3 minute read

Assistant Coach Clint Long

CLINT LONG ASSISTANT COACH SECOND SEASON CAL STATE STANISLAUS ’14

Clint Long enters his second season as a men’s soccer assistant coach in 2021 after being hired by head coach Jeff Cook in March 2020 . Long is specifically in charge of the Nittany Lion goalkeepers and works closely with the team’s defending unit .

Advertisement

In addition, Long helps with all aspects of the program including, but not limited to: recruiting, session planning, individual player development, camp planning, and Nike gear ordering and management .

In his first season with the Nittany Lions, Long guided sophomore goalkeeper Kris Shakes to a second team All-Big Ten honor and a Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week nod during the unprecedented spring 2021 season . Shakes held a 0 .96 goals-against average during conference play with a .793 save percentage, along with three clean sheets . He finished with the second-best save percentage in the league and one that stood top 50 nationally .

Long also assisted in backline leader Brandon Hackenberg’s second-straight first team All-Big Ten plaudit, and helped coach and develop two Third Team All-Americans in 2020-21 in midfielder Pierre Reedy and forward Danny Bloyou .

Long matriculated to Penn State from Oregon State where he was an assistant coach for the Beavers during the 2018 and 2019 seasons . The Beavers finished backto-back seasons with Long on staff with winning records for the first time since 2002-03 .

He managed all aspects of goalkeeping at Oregon State and helped the defensive unit by planning and executing training curriculum . The Beavers posted four shutouts during the 2018 season with a 1 .12 goals against average . The defense had five shutouts and a 1 .14 goals against average in 2019 .

Long also assisted in the development of three first team Pac-12 All-Conference players in 2019, the Pac12 Freshman of the Year in 2018, and two 2018 MLS SuperDraft picks .

Prior to Oregon State, Long spent the 2017 season as an assistant coach at Otterbein University in Ohio . The Cardinals finished the season ranked 11th nationally in NCAA Division III, riding a 17-game win streak to finish with a 19-3 record .

Long coached the goalkeepers and the defense to 11 shutouts in 2017 and a 0 .82 goals against average on the year . He helped develop one All-American, four allregion players, the OAC Defender of the Year, seven allconference honorees, and six All-Ohio Team players .

The Cardinals were the OAC Tournament Champions and finished conference play with an undefeated record . The Otterbein staff was named the Great Lakes Regional Staff of the Year while leading the team to a NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance .

Long also had coaching stops at his alma mater, Cal State Stanislaus, as the women’s soccer assistant coach, UC-Merced as an assistant men’s soccer coach, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as an assistant/ interim head men’s soccer coach .

As a student-athlete, Long played at California State University Stanislaus from 2012-14 . He was a three-time team captain, leading the Warriors to a 2012 CCAA Championship, the first and only in school history, as well as an NCAA Tournament appearance . Long was also the 2012 Cal State Stanislaus Newcomer of the Year .

Long totaled 5,096 minutes as the Warriors’ goalkeeper, second most in program history . He held a career .788 save percentage and posted 14 shutouts from 2012-14, both second most in the school record books . Long also holds the Cal State Stanislaus single-season records for goals against average (0 .83) and saves (98) as well as the record for career wins in net with 26 .

He also spent two seasons at Oregon State as a goalkeeper .

After college he had playing stints for PDL clubs Midland Odessa Sockers and Fresno Fuego before advancing to the USL with the Sacramento Republic .

Long earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Stanislaus in 2014 . Long and his wife, Allison, reside in State College .