MONMOUTH, Ore. --- Western Oregon men's soccer coach and two-time GNAC Coach of the Year Michael Behonick is departing to take an assistant coach position with the Oregon State men's soccer program.

Behonick took over a Wolves program heading into year two in 2023 and instantly made WOU a force in D-II men's soccer.

Behonick went 36-13-8 overall and 23-6-5 in GNAC play in his three seasons at WOU, leading the Wolves to back-to-back NCAA appearances and GNAC titles the last two seasons and winning the inaugural GNAC Championships in 2025. The Wolves were nationally ranked in both 2024 and 2025 - as high as No. 10 - and won the program's first NCAA Tournament game in 2024, a 2-0 win over No. 6 Point Loma in Pueblo, Colorado.

"I'd like to thank Michael Behonick for his tremendous contribution during his three seasons leading our men's soccer team," WOU Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randi Lydum said. "The impact he made on our newest team was amazing. We wish the Behonick family the very best."

In Behonick's first season in 2023, he turned around a Wolves program that went 2-13-2 in its inaugural NCAA season into a team that went 11-3-3 overall and 8-1-3 in GNAC play, just missing a GNAC title and NCAA appearance by percentage points. He was named GNAC Coach of the Year that season, an honor he earned again in 2024 after leading WOU to a 14-5-1 campaign, a GNAC title, a national ranking for the first time in program history (up to No. 10), a first NCAA appearance and a first NCAA win before falling to CSU-Pueblo in a 3-2 thriller in the final minutes. WOU finished the season ranked No. 23 in the country.

In 2025, WOU overcame an 0-2 start to GNAC play by going unbeaten over its next nine matches (7-0-2) to win the GNAC title and GNAC Championships - qualifying for the NCAAs for a second year in a row.

A national search for WOU's next coach will begin immediately.