Director of Athletics Stephanie White is pleased to announce the hiring of Demetri Vacratsis as the head coach of the Lancer men's soccer program.
 
Vacratsis spent the 2023-24 season as the interim head coach and the appointment is effective immediately.
 
"We had a strong pool of candidates apply for the head coach position, and I'm thankful for the interest in our men's soccer program," said White. "In the recruitment steps, Demitri demonstrated a deep knowledge of building a successful soccer program, but more importantly his understanding of the student-athlete experience signaled that he was the top candidate for the role."
 
No stranger to the Lancer family, Vacratsis has ties to the blue and gold all the way back to the program's inception, becoming the second member of his family to lead the Lancer squad. His father John was one of the men's soccer program's first head coaches and won the OUA coach of the year in 1985, guiding the University of Windsor to back-to-back west division titles.  
 
Coach Vacratsis is eager to continue what he started with the blue and gold this past fall. "It's an honour for me to be a part of the Lancer family representing Windsor. Windsor soccer is dear to my heart, and I'm very excited for the opportunity to expand on the plans my staff and I began to put in place last August," he said. "We have a difficult task ahead of us to move the program forward, and it will require some patience. But the department and the other coaching staffs have been very supportive, and the players continue to work hard, challenge themselves, and buy into a philosophy where a winning mentality at the university level blends talent, education, sacrifice, value, enjoyment, a little pain, and a belief in a positive team culture." 
 
A native of Windsor, he is the former head coach of the Tecumseh SC U17 OPDL team and spent five years coaching and recruiting with Vardar SC in the MLS Next Club in Michigan from 2016-2021. Vacratsis also served as an assistant coach with the Lancer women's program for three seasons from 2021-23.
 
As a former student-athlete, Vacratsis played at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee after a successful high school career at WD Lowe.
 
White continued. "I am confident that Demitri's experience as a former student-athlete, his playing and coaching experience and his education, provide him a balanced approach and an understanding of the culture we want to build at the University of Windsor within our men's soccer program."