Phone: (804) 289-8357
Email: kharwat@richmond.edu

Former Akron standout Kirk Harwat enters his second season as an assistant coach on the Richmond men's soccer team.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Harwat was a two-time First-Team Great Lakes All-Region selection at Akron. He paced the team in goals and points as a junior and senior and led the squad to the Sweet Sixteen his senior season. Following the close of his collegiate career, Harwat was selected as one of 50 players invited to the MLS player combine and played for the 2003 Chicago Fire PDL squad that reached the league final.

Harwat also spent three years playing professionally for Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany, where he was a teammate of former United States National Team Goalkeeper Kasey Keller before retiring due to an ankle injury.

"The UR soccer program is very fortunate to have Kirk join our staff," Peay said. "He is a terrific asset and is hungry to make a difference at UR. Kirk's background in the game is second to none. His impact will be felt immediately with our current team and in the recruiting arena. Kirk is a true professional, and I'm happy that we will be working together."

In 2008, Harwat served as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville under head coach Ken Lolla. A year later he accepted a position at Brad Friedel's Premier Soccer Academy, where he served as head coach for the U-16 USDA team and assisted with the U-18 team. That fall he also worked as an assistant coach at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. The Wildcats were ranked No. 1 nationally for most of the season and lost on penalty kicks in the state finals, finishing the season with a stellar 23-1 record.

Prior to his arrival at Richmond, Harwat served as the assistant coach for the U-16 and U-18 teams at the Internationals Developmental Academy. There he guided the U-16 team to a division title and subsequent berth in the National Championship in Los Angeles.

Harwat began his collegiate career at Ashland University in Ohio, earning Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, First-Team All-GLIAC and Great Lakes All-Region Team honors after finishing fourth in the nation with 19 goals as a freshman.

After receiving First-Team GLIAC and Great Lakes All-Region accolades again as a sophomore, Harwat transferred to Akron. In his junior season with the Zips, he was named MAC Newcomer of the Year, First-Team All-MAC and Great Lakes All-Region Team. As a senior, he earned first-team all-conference honors for the fourth time in his career, leading Akron in goals and points for the second-straight year and making his fourth appearance on the Great Lakes All-Region Team.

Harwat graduated from Akron in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in business marketing.