ENMU Athletics
Ryan Shumaker, Assistant Athletic Director
PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico head men’s soccer coach Jon Fridal recently resigned his position as head men’s soccer coach at Eastern New Mexico University and has accepted the head men’s soccer coaching position at Colorado Mesa University.
“I want to thank ENMU and the administration here for the opportunity along with all the faith and support they have given to me during my time here,” Coach Fridal said. “It truly has been a pleasure to work for this institution. The community has been so welcoming to my family and I, and it really is difficult to leave such a special place. I am very fortunate to have made strong relationships with so many amazing people. I am also extremely grateful for the hard work and effort that the young men in our soccer program have given during my time here. These young men are not only great student-athletes, but fantastic people whom I will always consider part of my family. While I am looking forward to my next opportunity at Colorado Mesa, I will miss the amazing relationships I’ve made here at ENMU.”
Coach Fridal recently guided the Greyhounds to the most wins in program history in 2019, finishing the season with a record of 12-5-1, and elevated the program to it’s highest ever national ranking at no. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll. Fridal leaves the Hounds with a career record of 20-13-3 and as the school’s all-time leader in career wins.
“Jon Fridal took our men’s soccer program to new heights in his two years here at Eastern New Mexico, and did it in a manner that truly gave our student-athletes a great experience as Greyhounds,” Director of Athletics Matt Billings said. “Jon was a tireless worker and genuinely cared about his student-athletes on and off the field during his time here in Portales. We wish he along with his family nothing but the best as he continues on with his head coaching career and we will continually recognize him as a key piece in the rise of our men’s soccer program.”
Fridal’s mark on the program was immediately felt in the program upon his arrival in 2018 as the Greyhounds produced a record of 8-8-2, the Greyhound’s first record of .500 or better since 2014. Five different players earned All-Region honors during Fridal’s two years as head coach and two earned Player of the Year honors as Aderi Arthur-Dede was named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year in 2018 and Ross Dalton was named the Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019.
Dalton set the program record with 10 goalkeeper wins in 2019 and led the Lone Star Conference in save percentage with a mark of .793 for the season. His five shutouts throughout the year matched the Eastern New Mexico school record previously set in 2013.
Dalton joined Gabriel Peres as First Team All-Conference selections under Fridal as Peres earned First Team All-Heartland Conference honors following his 2018 season. Peres also earned D2CCA All-Region Second Team honors that same season after finishing second on the team with 15 points and ranked in the top 15 in the Heartland Conference in goals scored, points and game-winning goals.
Peres and Dalton were two key pieces of a solid core of talented players that followed Coach Fridal from his previous stint as head coach at Indian Hills Community College during which time Fridal led Indian Hills to it’s first ever National Tournament appearance in school history and a record of 18-3 in 2017. That squad claimed the ICCAC Regular Season Championship and ranked second in the country with 98 goals on the season, capping off Fridal’s second season as head coach at the school.
Prior to those two years at Indian Hills, Fridal served as an assistant coach at Alderson-Broaddus University for two seasons and at Maryville University for four seasons.