Manoj Khettry recently completed his fifth season as women’s soccer head coach at Stetson.
When he arrived at Stetson in April of 2013, the Hatters were coming off consecutive seasons which produced a combined seven victories. The Hatters hadn’t enjoyed a winning season in four years and only produced four winning seasons in total in the program’s 20-year history.
The last three seasons have been especially successful for Khettry and the Hatters. The combined record of 28-19-6 (.584) is the best three-year mark in program history. After posting a 10-8-1 record in 2015, the Hatters followed up that effort with a 9-7-2 ledger, and a 9-4-3 record in 2017, giving the Hatters three straight winning seasons for the first time in program history.
In 2017 the Hatters were once again one of the top teams in the ASUN Conference, finishing third overall and hosting a conference tournament match for the second straight season. Senior forward Sarah Collins earned first-team All-ASUN honors for the third straight season on her way to breaking the program’s all-time record for goals.
The 2016 campaign was at once both rewarding and frustrating. A talented group got off to a slow start, opening the year with a 1-4-2 mark. But just before ASUN play began the Hatters came to life. A 1-0 overtime win against Campbell sparked a 7-match winning streak in which the Hatters out-scored their opponents, 16-4.
Despite finishing the regular season with consecutive losses, the Hatters secured the No. 3 seed for the ASUN Tournament and hosted North Florida in the first quarterfinal game ever played at the Athletic Training Center in DeLand. The Hatters emerged with an impressive 5-2 win, reaching the tournament semifinals for the second straight year.
In 2015, Stetson enjoyed just the fourth double-digit victory campaign in program history when the Hatters finished the year with a 10-8-1 record. The season ended in the ASUN semifinals, Stetson’s deepest post-season run since 2010.
In five seasons Khettry has coached a total of 16 all-conference performers. Tweleve players have earned ASUN All-Academic honors, including 2013 ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year Danielle Hurme.
For his success on the field, Khettry was rewarded in 2016 with a three-year contract extension.
“I am happy and excited for the future,” Khettry said. “I think we’re just getting started, and I think we can reach new heights with this program.”
Khettry’s growth of the Stetson program has coincided with his growth within the college soccer community. He is a member of the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) national ranking committee, and is also the Southeast Regional representative on the NCAA’s Division I advocacy group. Additionally, Khettry was named to the USC's Southeast Regional Rankings Committee and the NCAA Southeast Region RPI Committee.
In three seasons with the Hatters, Khettry is 39-41-9 overall and 18-15-4 in ASUN play.
Khettry was named as the third head coach in program history on March 27, 2013.
“I’d like to thank Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operation/SWA Alicia Queally, Athletic Director Jeff Altier and the search committee for offering me such a tremendous opportunity to be the next head women’s soccer coach at Stetson, and for having faith in me to lead the program,” Khettry said after accepting the position.”
It didn’t take long for Khettry to make his mark. The 2013 season was a bit of a surprise for the Hatters, especially considering Khettry arrived on campus in early April and didn’t have much time to recruit. The Hatters opened the season with a 6-6-2 mark and were second in A-Sun play when senior goalkeeper Victoria Troccoli went down with injury. She missed the final four games and the Hatters, missing their leader, lost all of their remaining contests.
Considering they were picked ninth in the preseason poll, the Hatters enjoyed a successful year in 2013. The six total victories were the most in three seasons, while Stetson’s four conference wins tied for the most in four years.
Khettry came to DeLand with a wealth of experience, most recently holding the position of Head Women’s Soccer Coach at St. Bonaventure in New York. He coached the Bonnies for seven seasons, leading the team to five straight Atlantic 10 Tournaments from 2008 to 2012. St. Bonaventure was one of only three A-10 schools to qualify for the Atlantic 10 Tournament from 2008-2012 (Dayton and Charlotte being the other two). Named the A-10 Coach of the Year in 2008, Khettry also led St. Bonaventure to its first conference semifinals in 2010.
Khettry’s Bonnies also excelled in the classroom during his tenure. St. Bonaventure qualified for the NSCAA Team Academic Award six years in a row from 2007 to 2012. Twice during that time the Bonnies were in the Top 10 overall (2007-08: Top 5, 2008-09: Top 10). His players also earned a multitude of honors on the pitch, as the Bonnies had a First Team All-Conference selection five straight years, from 2008 to 2012.
Prior to taking over the reins at St. Bonaventure, Khettry held assistant coaching positions at the University of Dayton and the University of Missouri (2001-2003). He was with the Flyers from 2003 to 2006 as the team’s top assistant. Responsible for recruiting, team training, goalkeeper training, scouting reports and video, Dayton won the A-10 regular season championship and tournament championship, and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament twice while Khettry was aboard (2003, 2004).
Khettry’s first job in coaching was as a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) from 1991-94. From there, Khettry went on to become the Director of Coaching of the Cincinnati Classics from 1994-1998. There he was responsible for hiring coaches for more than 30 teams, creating a club-wide training curriculum and overseeing the administration of the club.
Khettry then became the assistant coach at California. He worked with the Golden Bears for one season, before moving on to work with adidas America as the US Youth Soccer/NSCAA Promotions Manager from 1999-2001. From 2005 to 2007, Khettry also spent time as an assistant coach for Region 2 (‘86/’87 age group, ’91 age group). Khettry has been involved with Region 1 as a staff coach since 2006.
A former National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American and three-time NSCAA All-Region honoree while playing at Earlham College in Indiana, Khettry graduated from the college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988. In 2010 Earlham inducted Khettry into its athletics hall of fame.
He also holds a Master of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from Miami University of Ohio. Khettry received his “A” License from US Soccer in January 1995 and holds the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, which he received in January 1994.
Khettry has two children: son, Kiran James (14), and daughter Lilli Arora (11).
