American International College

With over a quarter century of experience, Mario Monsalve enters his 20th season as the goalkeeper coach for the American International College men's soccer team and his eighth with the women's soccer team.
 
Named the goalkeeper coach for the men's soccer squad in 2003 and the women's team in 2014, Monsalve's career at AIC has seen a number of individual and team success stories. In 2005, under Monsalve's tutelage, Michael Murphy led the Northeast-10 Conference in both save percentage and goals against average; Murphy earned Second Team All-Conference in 2006. In 2015, Monsalve coached Rachel Edgin to a Second Team All-Conference selection, and the following year, Madison Brown tied for the NE10 lead in goals against average as the team allowed a league-low 12 goals in NE10 play. In 2021, Lucas Morales-Fernandez earned NE10 Second-Team accolades following a record-breaking season that saw him set new program highs for wins and shutouts.
 
A 1988 graduate of the University of Antioquia in his native Colombia, Monsalve played for both his college team and a Colombian Primera B squad, Sena, from 1984-1988 while earning his degree in physical education.
 
In 1993, he moved to the United States, earning a degree in English from Springfield Technical Community College in 1995. His coaching career began at that time, as he served as goalkeeper coach from 1995-1997 at Lowell High School and then returned to the Pioneer Valley to take the same position at West Springfield High School in 1998. He also spent two seasons as the goalkeeper for the Western Mass. Pioneers.
 
In 1999, Monsalve took his first collegiate coaching job, volunteering at Elms College, and in 2002 took over as the Pioneers goalkeeper coach, a position he held through 2016.