Bio

Alex Scheuler was no stranger to program-building when he was named the Comets men’s soccer coach in February 2023.

Now, one year in, he's already established the Comets as a contender in the notoriously competitive ICCAC.

The Comets surpassed expectations in 2023 with an overall record of 10-5-4, and a 3-3-2 record in conference. The sixth-place finish was well above the conference's preseason prediction of last, and Scheuler has the team poised to take another leap in 2024-25.

"I think our goal is to not only make playoffs but probably host a playoff game," Scheuler said. "In our conference, that gives us the best chance to progress. Obviously it will not be easy with how strong our conference is. Last year we were only two goals off of fourth place, so it’s attainable."

The Comets ranked fourth in conference with 2.89 goals per game, and were fifth at 1.63 goals against per game. Forward Aran Vivar Hernandez led the Comets with 12 goals, tied for fifth in conference. Goalkeeper Victor Goscinski allowed just four goals over 11 games (seven starts), which ranked first among all ICCAC keepers, as did his .862 save percentage. 

One of the highlights of the season occurred on August 22, when the Comets tied the NJCAA's sixth-ranked Heartland Community College after falling behind 2-2 just 15 minutes into the match. The Comets answered with tallies in the 36th and 70th minutes.

"I thought if that game kept going on we would have scored one or two more," Scheuler said. "We were the more fit team, the team in ascendency."

Scheuler began his college career in 2020 at Southeast Community College, where he started a brand new NJCAA program amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the hardships, Scheuler's Bobcats competed to nearly .500 records in his final two seasons in Beatrice, Nebraska. In 2022, the Scheuler led Southeast to its first postseason berth.

His experience building a program from scratch helped the Comets find stability early.

"I did some things obviously that I thought worked well (at Southeast) and I did some other things that didn’t work so well. So having that perspective was huge," Scheuler said.

Aside from their skill on the pitch, the first class of Comets recruits were targeted for their mindset. It takes the right kind of person to excel in a brand new team environment.

Scheuler said the goal was to "find players who want to be part of something special and kind of be brave. I think that translates to our best results last year, when we just went after teams."

Now the Comets boast an experienced roster that has grown closer over the course of the program's first year.

“I think we gave ourselves a good platform to build upon for next year with so many returners," Scheuler said.

Scheuler established himself as a coach on the club circuit. He started coaching at Capital Soccer Association in 2012 and was promoted to Director of Coaching in March, 2018. He was named the Boys Competitive Coach of the Year by Nebraska State Soccer in 2017. He was the JV head coach and varsity assistant at Waverly High School in Waverly, Nebraska, from February 2011 to February 2014.

Scheuler played at Cloud Community College before transferring to Doane University, where graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communications.