Meet Coach Goodale

The devotion that head coach Brian Goodale has put into The College of Saint Rose women's volleyball program came to fruition in 2006 when the Golden Knights made their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in their 28-year history. In the process, Saint Rose posted its best single-season winning percentage in school annals with a 26-6 (.813) mark.

Goodale has now led Saint Rose to four consecutive 20-win campaigns, which has justified his standing as one of the top small college coaches in the Northeast. Goodale, who is in his ninth year at the helm of the Golden Knights, is also by far the most successful Saint Rose women’s volleyball mentor with a 143-103 career record.

Goodale was by honored by his colleagues in the Northeast-10 Conference as the Coach of the Year this past season after he guided the Golden Knights to the NE-10 regular-season title for the first time in school history on the strength of a perfect 14-0 mark in league play. Saint Rose also enjoyed its deepest run ever in the NE-10 Tournament, advancing all the way to the NE-10 Championship match before falling to Bentley.

It was the second time in three years that Goodale received the NE-10 Coach of the Year award. He was also named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2005 after he guided Saint Rose to a 20-13 overall record and a 10-4 showing in league play. That same season, the Golden Knights advanced to the conference semifinals, before falling to eventual league champion Bryant University.

Saint Rose began turning some heads with Goodale at the helm in 2003. The Golden Knights captured their first ECAC postseason championship and chalked up a 24-10 record. Saint Rose was also ranked in the Northeast Region for the first time ever that season as well.

“The Saint Rose volleyball program has begun to build a tradition of excellence on the court and in the classroom. Our success is founded in relentless defense, a controlled offensive attack and close attention to the mental aspects of the sport,” says Goodale.

In 2002, Saint Rose finished 16-18 overall and made its first postseason appearance since 1994 by qualifying for the conference playoffs. A year earlier, the Golden Knights finished 15-13 overall to post their first winning season since 1990. Saint Rose went 10-17 in 2000 and 7-19 during the 1999 campaign, Goodale’s first year directing the Golden Knights. The seven victories represented a five-win improvement from the 1998 season.

Before taking over at Saint Rose, Goodale earned Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1998 at SUNY - Cobleskill where he also served as an assistant the previous year. The Tigers finished 20-6 and earned a share of the conference championship in his only season at the helm.

Goodale’s coaching career began as an assistant at Cobleskill-Richmondville High School where he helped lead the team to back-to-back class "A" sectional titles.

Goodale received a B.S. in business administration from Penn State in 1993. Following college, he worked as an admissions counselor for five years at Cobleskill. Goodale then earned a master’s in higher education administration from the University at Albany in 1999. He is currently working towards a doctorate in the same field at Albany.