Franklin & Marshall College

Franklin & Marshall College Athletics
College Ave & James St / PO Box 3003 Lancaster, PA 176043003

Division 3 Pennsylvania Northeast

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Coaches

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Dan Wagner

The 19th head coach in Franklin & Marshall's history, Dan Wagner enters his 22nd season in charge of the Diplomats. In 2023, Wagner became the winningest coach in Centennial men’s soccer history, surpassing Johns Hopkin’s Matt Smith who had won 240 games.

Over the last nine years, F&M has had unprecedented NCAA tournament success. The Diplomats are second in the nation for consecutive NCAA tournament bids with nine. This shatters Dickinson’s previous Centennial Conference record of five consecutive NCAA bids. Wagner has won 15 NCAA games during this period, outpacing Matt Smith’s previous record of seven. During this time the Diplomats have gone to the Sweet 16 four times and the Elite 8 twice. Wagner has guided the Diplomats to 18 straight winning seasons, including 13 consecutive appearances in the Centennial Conference (CC) Playoffs.

Wagner’s players have been named All-America 12 times during his tenure and CC Players of the Year in four seasons. Connor Whitacre ‘20 became the first CC player to be named D3soccer.com Defender of the Year. Brandon Corday '08 remains the only CC player to repeat as CC Player of the year and first-team All-American and Ugo Okolie is the only CC player to be named All-American as an underclassman.

F&M has also been recognized nationally as one of Division III’s most respected and successful programs with a consistent place in the top-25 rankings. The 2015 squad became the first in program history to reach No. 1 in the nation – a reign the Diplomats held for four consecutive weeks, while the 2016 team finished at No. 6 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) National Poll – the highest ever for F&M. During the 2021 season, Franklin & Marshall was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country during the regular season.

Wagner's soccer pedigree is rich. Steeped in the storied tradition of Messiah soccer, where he excelled as an undergrad, Wagner is the only player to captain the Falcons for three seasons. While playing in Grantham, he earned All-Middle Atlantic Conference honors in 1991, 1994 and 1995. He finished his career at Messiah with 16 goals and 23 assists for 55 points. Wagner also captained Mechanicsburg High School for three seasons and was named Mid-Penn Player of the Year in 1991. He also was All-State and captained his EPYSA ODP team.

Wagner also directs the F&M Soccer Africa Project, a cooperative venture with Amandla Edufootball and the CTC Ten Foundation. This group has created the Chris Campbell Memorial Field as well as a clubhouse and education center in Khayelitsha South Africa. The facility operates similar to a boy’s and girl’s club in the United States and promotes positive life choices for underprivileged youth in one of the poorest areas of South Africa. The idea of the facility was conceived by Wagner, created by CTC Ten and is now managed by South African NGO Amandla Edufootball. The F&M soccer team travels to Cape Town every three years in support of the facility. Wagner also works closely with F&M’s Ware Institutes for Civic Engagement in supporting faculty and student study abroad, volunteer and community-based learning experiences.

In addition to his time at Franklin & Marshall, Wagner is the Co-Director of Tactical Team Trainers, conducting high school soccer team and player development camps.

Wagner first went from the pitch to the sideline at Northern York High School, coaching the girls' junior varsity (1994) and varsity (1995) teams. From Dillsburg, it was on to Pequea Valley High School, where he stood at the helm for two seasons. In that time, he raised the varsity boys' program from a 5-13 record in 1997, to 14-4 in 1998. The sudden turnaround earned Wagner the 1998 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section III Coach of the Year award and demonstrated his uncanny knack for making his teams instantly competitive.

Career Highlights

Winningest Coach in Centennial Conference Men’s Soccer History

Winnigest NCAA coach in Centennial Conference Men’s Soccer History

Three-time NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year 2006, 2007, 2008

Two-time Centennial Conference Coach of the Year 2019, 2022

Two Centennial Conference Championships

Four NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances

Two NCAA Elite Eight Appearances

Undefeated Regular Season in 2014

Reached No. 1 Ranking in 2015

18 Straight Winning Seasons

13 Consecutive CC Playoff Appearances

Coached 12 All-Americans, Four CC Players of the Year, One National Defender of the Year

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Donnie Spangler

Donnie Spangler joined the F&M staff in 2011 following a highly successful four-year stint as head coach of the Lampeter-Strasburg boys soccer team. His contributions have helped the Diplomats advance to the NCAA Tournament during each of the last eight seasons, the longest such streak in Centennial Conference history. The Diplomats have also captured the first two Centennial Conference Championships in program history (2013, 17) during his tenure.

From 2007-10, Spangler guided Lampeter-Strasburg to a 52-30-3 record, including a banner year in 2008 in which the Pioneers went 18-8, won the section title and advanced to the state quarterfinals. The 2008 season was the best in school history and earned Spangler Lancaster County Coach of the Year honors. Eleven of Spangler's players went on to play at the collegiate level during his four years at the helm of the program.

Spangler is a 2005 graduate of Millersville University, a 2001 graduate of Penn Manor High School and has worked as a high school math teacher at Lampeter-Strasburg since 2005.

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Gio Van Heesewijk

Gio Van Heesewijk joined the Franklin & Marshall coaching staff prior to the 2022 season after wrapping up his playing career at nearby Elizabethtown College. Playing in the midfield and on defense from 2018-2021, Van Heesewijk made an immediate impact with the Blue Jays as he helped them to the Landmark Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament during the 2018 season. Elizabethtown made the Landmark Championship during each of his competitive seasons, returning to the championship match during the 2019 and 2021 campaigns.

Originally born in the Netherlands, Van Heesewijk was three-sport athlete at Edison High School in Alexandria, Virginia where he also lettered in cross country and track & field. He graduated from Elizabethtown in the spring of 2022 with a degree in sociology and anthropology, concentrating in criminology.