It didn't take much time, only two seasons in fact, but Brendan Eitz has taken the Loyola men's soccer program to newfound heights, thanks to last season's NCAA Tournament berth, the first in the history of the program. In two seasons as the men's head coach, Eitz has captained the Ramblers to an 18-17-4 record and has been behind six First or Second Team All-Horizon League selections.

Only the second head coach the Rambler men's soccer program has known, Eitz, a former varsity soccer player at Loyola, served 10 seasons as the head coach of the school's women's team before assuming the reins of the men's squad. Eitz is also part of a very exclusive club of coaches that have guided both the men's and women's teams at the same NCAA Division I institution to the NCAA Tournament - Clive Charles from the University of Portland is the only other coach to accomplish the feat.

The 2006 season was a dream season for Eitz and the Ramblers as they posted an 11-8-2 overall record and captured the Horizon League Championship and the ensuing automatic NCAA berth for the first time ever. Under Eitz's mentoring, Keum Sung Kim and Iradj Farahmand garnered NSCAA/adidas Second Team All-Great Lakes Region honors, becoming the first Loyola players to achieve that distinction since 1993. Farahmand led a stingy Rambler defense that tied a school record with 10 shutouts in 2006.

Off the field, Markian Zyga became the second Rambler in as many seasons to earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V honors and he was also a two-time pick as the Horizon League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week during the 2006 campaign. Eleven student-athletes were named to the Horizon League Spring Academic Honor Roll as well, while Loyola was one of 11 teams in the nation to have both its men's and women's squads recognized for the NSCAA Team Academic Award.

In his first season as men's coach in 2005, Eitz guided the Ramblers to a 7-9-2 overall record including a 4-3-0 record in Horizon League action. Kim became the first player in Loyola history to be tabbed Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, while also earning First-Team All-Horizon League accolades. Kim became the first Rambler ever to be selected to the Soccer America National Team of the Week on Oct. 5, while Lee Zarzecki earned an invitation to training camp with Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids. In two seasons under's Eitz's guidance, Loyola has posted an impressive 11-5-1 record at home.

Off the field, the Ramblers were equally successful in 2005, as they were hailed by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with a Team Academic Award. Senior Joe Nierzwicki earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V as well as NSCAA Scholar All-Region honors.

The winningest coach in Loyola women's soccer history, Eitz led his 2003 squad to the program's first Horizon League Championship and first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. That season, Loyola capped a Cinderella run through the Horizon League Tournament, becoming the first-ever No. 7 seed to claim the postseason title. Winning the championship at Loyola Soccer Park with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Detroit made it more enjoyable. Along the way, the Ramblers equaled a then-school record by posting seven shutouts en route to a then-school-record 10 victories. Eitz coached three of his players to All-Horizon League honors in 2003. Eitz's charges used the tournament title as a building block, posting their first winning season in 2004 by recording a 9-7-4 mark before bowing out in the Horizon League semifinals on penalty kicks against top-seeded UW-Milwaukee.

Success for Eitz and the Loyola women's soccer program was plentiful both on and off the field. Under Eitz's guidance on the field, 19 Ramblers earned all-conference accolades and 14 Loyola players earned all-newcomer team honors, including the 2003 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year. In the classroom, 11 student-athletes were selected to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll in 2002 for having cumulative grade point averages of at least 3.25 and the 2003 squad posted the highest GPA (3.28) of any women's team at Loyola during the 2003-04 academic year.

As a student-athlete, Eitz excelled both as a soccer player and as a member of the track team at Loyola. Playing at center back and forward, he scored nine goals and dished out three assists for 21 career points. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Loyola in 1995.

Originally from Arlington Heights, Ill., Eitz attended Hersey High School and holds a "B" coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation. He runs several clinics and team training programs, while serving as the director of Elite Soccer Camp with former United States national team player Brian McBride during the summer months.

Also a very active member of the Positive Coaching Alliance, Eitz is a certified PCA trainer within the Chicago area. He resides in Chicago with his wife Tory.