Jon Arlet will enter his second campaign as the head coach of the Bethany College women's soccer program in 2017.
In Arlet's first season at the helm, the Bison finished with three wins, including a 3-2 win at Thiel in the season-finale and Julie Slezak became the first All-PAC honoree under Arlet with her selection as an honorable mention defender.
Arlet came to Bethany after serving two seasons as the assistant women’s soccer coach at Lock Haven University, a Division II member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). During his time with the Bald Eagles, Arlet assisted in all facets of the program, including the organization of training sessions and player development, as well as serving in all facets of recruitment.
Seeing the ability to get the most out of his players in the classroom, Arlet helped guide the Bald Eagles’ women’s soccer team to a NSCAA Team Academic Award, given to programs which achieve a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
Prior to his time with Lock Haven, Arlet served one season as a volunteer with the Bison men’s soccer program under current head coach Sean Regan. During that season, the Green & White posted seven wins and saw senior Arkangelo James named Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
That season, Coach Arlet helped James total a conference-best 44 points, scoring 18 goals while adding eight assists. The 37 total scored by the Green & White that season remain the most by the program since the 2010 campaign.
Along with his first stint with the Bison, Arlet spent two seasons as a women’s assistant at Denison University under head coach Gail Murphy, helping guide the Big Red to the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship in 2012. That season, Denison defeated The College of Wooster, 1-0, in the conference semis, before falling 1-0 to DePauw in the Championship match.
Defensively in 2012, Arlet helped the Big Red rank third in the conference in goals allowed, surrendering just 20 in 19 total games. Denison ranked third in the conference in goals against per game (1.02), totaling six shutouts, including the 1-0 victory against Wooster in the NCAC semis.
In Arlet’s two seasons with Denison, he saw a total of ten players earn All-NCAC selections, including five first-team honorees, one second-team selection and four honorable mention picks. Along with the all-conference selections, freshman Andrea Witte was named the NCAC’s Newcomer of the Year.
Throughout his two seasons with the Big Red, a defensive-minded mentality is what Coach Arlet helped instill in his players. Over the span of 37 games, Denison allowed just 30 goals. He now hopes to bring that same philosophy to the Bison.
Arlet graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University in 2009, where he was a four-year player for the Cardinals, earning Academic All-Region honors in 2007. He then earned a master’s degree from Clarion University in 2011, which came at the end of a two-year stint as an assistant coach with the women’s soccer program.
