Tom Ardt was named the 15th head coach in Lancaster Bible Men's Soccer history prior to the 2011 season.

Since Ardt took over, the Chargers have had 43 NEAC/United East All-Conference selections, including Josiah Groff who was named to the NEAC Second Team in 2013, the NEAC First Team in 2014 and was named NEAC Player of the Year in 2015. Rama Mugisha was also the first player in program history to be honored by the United Soccer Coaches in 2019. Most recently, 2022 grad student Kedric Yoder was named United East Offensive Player of the Year and to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team.

Ardt attended Northland International University in Dunbar, Wisconsin where he earned two NCCAA Midwest Region 1st Team selections. Ardt was also named a NCCAA Division II 2nd Team All-American during his senior year. He was part of two NCCAA Division II National Championship teams as the Pioneers won the 2003 and 2004 titles.  

Get to Know Tom Ardt

Hometown: Lancaster, Pa.

Camps Worked at: Army West Point Camp, Push the Rock Camps, Lancaster Bible College ID Camp, Villanova Soccer Camps

Coaching Certifications: NSCAA Junior Level VI, NSCAA Goalkeeper Level I, NSCAA National Diploma, NSCAA Special Topics Diploma

Hobbies: Anything outdoors, reading, ping-pong, watching ESPN

Favorite Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:15

Favorite Food: All things seafood

Favorite Musical Artist: Coldplay

Family: Tom and his wife Kelly have been married for 11 years and they have three daughters, Alayna (6), Christina (4) and Arianna (3).

The Tom Ardt File

Overall Record: 115-94-26 (.545)

Postseason Record:

    NEAC: 7-8-1

    NCCAA: 5-12-2

First Game: September 1, 2011 (L, 0-4 at Albright)

First Win: September 15, 2011 (W, 5-0 vs. Penn St. Berks)

50th Win: September 23, 2016 (W, 3-1 vs. SUNY Poly)

100th Win: October 2, 2021 (W, 5-1 at Gallaudet)

Seasons Coached at Lancaster Bible

2011: 10-12-3, 5-3-2 NEAC: NEAC Semifinalist, NCCAA East Region Champions, 5th place at NCCAA Div. II National Tournament

2012: 4-10-3, 2-6-2 NEAC

2013: 8-11-3, 3-4-1 NEAC: NCCAA East Region Champions; 3rd place at NCCAA Div. II National Tournament

2014: 12-7-1, 7-2-1 NEAC: NEAC Finalist; NCCAA Div. I East Region Semifinalist

2015: 13-7-3, 8-3-1 NEAC: NEAC Semifinalist; NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Semifinalist

2016: 10-11, 8-5 NEAC: NEAC Quarterfinalist; NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Quarterfinalist

2017: 10-10-2, 6-3-1 NEAC: NEAC Semifinalist

2018: 12-10-1, 9-2 NEAC: NEAC Finalist; NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Finalist; NCCAA Div. I National Tournament Participant

2019: 14-5-3, 7-2-2 NEAC: NEAC Semifinalist; NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Semifinalist

2020: DNP

2021: 10-6-4, 4-1-3 United East; United East Finalist; Div. I Midwest Region Semifinalist

2022: 12-5-3, 6-1-1 United East; United East Semifinalist; Div. I Midwest Region Semifinalist

Season-by-Season Highlights

2011: In his first season, Ardt guided the Chargers to their second-ever NCCAA East Region Championship and a 6th place finish at the NCCAA National Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla. The Chargers also upset Keuka in the NEAC Quarterfinals that season and advanced to the NEAC Semifinals for the first time in program history.

2012: The Chargers finished 4-10-3, but won their final two games with victories over Gallaudet and SUNY Cobleskill. 

2013: The Chargers returned to the top of the NCCAA East Region in 2013 as Lancaster Bible defeated Cairn in the East Region Final on penalty kicks, 4-2. The team’s success continued into NCCAA National Championship as the Chargers took home their best-ever finish at the tournament as they earned a third place finish. After falling to Moody Bible, 1-0 in overtime in the National Semifinals, Lancaster Bible crushed Providence (Canada), 5-2 in the NCCAA Third Place Game.

