Stu Riddle (born 23 May 1976) is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a striker. He is currently the head coach at

D'Youville University D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of Fall 2020 D'Youville Co ...

and was formerly the head coach of the men's soccer team at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public university, public research university with campuses in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New Yor ...

, and

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

Playing career

Riddle went to Wellington's Scots College. Riddle played for Wellington United in the New Zealand Superclub competition. At the age of 19, Riddle was the member of Bobby Clark's 1996 New Zealand Olympic Team, where he made four appearances including one as a substitute, in a 1–0 victory over then Oceania rivals Australia. After brief stints with several clubs including Chelmsford City in the UK, Riddle turned to the US college system and spent two years with the

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-based

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

before being signed by Kiwi football icon Wynton Rufer for the Kingz debut season in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

in 1999. Although he signed a two-year contract, Riddle struggled to regularly feature in the Kingz side and only managed nine appearances with a return of two goals, both of which came away from home against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

and

Brisbane Strikers Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two ...

. Better form would be found in the lower United States leagues with Riddle being a mainstay of the Laurie Calloway-coached Des Moines Menace side that would achieve an undefeated season in the 2002

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

competition. Riddle turned to the UK again in the hope of being signed by a

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

side but again struggled with the higher level of play and had short spells at Oxford City and Greenock Morton before being reunited with former Kingz teammates Marcus Stergiopoulos and Levent Osman at the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

-based Altona Magic in the

Victorian Premier League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer l ...

. He fell out of favour with the management of the Macedonian flavoured club and returned to the United States.

Management career

In 2006, he became a coach in the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

when he accepted a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

ing job with Kalamazoo Kingdom in the

, United States elite development league. In 2008, he served as the head coach for the Kalamazoo Outrage in the

, United States elite development league team in the franchises inaugural year. On 13 July 2008 the Kalamazoo Outrage qualified for the 2008

playoffs in their inaugural year. Riddle guided his side to second place in the Central Conferences Midwest Division narrowly finishing behind the Chicago Fire Premier in the regular season standings. His side would get their revenge eliminating the Chicago Fire Premier from the 2008 playoffs by virtue of a 2–0 victory at

Toyota Park SeatGeek Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, about twelve miles southwest of downtown Chicago. It is the home stadium of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League, Chicago Fire FC II of the MLS Next ...

on 22 July. The teams run would continue under Riddle and they defeated perennial

powerhouse the

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, play ...

on 26 July to advance to the national quarter finals where the

Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Chill Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Chapples Park S ...

would end the Outrage's season. Riddle became the sixth head coach of

when he was named the men's soccer coach on 30 January 2009. With this announcement he became the first New Zealander to be a head men's soccer coach at the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(NCAA) Division I level. Riddle coached at the

for four seasons where he compiled a record of 28-32-13. In his final two seasons as head coach, he guided the Bulls to the MAC championship, falling short both times. He was hired as the 4th coach in

men's soccer program history. He led the Norse to an overall record of 37-36-5 during his 5 seasons at the helm of the program. This included a Horizon League Regular Season Championship and being named Horizon League Coach of the Year. Coach Riddle resigned as head coach of the Norse in December of 2021. In January 2023, Riddle was appointed head coach of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

D'Youville Saints D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the Patron saint, patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of Fall 2020 D ...

Personal

Riddle earned his master's degree in public service administration from the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

in 2007 while serving as an assistant coach for the Purple Aces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Stu 1976 births Living people Men's association football forwards Buffalo Bulls men's soccer coaches Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's soccer players Des Moines Menace players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Football Kingz FC players Greenock Morton F.C. players Kalamazoo Kingdom players Kalamazoo Outrage players Nelson Suburbs FC players New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand expatriate men's association footballers New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States New Zealand people of English descent Northern Kentucky Norse men's soccer coaches Oxford City F.C. players People educated at Scots College, Wellington Footballers from Luton USL League Two players Wellington United players West Michigan Edge players Western Michigan Broncos men's soccer coaches New Zealand association football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Chelmsford City F.C. players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Miramar Rangers AFC players Western Suburbs FC players Manawatu United players Altona Magic SC players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's soccer coaches Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles men's soccer coaches Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer coaches USL League Two coaches Fairfield Stags men's soccer coaches Men's association football player-managers D'Youville Saints University of Evansville alumni