Joey Petrich enters his first year as the head women's soccer coach for ETBU after serving on the East Texas FCA staff and volunteering as a coach for the Tyler Junior College women's soccer team. He brings a wealth of soccer knowledge to ETBU with a USSF National License and NSCAA Levels 1-3 Goalkeeper diploma.

"I am excited to announce Joey Petrich as the new head coach for the Tiger women's soccer program," Erwin said.  "Joey's vision and passion for Christ-centered athletics and philosophy for developing student-athletes, both on and off the field, makes him a perfect fit for ETBU Soccer," Erwin added. "We are looking forward to the future of the Tiger women's soccer program under Coach Petrich's leadership. I am confident in his abilities to lead the program because of his commitment to excellence and Christian sports discipleship."

For the past three years, Petrich has been the East Texas FCA staff serving the campuses of UT Tyler and Tyler Junior College and staying heavily involved coaching women's soccer at the junior college level. At TJC, the goal keepers have been his main concentration as the program has gone 60-2-3 in that time winning the 2021 NJCAA Division I National Championship. During the 2022 season, he coached NJCAA Division I All-American goal keeper Daniella Wilken.

Petrich's first collegiate coaching position came at Concordia University (Moorhead) in 2015 where he coached the first player to be named All-Conference as a goalie in Ben Glogoza. He then went to UT Tyler in 2016 as an assistant coach through 2019. The Patriots went 40-18-10 in that time and received a berth in the 2017 NCAA Division III National Tournament after being the American Southwest Conference tournament runners-up. That season, UT Tyler went 11-4-3 in their final NCAA Division III season before transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2018. In the first two years at UT Tyler, he coached two USC All-Americans in Lucas Pereira (2016, 2017) and Leandro Cid-Fernandez (2016) along with having the ASC Goalkeeper of the Year in John McGuffin (2016).

The Elk River, Minn., native played collegiately at Saint Mary's University which is a NCAA Division III program in the MIAC. He was a four-year player for the Cardinals in goal recording 135 saves and was a two-time MIAC Academic All-Conference member.

He is married to his wife, Caitlin, and they have three children in daughter, Piper (4), and two sons, Thomas (3), and Ezra (1).