2014: The 2014 squad also produced one of the best seasons in program history as the Chargers went 12-7-1 and appeared in the NEAC Final thanks to a late-season run that saw the Chargers lose just once in October as they went 5-1 and defeated Keuka, 1-0 in overtime in the NEAC Semifinals in early November. Lancaster Bible faced top-seeded Morrisville State in the NEAC Final and lost a tough game, 2-0. 

The 2014 team won a program-record seven games in the NEAC during the regular season as the team finished in second place with a 7-2-1 mark. 

2015: Lancaster Bible made another appearance in the NEAC Playoffs in 2015 as the Chargers downed SUNY Polytechnic, 1-0 in the NEAC Quarterfinals, before falling to eventual champion Morrisville State, 1-0 in the NEAC Semifinals. The Chargers went 13-7-3 and won a program-record eight games in NEAC play.

2016: The Chargers went 10-11 during the 2016 season, including an 8-5 mark in NEAC play. The Chargers qualified for the NEAC Playoffs for the third straight season, but lost to Keuka, 1-0 in the NEAC Quarterfinals in Keuka Park, N.Y.

2017: Lancaster Bible went 10-10-2 overall during the 2017 campaign, and was 6-3-1 in NEAC action. The Chargers again advanced to the NEAC Playoffs, where they defeated Penn St. Berks, 4-1 in the quarterfinal round, before bowing to SUNY Poly, 2-1 in overtime in the NEAC Semifinals.

During the season, Ardt won his 66th game at the helm of the Chargers, becoming the all-time leader in wins in program history.

2018: The Chargers had a terrific season, as they appeared in the NEAC Final, the NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Final, and became the first-ever Lancaster Bible team to appear in the NCCAA Div. I National Tournament. The Chargers went 12-10-1 overall and 9-2 in NEAC play, falling to Penn St. Abington, 2-1 in the NEAC Final. Ardt was named NEAC Coach of the Year for the first time, earning the honor via the vote of his fellow NEAC coaches.

2019: Lancaster Bible had its second straight stellar season, as Ardt led the Chargers to a 14-5-3 record, and an appearance in the NEAC Semifinals...The Chargers lost to eventual NEAC Champion Penn St. Harrisburg in penalty kicks in the semifinals, and then dropped a 2-1 decision to NCAA Div. II member Roberts Wesleyan in the NCCAA Div. I Midwest Region Semifinals...The team's 14 wins were the most since the 2009 team won a program-best 17 contests...Rama Mugisha was named to the 2019 United Soccer Coaches Mid-Atlantic All-Region Third Team, marking the first time a Lancaster Bible player has been honored by the national organization.

2020: The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021: Lancaster Bible returned to the pitch after missing the 2020 season, and the Chargers got off to a fast start, winning five of their first seven games. The team earned their first ever United Soccer Coaches (USC) Regional Ranking, placing sixth in the Region IV rankings. Later in the season, Ardt picked up his 100th career win when the team defeated Gallaudet 5-1. The team went 4-1-3 in conference play, earning the three seed in the United East Championship Tournament. The Chargers knocked off St. Mary's (Md.) in the Semifinals, advancing to the Championship Game where they fell to top seeded Penn State Harrisburg. LBC earned a berth in the NCCAA Division I Midwest Regional, where they were defeated by Roberts Wesleyan. Four Chargers earned All-Conference honors, including Kedric Yoder who was named to the All-Conference First Team.

2022: The Chargers had an outstanding campaign in the 2022 season, led by Tom Ardt in his twelfth season as head coach for Lancaster Bible College’s men’s soccer. Early in the season, the team was ranked eighth in Region IV in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Ardt was able to guide his team to an impressive 12-5-3 record, and the Chargers stormed away with six wins and one draw in their final seven games of regular season play. Due to their strong finish and a commanding 6-1-1 record in their conference, Lancaster Bible earned the third seed in the United East but, unfortunately, suffered a loss to Penn St. Harrisburg in the United East Conference Semifinal. The Chargers also earned a spot in the NCCAA Division I Midwest Region Playoffs, but the squad was knocked off by Cedarville. Lancaster Bible decorated the United East All-Conference Teams with six selections, including Kedric Yoder earning Offensive Player of the Year and Andrew Cox earning Rookie of the Year.