KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Saint Joseph's College Men's Soccer Head Coach Adrian Dubois and assistants Michael Sanfilippo '12, Kyle Shangraw '14, and Will Pike '10 have been selected as the 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III New England Region Coaching Staff of the Year, as announced by the national organization on Tuesday.
The coaching staff honor is particularly rewarding considering the Monks hail from arguably the most competitive – and largest - region in the country. The New England Region features 77 programs (next largest is 60) and 13 of these teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament this fall.
Dubois, who recently completed his fourth year at the helm for the Monks, is 50-24-9 (.676) with a 33-2-7 (.943) conference record since coming to Saint Joseph's in 2014. He has earned a pair of GNAC Coach of the Year accolades and guided the Monks to the conference tournament in each of his four seasons.
All three of the Monks' assistant coaches are SJC alumni, as Sanfilippo played four years and helped St. Joe's claim a pair of GNAC Championships, Pike – a DI transfer from Mount St. Mary's – set numerous goalkeeping records over two seasons, and Shangraw earned several postseason accolades in one season at Saint Joseph's.
Each season United Soccer Coaches selects Regional Staff of the Year winners for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III men's and women's soccer programs. To qualify for Staff of the Year, a coaching staff should exhibit knowledge of the game, have an outstanding rapport with the team, officials and other coaches, project a positive team image, be active members of the coaches organization, be involved with outside groups and the community, and have an upstanding relationship with the media.
Under the watch of the coaching staff this fall, Saint Joseph's posted the finest season in the 29-year history of the SJC men's soccer program. The Monks went 19-0-2 with a 9-0-1 record in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) and, for the second-consecutive year, captured the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, St. Joe's clinched the first national tourney win in team history with a 2-1 triumph over Mitchell College and held defending national champion Tufts University scoreless before falling to the Jumbos – on their home field - in penalty kicks in the second round.
The Monks capped the regular season ranked 17th in the D3Soccer.com national poll and sixth in the United Soccer Coaches regional poll and currently lead NCAA DIII Men's Soccer in goals against average (.047), won-lost-tied percentage (.952), and save percentage (.983). Saint Joseph's is also second in the nation in shots per game (22.76) and shots on goal per game (11.57), fifth in assists per game (2.95) and total assists (62), and sixth in points per game (9.33), total goals (67), and total points (196).
Saint Joseph's established new NCAA Men's Soccer records for consecutive shutouts (20) and longest shutout minutes streak (1,802:54) this fall.
Each of the 24 coaching staffs receiving Regional Staff of the Year recognition will be honored at the College Coaches Awards Reception on January 18, 2018 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown Independence Ballroom in conjunction with the 71st annual United Soccer Coaches Convention.
In addition, the Regional Staff of the Year recipients will be placed on the United Soccer Coaches ballot for National Staff of the Year consideration within their respective NCAA division. The ballot will also include the addition of coaching staffs from any schools, which advance to the semifinals of their NCAA Championship.
Voting for National Staff of the Year will begin on December 5 and end on December 12. United Soccer Coaches will announce the Men and Women's National Staff of the Year for all NCAA divisions on December 19.
Amherst College claimed the NCAA Division III New England Region Men's Soccer Coaching Staff of the Year last season.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
