Chad Duernberger enters his seventh season at Penn State and his second season as associate head coach for the Nittany Lions. He maintains a role in team training and is also involved in a variety of administrative duties. Duernberger helped the Nittany Lions capture back-to-back Big Ten regular season trophies in 2012 and 2013 and has been on the sidelines during two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Duernberger coached Connor Maloney to his third First Team All-Big Ten nod in the 2017 season, while also helping Pierre Reedy earn Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.
In 2015, Duernberger helped the Nittany Lions to their 25th appearance in the Big Ten Tournament, while also mentoring Nittany Lions Connor and Austin Maloney, to a pair of Big Ten postseason honors.
In 2014 the Nittany Lions recorded their 800th win in program history over Penn (Sept. 24), with a 6-2 win at Jeffrey Field. The team got out to a program-best 10-0-1 start and won seven-straight matches for the first time since 2005. Penn State earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and hosted Hartwick at Jeffrey Field. The Lions defeated the Hawks 2-1 to move onto the second round for the third consecutive season with the help of Duernberger.
Penn State captured a share of the Big Ten regular season championship in just his second season on the coaching staff, as the Nittany Lions compiled a 3-1-2 conference record in 2012. PSU held its opponents to just over one goal-per-game during the season as it went unbeaten in its final four regular season conference contests.
Duernberger arrived at Penn State in 2011 after serving as the head men’s soccer coach at the University of Charleston, a Division II institution located in the capital city of West Virginia, for the past three seasons. One of the youngest head coaches in the nation when he was hired in 2008, the 24-year-old Duernberger engineered an impressive and rapid turnaround after inheriting a Charleston program that went 0-17-0 the year prior.
The Golden Eagles improved to 4-11-2 in his first season before finishing 19-4-0 in 2009, the second-best season in program history. Charleston posted a perfect 10-0-0 record in West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) play and captured both the WVIAC regular season and tournament titles. Earning a berth in the Division II NCAA Championship, the Golden Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals, ending the season ranked No. 7 in the nation. In recognition of his success, Duernberger was named the NSCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in addition to receiving Atlantic Region and WVIAC Coach of the Year honors.
Duernberger built upon that foundation in 2010, leading Charleston to a 16-4-1 record, including a 10-1-0 mark in conference play, and again to the WVIAC regular season and tournament championships. Making their second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance, the Golden Eagles advanced to the third round of the Division II playoffs. Charleston reached as high as No. 4 in the NSCAA poll before ending the season at No. 10.
In his three years at the University of Charleston, Duernberger coached four NSCAA All-Americans, 10 NSCAA All-Atlantic Region honorees, and 12 First Team All-WVIAC selections.
Prior to his tenure at the University of Charleston, Duernberger served as an office graduate assistant at Marshall University from 2006-07. A native of Belle, W.Va., Duernberger was named the 2001 West Virginia High School State Forward of the Year, earning first team All-State honors in three consecutive seasons.
Duernberger was four-year starter at the University of Charleston (2002-06), earning First Team All-WVIAC honors three times and all-region recognition in 2002.
In 2014, Duernberger was inducted into the West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame.