Michael Pilger begins his sixth season as head coach of the Trinity College men's soccer team, after posting an 11-5 record overall and a 5-4 mark in the New England Small College Athletic Conference in 2008.  Last fall, Pilger guided the Bantams to their second consecutive winning season and their 11 wins were the second most in program history.  Also an assistant track and field coach and physical education instructor at the College, Pilger came to Trinity from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and the Cleveland Crunch of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), where he coached in 2003 and 2002-03, respectively, after highly successful stints as head coach at the University of Rochester and Kenyon College.

Pilger coached the Kenyon men's soccer team from 1988-1991, leading a previously sub-.500 program to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in 1990 and 1991. He was selected as the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1991, and the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year in 1990 after leading Kenyon to a perfect 18-0 regular season.

Pilger guided the Rochester men's soccer program to University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship titles and NCAA Tournament bids in 1993, 1995, and 1997 and to ECAC Championship titles in 1994 and 2000. He was selected as the UAA Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1997 and the NCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 1995. Pilger posted records of 57-13-3 at Kenyon and 93-55-20 at Rochester in a total of 13 seasons.

Pilger is a 1982 graduate of Boston University with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education, where he was an all-conference and an all-New England player throughout his career. He went on to play professionally in the American Soccer League and the Lusitana American Soccer Association from 1980 to 1986, and was selected to the all-star squad four times.