page_title: Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer
section_title: 2003–2006
hierarchical_section_title: Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer / History / Mettrick takes over: 2000–2013 / 2003–2006
caption_attribution_description: Loyola MD Soccer at home, NCAA Tournament 2008
context_page_description: The Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer team represents Loyola University Maryland in NCAA Division I soccer. It became a member of the Patriot League on July 1, 2013. Previously it competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference from 1989 to 2013. To avoid ambiguity, the team is often referenced as Loyola Maryland or Loyola, as there are two other institutions named Loyola that compete at the Division I level.
  The team is one of the most successful athletic programs at Loyola, winning numerous MAAC Championships, consistently making NCAA Tournament appearances, and often holding national rankings in both the NSCAA/Adidas Poll as well as that of CollegeSoccerNews. In 1987 the Loyola Men's soccer team was ranked #1 in the nation going into the season. The team is currently coached by Steve Nichols, a former Greyhound standout. Prior to Nichols, the coach was Mark Mettrick, a former youth and reserve player for Manchester United, who had been at the helm since 2000 and had led the Greyhounds to four NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2001.
context_section_description: From 2003 to 2006, Loyola was unable to continue to build upon the success that Loyola had from 1999–2002, entering a period without an appearance in the national tournament, including back-to-back losing seasons in 2005 and 2006 during one of the worst 2-year periods of Loyola Greyhound soccer since the 1960s.  In 2003 Loyola lost for the first time at home since the 1998 season, but did battle back to make the MAAC Tournament Final narrowly losing to Saint Peters at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.  Led by a strong Senior Class, the 2004 Men's Team went 9-0 in MAAC Conference play winning the regular season MAAC Title; but lost to Rider in the Semi-Finals of the MAAC Tournament during a game played in torrential rain and terrible field conditions.  During 2005 and 2006, the team failed to win the regular season MAAC title for the 1st time since 1998 as the team struggled with mediocre talent.
caption: Loyola Greyhounds at home, NCAA Tournament 2008
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