Eric joined the LTU men's soccer staff in 2024, who has served as a former head coach at D1 Oakland University, will now be assisting Dyer along with goalkeeper coaching.
"Honored to have Coach Pogue join us this upcoming year as he has been a mentor to me since Day 1 here at LTU. He's a phenomenal coach who will help us tremendously on and off the field. Kyle and I are excited about what he brings to the table and we can't wait to work with him" stated Dyer.
Pogue head coached Oakland for 15 years and 22 years with the program overall. During his time at Oakland, he has claimed six conference championships, including three since the program joined the Horizon League in 2014, 2015 and 2021. In 2021, Pogue earned his fourth Coach of the Year award and took the Golden Grizzlies to the NCAA Tournament after claiming regular season and Horizon League Championship titles. Oakland took on Northern Illinois in the first round of the tournament and fell 2-1 after a challenging game. Before the NCAA tournament, the team completed a comeback for the ages, erasing a 3-0 second-half deficit and securing a 4-3 win over Cleveland State, who was previously unbeaten Horizon League play. Oakland then upset nationally-ranked Louisville on the road and closed the regular season unbeaten in their last eight HL contests.
In his first season as head coach, Pogue was named Summit League Coach of the Year. Oakland posted a 5-1-1 league record and finished 9-5-3 overall while winning The Summit League regular-season title. Pogue also served as an assistant head coach for a pair of youth teams at Vardar Academy, where he won an under-18 US Developmental Academy National Championship in 2010. Pogue also served as a head coach for a pair of youth teams in the Vardar Soccer Club, working with the 1994 and 1996 age groups and serving as the club's goalkeeping director. He served on the US Region II Regional ODP staff from 2005-2009 and was a Michigan State ODP staff member. Pogue holds a USSF "B" coaching license and received his USSF National Goalkeeper license in 2009.
"I am extremely thankful for this opportunity afforded to me by Coach Dyer and the Lawrence Tech men's soccer program. I've always had a lot of respect and admiration for Coach Dyer and the successful program he has built at Lawrence Tech over the last 13 seasons," Declared Pogue. "I can't wait for August and the opportunity to work together tirelessly with our young Blue Devils to help bring another WHAC Men's Soccer championship and NAIA National Tournament appearance back to Southfield. #EarnIt!"
Before coming to Oakland, Pogue served as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Western Michigan University. He has also been working as a goalkeeper trainer since 1994 with area high schools, the Troy Premier Soccer Association, TKO Soccer Club of Portage/Kalamazoo, Bloomfield Hills Soccer Club, and the Michigan Bucks. In addition, Pogue has served as either a camp director or coach at the Detroit Country Day Academy, Midwest Soccer Camps, Michigan Bucks Soccer School, Western Michigan, Oakland, and Detroit Rockers Soccer Camp.
A Troy Athens High School standout, Pogue played four years at WMU after redshirting at Oakland in 1995. Pogue started all four seasons for the Broncos and was named team captain and earned MVP honors for his final three seasons. He graduated from WMU in 2000 with a Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting and earned an MBA from Oakland in 2006.
A fifth-round pick in the 2001 MLS Super Draft by the New England Revolution, Pogue came to Oakland after playing stints with the Revolution and the Dallas Burn. Pogue continued his playing career in the USL Premier Development League. His PDL experience began in 1996 with a two-season stint for the Detroit Dynamite before moving to the Bucks' club in 1998-2000 and for the 2002 season. His PDL play included two seasons with the Toledo Slayers (2003-04) and the 2005 season with the Chicago Fire Premier, earning the All-PDL Goalkeeper award for five seasons. Pogue has also played for the Kalamazoo Kingdom/TKO of the PDL for two seasons.
