Michael Tanke

American soccer player (born 1989)

Michael Tanke
Personal information
Full name	Michael Tanke
Date of birth	(1989-08-18) August 18, 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth	Merrillville, Indiana, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2007–2010	Rhode Island Rams
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007	Indiana Invaders	4	(1)
2009	Indiana Invaders	11	(0)
2011–2013	Rochester Rhinos	36	(0)
Managerial career
2022–present	Canisius
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 28, 2014

Michael Tanke (born August 18, 1989, in Merrillville, Indiana) is an American former soccer player and current coach.

Career

College and amateur

Tanke attended Niles High School, in Niles, Michigan, where he was named to the All-State First Team in 2006 and was a four-time All-Conference, three-time All-District and two-time All-Region honoree, played in the Region II Olympic Development Program, and played club soccer for the Indy Burn Eagles,^[1] before going on to play four years of college soccer for the Rams at the University of Rhode Island. He earned All-Tournament honors at the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic as a senior in 2010, and finished his college soccer career with 3 assists in 65 games.

During his college years Tanke also played for the Indiana Invaders in the USL Premier Development League.,^[2] and trained with the Columbus Crew U-19 and U-20 and first teams.

Professional

Undrafted out of college, Tanke signed his first professional contract in March 2011 when he signed with USL Professional Division club Rochester Rhinos. He made his professional debut on April 15, 2011, in Rochester's season opening game against the Richmond Kickers.^[3] The club re-signed Tanke for 2012 on October 25, 2011.^[4] On July 7, 2015, Tanke scored in a Notre Dame staff game by dribbling across the middle of the field and riding a tackle from and old and obviously out of shape Greg Dalby. He then put the ball in the back of the net from 4 yards to score his first goal in his post high school career.

Coaching

After playing professionally, Tanke began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Castleton State College (now Castleton University), in Castleton, Vermont. Tanke joined the coaching staff of the University of Dayton Flyers men's soccer team for the fall 2015 season.^[5] After two seasons with the Flyers, Tanke was hired as an assistant coach for the University at Buffalo Bulls men's soccer team for 2017 season.^[6] However, before the season began, the Bulls' men's soccer team, alongside multiple other UB athletic programs, was cut, the team being eliminated and no longer being fielded by the university.^[7] In 2018, Tanke was hired as an assistant coach on the staff of the Niagara University Purple Eagles men's soccer team.^[8] In 2022, Canisius College hired Tanke in his first head coaching role. He is the 15th coach in the history of the men's soccer program at Canisius.^[9]

References

^ Niles’ Michael Tanke to play for Indy Burn in Massachusetts
^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13.
^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
^ "Dayton Men's Soccer Names Tanke as New Assistant".
^ "Michael Tanke - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory". University at Buffalo. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
^ Tsujimoto, Ben. "University at Buffalo chooses to eliminate men's soccer". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
^ "Men's Soccer adds Tanke to Coaching Staff". Niagara University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
^ "Michael Tanke Tabbed Head Coach of Men's Soccer Program". maacsports.com. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. February 3, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.