Steve Axtell enters his 10th season as Cortland’s men’s soccer head coach in 2021 with an overall record of 108-42-11 (.705). Axtell has led the Red Dragons to four NCAA Division III tournaments since 2014, including three trips to the "Sweet 16" during that stretch.
In 2016, he led the Red Dragons to a 19-3 record and both the SUNYAC tournament and regular-season titles. The team set a school record for victories and shutouts (14) and advanced to the NCAA "Sweet 16." Axtell earned both SUNYAC and ECAC North Coach of the Year honors, and he and his assistants were tabbed as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Cortland also reached the NCAA "Sweet 16" in both 2014 and 2018. The 2018 squad went 17-3-3, won the SUNYAC regular-season title and finished second in the conference playoffs. The 2014 team was 16-5-1 and placed second in both the SUNYAC regular season and postseason. In 2017, Cortland went 16-4, won the SUNYAC regular-season crown and advanced to the NCAA second round.
Axtell also guided his 2015 team to a 12-5-2 mark, and his 2013 squad went 11-7-1 and was the SUNYAC tournament runner-up. Cortland finished 9-8-1 in his inaugural season as head coach in 2012 and was 8-7-3 in 2019, tying for third in the SUNYAC tournament both years.
Axtell was named the head coach in June 2012 after serving as interim head coach for five months and as an assistant coach for the Red Dragons in 2010 and 2011. He also was a volunteer student assistant coach during the 2007 season.
A goalkeeper for the Red Dragons for three seasons (2006, 2008-09), Axtell earned All-SUNYAC honors in 2008 and appeared in 39 career games with nine shutouts. He earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2008 and obtained a master’s degree in exercise science in 2014.
A native of Franklin, N.Y., Axtell holds a Premier Diploma and an Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma from the NSCAA with Distinguished Pass. He was appointed to the NSCAA National Staff, which makes him both a National Staff member as well as Associate National Goalkeeping Staff for the NSCAA. He teaches NSCAA coaching courses throughout the Northeast and directs the Goalkeeper College ID Camps at the University of Connecticut during the summer.
Axtell also is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and has received a conditioning for soccer diploma from the International Coaches Association. He is the founder and director of the OnePlus Soccer Academy in Ithaca, N.Y., which features teams ranging from U8 to U18, residential camps and clinics. The Academy does the training for various soccer clubs in the area, has a goalkeeping academy and conducts coaching education clinics throughout the year. Part of the organization is a non-profit club that holds grassroots programs for young players at no cost throughout New York state.
Besides assisting with both the men’s and women’s soccer programs at Cortland, Axtell has served as the head coach of the Central Region scholastic soccer team at the Empire State Games. He has acted as director of soccer at Camp Winadu in Mass. for two years and Ithaca MicroSoccer for one year. In April 2013, Axtell was named to the ODP Region-1 Staff as its goalkeeper coach.
Axtell and his wife, Heidi, the Cortland women’s soccer head coach, currently reside in Tully with their daughter Allie and Heidi's daughters Mari and Kenzie.
