Rider University Athletics

Rider University Men’s Soccer Head Coach Charlie Inverso announced the hiring of Mark Pratico II ‘13 as an assistant coach for the 2017 season.

Pratico, a Hamilton, NJ product is a graduate of Notre Dame High School where he was an All-County player for the Irish. He also played at Mercer County CC and Rider University under Coach Inverso.

The Broncs have advanced to the postseason in all of Pratico’s seasons. In his first season on staff, the Broncs advanced to their third-consecutive MAAC Championship game. Rider finished runner up but would return to the finals in 2018 to win its third MAAC Championship in four seasons with a 1-0 win over Quinnipiac. The Broncs received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where it played Akron in the first round.

The Broncs advanced to the MAAC quarterfinals in 2019, the MAAC semifinals during the Spring 2021 season, and to the MAAC Championship game in the Fall of 2021 where it tied and fell to Marist in penalty kicks.

"Mark is a really intelligent guy who lives soccer 24 hours a day,” said Inverso. “He has an amazing work ethic, and his communication skills are tremendous. He is going to be a very successful coach and I can't tell you how lucky we are to have him."

Pratico oversees a variety of both soccer and administrative tasks. His primary responsibilities are the recruitment of domestic players, coordinating offensive and defensive restarts and all travel related operations.

Pratico has coached Jose Aguinaga, a United Soccer Coaches 2^nd team All American who was selected 85^th by NY Red Bull in the 2018 MLS Draft,  Elliott Otmani - a First Team United Soccer Coaches Scholar All America selection, and Zaki Alibou, the 2021 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year among numerous All Conference selections.

Prior to returning to Rider, Pratico served for four years as the top assistant at nationally ranked Mercer County Community College. While at Mercer, the Vikings won back-to-back Region XIX conference titles in 2014 and 2015. The Vikings finished the 2015 season unbeaten at 18-0-3 and finished ranked No. 8 in the NJCAA Division 1 poll. During his four years, the Vikings earned 16 All-Conference selections and one All-American. The Vikings advanced to the semifinals of the Region XIX playoffs in 2013 and 2016.

Pratico is a staff coach for the Player’s Development Academy (PDA) Hibernians, where he coaches in the U16 and U18 age groups. His 2004 group has won two state championships and advanced to the 2021 USYS National Championship series. He was recognized by The Elite Development Program (EDP) as one of 30-Promising Young Coaches in 2020.
Pratico completed both his B.A.  in Secondary Education/English and his M.A. in Organizational Leadership, at Rider University. He holds his United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National D License and his United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma.