One of the first moves that John Trask made when he was hired as UIC head coach was bringing Sean Phillips on board as his right-hand man. During his first three seasons as the top assistant coach, Phillips has made an immediate and enormous impact on a UIC program that is arriving on the national soccer scene. One need look no further than UIC's run to the NCAA quarterfinals last season to see the influence Phillips has had on the program. With plenty of postseason experience in hand from his days as a player and coach at Indiana University, Phillips helped guide the Flames past three nationally-ranked foes on the road and qualify for the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. A pair of Top 10 national rankings at the close of the campaign also came the way of the Flames for their tournament success. With a knack for teaching the art of goalkeeping, Phillips' influence on the style of soccer the Flames play is easily detectable in the numbers. UIC has a team goals-against average of 0.49 and a total of 27 shutouts in the past two seasons, quickly branding the program as a national force on defense. Add his four seasons as a coach at Indiana with his three years coaching at UIC, and Phillips' charges have posted a cumulative goals-against average of 0.67. But it is also his attention to detail and work ethic in various facets of the game which cannot be measured with numerical value that makes Phillips one of the top young coaches in the collegiate game today. This past February College Soccer News recognized Phillips as one of the 12 best assistant coaches in the country for his efforts in directing the Flames' continuous rise into the national soccer consciousness. New single-season school and individual shutout records have been set under Phillips' watch in each of the past two seasons. A total of 13 shutouts, fueled by 10 shutouts from goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja, set a UIC record in 2006 until a new mark of 14 team clean sheets was set in 2007, with Bubonja shattering his previous best with 12 shutouts. Like his extensive role in the Flames' sterling 2007 campaign, Phillips played a tremendous part in UIC's outstanding 2006 season. With a rookie netminder in Bubonja under Phillips' guidance, UIC turned in one of the finest defensive years in NCAA history. The 2006 Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year, an All-Horizon League First Team selection and an NSCAA/adidas All-Great Lakes Region honoree, Bubonja allowed just eight goals in over 1,930 minutes between the posts to register a 0.37 goals-against average that ranked fourth overall in the country, while his save percentage of .905 ranked third in the nation. His play led UIC to turn in the nation's best team goals-against average (0.36), which tied for the fourth-best mark all-time, and the best team save percentage (.908) in NCAA history. Those accolades were just the beginning for Bubonja, who earned a bevy of awards in 2007 while training under Phillips. Selection to the College Soccer News All-America Second Team, NSCAA/adidas All-Great Lakes Region First Team and All-Horizon League First Team and winning UMBRO/Chicagoland Soccer News Men's College Soccer Player of the Year and Soccer America Men's Second Team MVP awards have helped position Bubonja as one of the premier keepers in college soccer. In his first season at UIC Phillips helped second-year netminder Jeff Engelbrecht improve tremendously. Following a rookie season in which he went 4-9-2 and allowed 27 goals for a 1.81 GAA with no shutouts, Engelbrecht flourished under Phillips' tutelage by going 9-5-2, allowing 20 scores for a 1.19 GAA and five clean sheets. Improving the goalkeeping was just one of Phillips' many major feats the last three years. His comprehensive role in training, scouting, game preparation and on-field coaching has led UIC to a 36-14-13 record, the school's highest in-season and end-of-season national rankings and longest-ever stretch in the national polls, Horizon League regular season and tournament titles, and back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths that featured the 2007 Elite Eight run. A tireless worker, Phillips has also made a mark with his responsibilities in recruiting, game management, scheduling, marketing, media relations, and various other areas. He also serves as the point person for UIC soccer players for information on training, class scheduling, compliance and rules, financial aid guidance, housing assistance, and other important items. Prior to joining the UIC staff, Phillips served as an assistant coach with the Hoosiers for four seasons, helping Indiana earn two Big Ten titles and three trips to the NCAA College Cup while amassing a sparkling 68-19-4 record. In his final season in Bloomington, Phillips played a vital role in the Hoosiers' National Championship campaign. Phillips' main focus as an assistant coach revolved around the daily training of the squad's goalkeepers. In 2004, Phillips' goaltending charges posted a paltry 0.63 goals against average, good for seventh in the nation, along with 11 shutouts. Phillips worked closely in the development of NSCAA/adidas All-American keeper Jay Nolly, who has gone on to a professional career that includes stops with Real Salt Lake and D.C. United of Major League Soccer and Vancouver of the USL First Division. Outside of his primary duties with the IU goalkeepers, Phillips assisted with the training of field players, which included 2004 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winner and Columbus Crew midfielder Danny O'Rourke and current FC Dallas and U.S. National Team defender Drew Moor, along with home game operations, recruiting, academics, media relations and compliance. A native of Dallas, Texas, Phillips holds numerous coaching licenses, including an NSCAA Premier Diploma with Distinction, an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma with Distinction, and an NSCAA Goalkeeper Level III Diploma with Distinction. As a goalkeeper for Indiana from 1991-1994, Phillips made a pair of trips to the College Cup and helped the Hoosiers turn in a 73-15-7 mark. Phillips graduated from Indiana in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in public policy and went on to earn his master's degree in sport management from Indiana in 2001. Along with his duties at UIC, Phillips is also the technical director of Chicago United F.C., a new youth soccer club focusing on creating opportunities for young talented players in the city. Phillips and his wife, Allison, reside in Chicago with their newborn son.
SEAN PHILLIPS' COACHING CAREERASSISTANT COACH - UIC Year Record Postseason 2007 13-6-6 NCAA Quarterfinals 2006 13-3-5 NCAA Second Round 2005 10-5-2
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