Josh Rios Noonkester was announced the next head coach of the Corban University Men’s Soccer program in May of 2024, where he will be returning to his alma mater to lead the program he once played and coached on before graduating and moving on to the next stage in his life.
“As an alum of Corban University, former men's soccer standout, and coach in the Warrior men's program, Josh has a great understanding for the mission of Corban and a desire to lift the program to compete with the best the NAIA has to offer,” shared Pilgeram on the newest addition to his athletic staff. “Josh's heart for mentoring young men and serving Christ stood out significantly and made him the choice to lead this program forward.”
Notable Head Coaching Achievements/Statistics:
· Overall Record: 5-10-3
o CCC Contests: 4-6-3
· 3 CCC All-Conference Award Winners (2024: Leon & Pureco – Second Team, Thurman – Honorable Mention)
· 4 CSC Academic All-District Selections (2024: B. Lopez, Leon, Gonzalez-Ruiz, Pureco)
· 6 NAIA Scholar-Athletes (2024: Aguirre, Gish, Leon, B. Lopez, Pureco, Yermachenkov)
· 8 CCC Academic All-Conference team members (2024: Aguirre, Andrade, Gish, Leon, Menezes, Lopez, Pureco, Yermachenkov)
Noonkester is a born and raised Oregonian from right within the city limits of Salem, where he has lived a majority of his life and worked in a number of coaching positions in the state capital. Dating back to his precollegiate days, he graduated from South Salem High School where he was a First Team All-League and Second Team All-State selection in 2009. The same season, Noonkester led the Saxons to the only 6A State Championship title in the Salem-Keizer school district at the time for boys’ soccer and was later inducted into the South Salem Hall of Fame back in 2022 for said championship.
His primary work around the midfield and occasionally at center back during his high school career resulted in a scholarship opportunity at Chemeketa Community College, where he played for two seasons and helped power the Storm to a top ten national ranking and Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) Championship in 2011. He was named captain of the program during the 2011 title season and was later named an NWAC All-Star.
With two years of community college now under his belt, Noonkester transferred to NCAA DII Saint Martin’s University out of Lacey, Washington, where he became an immediate starter for the Saints in all 18 contests during the 2012 campaign. As a primary defender for Saint Martin’s, he racked up over 1,600 minutes on the backline and would even take shots on goal when presented the opportunity
After taking a year off from higher education, Noonkester’s first interaction with the Corban men’s soccer program was as a transfer senior who completed his final year of eligibility as a Warrior during the 2014 season. Under the command of then second-year head coach and eventual Corban legend Aaron Lewis, Noonkester became an impact player for the team as a midfielder rather than primary defender as he once did for the Saints. He would start in all 20 contests for Coach Lewis and play nearly 1,700 minutes to average over 84 minutes of field time per 90 of regulation.
Noonkester would earn First Team All-Conference accolades from the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) head coaches as the Warriors' primary defensive midfielder and lead the team to the first of many NAIA Opening Round appearances. The Warriors were CCC Tournament Champions in 2014, which eventually resulted in an NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll rating.
Coach Lewis welcomed Noonkester back for the 2015 season as a graduate assistant coach after earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in biblical studies following his final season of collegiate soccer. After a fall season that saw the program go 17-3-1, Noonkester secured an assistant coaching position on Lewis’ staff where he would stay on for a 20-3-0 record in 2016 and 15-3-4 record in 2017, the first of which resulted in a CCC Regular Season Championship.
While he was assisting with Corban, Noonkester was playing out his semi-professional career with a variety of local organizations, including the Vancouver Victory (Evergreen Premier League), Lane United, and eventually the U23 Portland Timbers program that would become the CFC Atletico program that operates to this day out of the USL League Two. His 2017 run with the Timbers resulted in a Northwest Division Championship.
After hanging up the cleats for good following the 2018 season with Portland, Noonkester began the career he intended to with his degree in criminal justice and became a police officer for the Woodburn/Silverton districts. However, his call to soccer would eventually lead him back to the field in 2021 when he came the head girls’ soccer coach at McNary High School located in Keizer, a school he was all too familiar with having played in the same league as the Celtics during his South Salem career.
In three seasons as the McNary head coach, Noonkester propelled the Celtics to the OSAA State Tournament on two separate occasions and has increased the program’s win total each year. Most recently, McNary finished 5-8-2 overall and were third in the 6A Central Valley Conference with the second highest scoring totals among the league members, eventually leading to a first round exit in the state tournament. Noonkester resides in Salem with his wife, Geovana, and enjoying hiking, biking, and interacting in a variety of competitive sports.
“I am extremely humbled by the opportunity to lead the historic Corban men's soccer program moving forward,” shared Noonkester. “I am thankful for the belief Bill Pilgeram and the hiring committee have in me to lead in this capacity. I'd like to thank my wife Geovana for her unwavering support as I pursue this opportunity. Thank you to family, friends, teammates, and players I've coached over the years who have played a massive part in my soccer journey thus far.”
Noonkester added, “I look forward to the grind of continuing the great success of this program as we look to honor Jesus Christ in all we do. The Corban community is truly a special place, and I cannot express enough how grateful I am to return in this role. Go Warriors!”
