Former University of Evansville men's soccer assistant Steve Adlard dies at 67

MILWAUKEE – Steve Adlard, who helped the University of Evansville men’s soccer team to a third-place finish in the NCAA College Cup in 1985, died Tuesday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 67.

Adlard was UE head coach Fred Schmalz’s assistant and right-hand man from 1982 to ’86. There was to be a moment of silence honoring Adlard before the Aces' match against No. 2 Indiana Friday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium, said UE associate athletic director for media relations Bob Pristash.

Born in Lincoln, England in 1950, Adlard was a professional goalkeeper with Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City before coming to the United States for an assistant coaching job at UE.

Adlard was head coach at Davis & Elkins and North Carolina-Asheville before becoming Marquette’s head coach in 1992. He was MU’s winningest coach in program history, compiling a record of 140-121-21 in 14 seasons, before retiring in 2005.

"There is no question when someone like Marquette is interested, only a fool would not open his mind and say it is a good option," Adlard told the Milwaukee Journal before his first season with the then-Warriors in 1992. "I found this an excellent place to work."

Under his guidance, Marquette won regular-season Conference USA titles in 1997 and 2000, reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in '97.

Visitation and funeral arrangements have not been announced.

MU women's coach Markus Roeders was an assistant under Adlard for four seasons before taking over the women's program in 1996.

"It's hard to put into words the impact he had on my life and many others," Roeders said in an athletic department news release that announced Adlard's death. "Without him, I wouldn't be at Marquette and probably not in coaching. He was a friend, mentor, father figure and much more. He will be deeply missed by myself and all those he touched."

Visitation and funeral arrangements have not been announced.