Hultin Hires Rossitch as Assistant Coach
July 8, 2026 | Soccer
NEWS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois soccer head coach Katie Hultin has announced the addition of Eric Rossitch as an assistant coach to her staff on Wednesday (July 8).
We're thrilled to welcome Eric to the Illinois soccer family, said Hultin. He brings an incredible wealth of experience, a relentless passion for developing student-athletes, and a competitive spirit that aligns perfectly with the culture we're building. Beyond his knowledge of the game, Eric is an exceptional person who leads with authenticity, integrity, and genuine care for those around him. His values, leadership, and commitment to excellence make him an outstanding addition to our staff, and we're excited for the impact he'll have on our players and our program as we continue building something special here at Illinois.
Rossitch, who currently holds his USSF B Coaching License, has spent over seven years coaching and developing talent in the youth, pre-professional, and professional spaces in the U.S. He's worked with some notable athletes in his tenure including a former captain of the USWNT and 2019 Ballon d'Or Féminin winner Megan Rapinoe and 2019 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball recipient Rose Lavelle. Additionally, he's working under the NWSL's all-time winningest coach, Larua Harvey.
He comes to Illinois after serving the same role with the Minnesota Aurora this past season. In his lone season in Minnesota the Aurora achieved the No. 1 national ranking in the USL W-League winning the Heartland Division with a perfect 12-0-0 record and an impressive 37-to-1 goals for/allowed ratio in the regular season. The Aurora are currently in the USL W Playoffs where they continued their unbeaten season defeating Pittsburgh in the Conference Finals 2-1. Rossitch is set to coach in the national semifinals against Salmon Bay FC on Saturday (July 11).
What drew me to Illinois was first and foremost the people, said Rossitch. The program is full of staff and student-athletes who care deeply about their craft while also pouring equal energy into creating a safe community around them. That's how trust is built, and I believe trust is at the core of all high-performing teams. I'm excited to join a program that has the ambition to compete for championships while simultaneously playing an entertaining brand of soccer and preparing every individual player for their future goals on and off the field. Development and enjoyment drive winning, and I think the environment Katie and her staff are building is something that sets the program up for long-term success in recruiting and building some of the best talent in the country.
Prior to the Aurora, Rossitch spent the 2024-25 season as a head coach and prospective girls manager of Lou Fusz Athletic in St. Louis, Mo. There he worked with the DPL, GA, and WPSL platforms including leading the U14 team to a DPL National Championship title. This comes after he spent seven months (Feb.-Aug. 2024) with FC Olympia in Washington in the USL W where they were Northwest Division Champions on an unbeaten 9-0-1 record and finished the season advancing to the National Quarterfinal.
Rossitch spent four years (2021-24) with Seattle Reign FC in the NWSL where he was a video analyst for the first team from 2021-23 and the head coach of Seattle Reign Academy from 2021-24. In his time in Seattle, the Reign finished top-2 in both the 2021 and 2022 regular seasons, including capturing the 2022 NWSL Shield, with the most goals for in 2021 (37) and the least goals allowed in 2022 (19). He was part of a Reign staff that coached 10 players selected to the NWSL First and Second Best XI through the 2021 and 2022 seasons; in addition to the 2021 NWSL MVP Jess Fishlock and 2021 NWSL Coach of the Year Laura Harvey.
As head coach of the academy, he developed multiple youth players identified for USYNT talent ID camps, selected to train in the club's first team professional environment and recruited on to the collegiate level (NCAA DI, DII, DIII). He led both the U14 and U16 teams to the GA Playoffs in 2024 and he was selected to coach at the 2024 GA Talent ID Event.
Rossitch graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel hill in 2016 with a bachelors in exercise and sport science, a minor in Spanish and the recipient of the 2016 Sports Clubs Council Achievement Chancellor's Award. He was a four-year player for the UNC Men's Club Soccer team which he captained to a 2015 NIRSA National Championship earning All-Tournament honors, while also serving as a training player and camp coach for the UNC Women's Varsity Soccer team. He later earned his master's in communication from the University of Washington in 2020. The Concord, N.C. native makes the move to Champaign with his nine-year old Siberian husky, Lana.
