Kent State Soccer Camps|
During Marinaro’s tenure, the program has seen 13 different student-athletes
named to the Academic All-MAC team while eight different players have received
All-MAC honors. In 2004, Marinaro guided the Golden Flashes to an 11-4-5 mark, setting a
school record for the fewest losses in a season. KSU earned a share of the MAC
crown, jumping from fourth place into a tie for first in the season’s final
weekend, earning Marinaro his second straight MAC Coach of the Year nod. The
Golden Flashes climbed the conference standings in the second half of the season
on the heels of a nine-game unbeaten streak. Marinaro also mentored the MAC
Freshman of the Year, Kimberly Dimitroff, the first Kent State player to earn a
conference specialty award, while also becoming the first player in program
history to earn all-region honors. The previous season, Marinaro guided Kent State to its best season in school
history. The Golden Flashes earned their first MAC regular season championship
and Marinaro was named the MAC Coach of the Year, the first time a Kent State
mentor had been honored. The Golden Flashes posted a school-record 8-2-2 mark in
MAC games and advanced to the MAC Tournament for the first time in Marinaro’s
tenure as head coach. Marinaro has become a household name at KSU after being on the bench as an
assistant coach for the first four years of the youthful program. He was
promoted to head coach Jan. 1, 2001, after Colleen Marcum left the profession.
One of the key builders of the Kent State soccer foundation, Marinaro has
developed this program into a perennial winner in the MAC. As a collegiate head coach, Marinaro has led the Golden Flash squad to a
54-48-16 record overall. Kent State, which was poised on the verge of a
breakthrough, exploded on the MAC scene in 2003. Marinaro’s charges posted a
school-record 12-game unbeaten streak and a 10-game winning streak to go along
with a MAC-record tying 11 shutouts. “We have proven that we belong at the top of the Mid-American Conference,”
said Marinaro. “Now we just need to determine what is needed to keep us at the
top.” In his first four years as an assistant, Marinaro helped the Golden Flashes
to a 34-38-4 overall record, including an 8-8-1 mark in 2000, and three .500 or
better seasons. His primary duties as an assistant included working with the
goalkeepers and defense as well as scouting and recruiting. Marinaro spent five seasons (1993-97) playing with various teams in the
National Professional Soccer League, finishing his professional career with the
Cleveland Crunch. He also played for the Harrisburg Heat, Buffalo Blizzard and
Chicago Power. He was selected to the NPSL All-Rookie Team in 1994 and was the
runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors as a member of the Power. Marinaro first
played professionally with the Toronto Blizzard of the American Professional
Soccer League from 1992-93. In addition, Marinaro serves as a coach for the Ohio State North team for the
Olympic Development Program and is a member of the ODP Region II staff. He also
worked at the Cleveland Crunch Summer Camps in 1995, 96. Currently, he is the
director of coaching for the Stow Soccer Club. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Marinaro received his master’s degree in sports
administration from Kent State in the summer of 2001. He graduated from Clemson
University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in language and international trade
and was a member of the Tigers’ 1987 national championship team. Marinaro currently holds a United States Soccer Federation National “B” Coaching License. He resides in Stow with his wife, Michele, and their son, Michael (7).
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Entering his seventh year at the helm of the Kent State University soccer
program, head coach Rob Marinaro has taken the Golden Flashes to the top of the
Mid-American Conference.