resendes and Pacheco led the Ravens to a 15-4-2 record and turned an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament into a run to the national championship quarterfinals.
In his role as assistant coach at Franklin Pierce, Pacheco is responsible for leading training sessions and exercises, including warm-up and activation, technical exercises and small-sided games. He also serves as the FPU recruiting coordinator and manages the team’s travel logistics.
In addition to his work at Franklin Pierce, Pacheco has served as assistant director and regional manager for the Resendes Soccer Academy since September 2015. He also serves as Director of Coaching for the Nor’easter Soccer Club. He has previously served five years (2015-20) as an academy coach for the New England Revolution, while also working as an assistant coach for the Revolution Youth Teams from January 2018-June 2019.
A four-year letterman at Dean College, Pacheco earned his associate degree in sport management in 2017 and his bachelor’s degree in 2019, before adding a master’s degree in business administration from Franklin Pierce in 2021. As a student-athlete, Pacheco was the 2017 United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year. A two-year team captain at Dean, he earned USCAA National All-Academic Team honors each of his final three seasons.
Pacheco earned his United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeper Level 2 Diploma in 2018 and a United States Soccer Federation Class C License in 2020.
Announced as a USL League Two expansion franchise in 2020, Peoria City delayed its entry into the nation’s top pre-professional soccer league until 2022 due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Peoria City is set to make its debut May 14 with a home matchup against fellow expansion franchise Minneapolis FC at Bradley University’s Shea Stadium. Peoria City ticket and promotions information will be announced later this month.
ABOUT USL LEAGUE TWO
A part of United Soccer Leagues, LLC, which also operates the USL Championship, USL League One, Super Y League and the new USL Academy, USL League Two is the top pre-professional soccer league in North America, offering a summer platform for aspiring professionals across the United States and Canada. League Two is the defined and proven pathway for players to progress to the ranks of professional soccer, while its clubs become fixtures in the communities where they operate. More than 70 percent of all MLS SuperDraft selections since 2010 have League Two experience, including 66 alumni chosen in 2018 and 61 in 2019. Werder Bremen’s Josh Sargent, Inter Miami CF’s DeAndre Yedlin, and Atlanta United’s Brad Guzan are among the many U.S. National Team players to have competed in USL League Two before making their professional debuts.
