Wittenberg’s 4-1 men’s soccer victory over Wabash College on Oct. 17 was a big win for the team and for Head coach Steve Dawson, who took home his 200th career victory, a landmark that puts him in some elite company.

Dawson, who has coached the Wittenberg men’s soccer team for 19 of the last 20 years, now has a career record of 200 victories, 127 losses and 16 ties.

He started the season ranked 37th in victories among active NCAA Division III coaches. Prior to the season, only 43 NCAA Division III coaches had ever reached the 200-win plateau.

Dawson, a native of London, England and a graduate of Loughborough University, is easily the winningest coach in Wittenberg history. His 200 wins, an average of 10.5 per season, are 171 more than second-place Steve Moore, who guided the Tigers from 1976-80.

“Two hundred wins has never been a goal for me,” Dawson said. “I am most proud of the fact that we always play a tough schedule, and we have been competitive every year. We’ve never shied away from the toughest teams, and our strength of schedule is in the top five in the region every year.”

Under Dawson’s guidance, the Tigers have won at least seven games in each of his 19 seasons —including 2001 — and have advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament four times (’91, ’92, ’93 and ’96).

The Tigers have won at least four games every year in the NCAC, considered one of the toughest soccer conferences in the nation, and the 1993 team tied for the NCAC championship.