By Benjamin Wilson

Having a former Olympian as an assistant coach is rare. But having an assistant coach who is a previous Olympian, U.S. men’s FIFA World Cup competitor, Major League Soccer player, and award-winning alumni of the University of Indiana is extremely rare. But Brian Maisonneuve, who just happens to fit this description, has brought his wealth of knowledge to the University of Louisville men’s soccer team.
In his second year at U of L, Maisonneuve has helped lead the Cardinals to an outstanding record of 13-2-2, the school’s best soccer season to date.  And Maisonneuve has been happy to call Louisville his new home.
“The city has been great,” said Maisonneuve. “And the university’s athletic department has been fantastic. Working with Coach Lolla and the other assistants has been a lot of fun. My wife and kids have enjoyed it here, and it has been an easy transition for us.”
Transitions seem to be easy for Coach Maisonneuve. After his stint at the University of Indiana, where he was acknowledged as one of the nation’s best college soccer players by receiving the Hermann Trophy, Maisonneuve trained and played with the U.S. men’s soccer team in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games. Maisonneuve led the team in goals—with two. Playing in the Olympics was a special time for Maisonneuve.
“It was fantastic,” said Maisonneuve. “It was such a great experience being on home soil in front of 80,000 fans chanting ‘USA, USA, USA.’ Also playing one of the greatest teams in soccer, Argentina, and seeing the red, white and blue was a dream come true.”
Following the Olympic games, Maisonneuve began playing Major League Soccer for the Columbus Crew. He played MLS for nine seasons. In 1997, his MLS season was interrupted when the U.S. National Team contacted him for World Cup qualifying. He played in all three of the United States’ 1998 World Cup matches in France. For Maisonneuve, playing in the World Cup was one of the greatest moments in his life.
“I remember being eight or nine, in the backyard pretending that I was playing in the World Cup,” said Maisonneuve. “But to see how big that stage is, it was hard for me, at 24, to grasp what I was doing. But it was fun.”
In 2004, Maisonneuve retired from professional soccer and moved down to Bradenton, Fla. There he worked as an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s under-17 and under-20 squads. These are all-star teams of 40 of the best soccer players in these age ranges from all over the U.S.
With his mile-long list of athletic accomplishments, and honorable coaching résumé, he was called by Ken Lolla, U of L men’s soccer head coach, in 2006. Lolla offered Maisonneuve an assistant coaching job at U of L.
“I was already committed, coaching both national teams,” said Maisonneuve. “And the U.S.-17 team was headed to Canada for their World Cup. So I had to say no at the time.”
In 2007, Lolla again contacted Maisonneuve to see if he wanted to be an assistant coach. This time he accepted Lolla’s offer.
“The position for assistant opened up again,” said Maisonneuve. “And Coach wanted to know if I might still be interested. I said the timing was much better. So I took the job.”
With Maisonneuve added to the team, the Cardinals’ coaching staff was strengthened. The Cards have posted two of their best regular seasons in the team’s history, and are in the Top 25 rankings for college soccer.
Along with his wife, Diana, and his two children—Jacob and Emma—Coach Maisonneuve has made the University of Louisville his new home, and hopes to take the U of L men’s soccer program to the next level.
“It is a tremendous group of players, a tremendous university and, at the end of the day, the sky is the limit,” said Maisonneuve.