Michael Bonelli has brought a winning culture back to the St. Mary's Men's Soccer program.

In 2014, he delivered the program's first winning season since 2002 and their most victories since 2007 with an 8-7-2 campaign that saw St. Mary's advance to the Heartland Conference Tournament. 
 

THE BONELLI FILE
College: SUNY Cortland (2004)   Hometown: East Meadow, N.Y.   Experience: 2nd Year (6th Overall)
YEAR-BY-YEAR REVIEW
Year	Record	Highlights
2014	8-7-2	Heartland Conference Tournament
Total
1 Yr.	8-7-2
Slippery Rock
2010	11-7-1	PSAC Semifinals
2011	7-8-2
2012	11-4-6	PSAC Runner-Up
2013	13-4-3	PSAC Champions
		Atlantic Region No. 1 Seed
Career
5 Yrs.	50-30-14	PSAC Champion
		Regional Appearance
		*4 yrs. at Slippery Rock (D-II)

It was a turnaround Bonelli envisioned when taking over the program prior to the 2014 season.

"This a culture I really want to be involved in," said Bonelli, a native of East Meadow, N.Y. "There's a family-like atmosphere at St. Mary's and I'm real excited."
 
"With The Park at St. Mary's," Bonelli added, "and some of the best facilities in the country in Division II, I think the sky is the limit. We're going to have success on and off the field."
 
Bonelli's Rattlers put five players on the All-Heartland Conference Team in 2014 and also landed a pair on the All-Heartland Tournament Team. He also had one player, senior Josh Stevens, receive NSCAA All-Region honors.

Bonelli has been a head coach for five seasons, all at the NCAA Division II level, amassing a career record of 50-30-14.

Prior to arriving at St. Mary's, Bonelli led NCAA D-II Slippery Rock University to national success over four seasons, building a culture that culminated in a conference championship, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA regional tournament and a No. 8 national ranking. He coached three All-Americans that season.

He reached the PSAC final twice in four years at Slippery Rock and the conference semifinals three times in four years while amassing a 62-perecent winning percentage (42-23-12 overall record).  
  
"I think it's an overall team culture, team philosophy," Bonelli said of his teams' success. "A philosophy to give the best overall college soccer experience through hard work and dedication from the coaching staff and players — and just belief."
 
Prior to taking over Slippery Rock, Bonelli was an assistant coach at Division-I Wright State University in 2009. He spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at Northwestern University, where the Wildcats earned top-10 rankings each season.
 
Bonelli, an outside midfielder at Norwich University in Vermont before transferring to Cortland University in New York, received his bachelor's degree from Cortland in 2004. He is a native of East Meadow, N.Y.