UMass Coach Recognized by NSCAA

So. New Hampshire and Middlebury Coaches Also Honored

December 29, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - After leading the UMass men's soccer team to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, coach Sam Koch was named the NSCAA/adidas Mid-Atlantic Region Coach Of The Year.

Each regional coach of the year is automatically on the ballot for the NSCAA National Coach of the Year who will be named on Jan. 16. This is the second straight year that Koch has been named a finalist for the award.

UMass' Sam Koch was named the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. (UMass Athletics)

Koch led the Minutemen to a 10-8-3 record overall and a 7-1-1 mark in the Atlantic-10, earning the league's Regular-Season Championship. For the first-time in program history, UMass earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, but fell to Harvard in the first round. It was the third NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

Koch has been at UMass for 18 seasons and has compiled a 197-132-32 record in Amherst. He is a 24-year head coaching veteran with an overall record of 255-185-48 with his first six years on the sideline at Stanford (1984-89). He is the all-time winningest coach at UMass, has led the Minutemen to all three NCAA Tournament appearances in program history and led the squad to the 2007 NCAA National Semifinals.

UMass has won four Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and two A-10 Tournament titles in his tenure. Koch is also a four-time A-10 Coach of the Year honoree after being named the league's top coach in 2008.

Other coaches from New England who were named their region�s best include Marc Hubbard, who was named the Division II East Region Coach of the Year at Southern New Hampshire, and Dave Saward, who was named the New England region Coach of the Year at Division III Middlebury.

The regional coaches of the year are selected based on a vote of their peers within their region. In NCAA play, any coach who is not selected a Regional Coach of the Year but advances to the national tournament semifinals is added to the ballot for National Coach of the Year.

The national awards will be announced at the annual NSCAA Awards Banquet, which will be held Friday evening, Jan. 16, in the Grand Ballroom of the America's Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Mo., as part of the 2009 NSCAA Convention.

Full Regional Coaches of the Year

NCAA Division I Men
Far West: George Kuntz, University of California-Irvine
Great Lakes: Joe Baum, Michigan State University
Mid-Atlantic: Samuel C. Koch, University of Massachusetts
Midwest: Bob Warming, Creighton University
North Atlantic: Mark Mettrick, Loyola College (Md.)
Northeast: Dave Masur, St. John�s University
South: Jay Vidovich, Wake Forest University
South Atlantic: Sasho Cirovski, University of Maryland
Additional finalists: Elmar Bolowich, University of North Carolina

NCAA Division II Men
Atlantic: Steve Widdowson, Millersville University
Central: Tim Hankinson, Fort Lewis College
East: Marc Hubbard, Southern New Hampshire University
Far West: Joe Flanagan, Cal State Dominguez Hills
Midwest: Tony Tocco, Rockhurst University
South: Adrian Bush, University of Tampa
South Central: Doug Elder, Midwestern State University
Southeast: Brett Teach, Tusculum College
Additional finalists: John DiRico, Dowling University

NCAA Division III Men
Central: Paul McGinlay, Trinity University (Texas)
Great Lakes: Carl Capellas, Hiram College
Metro: Brian Sentowski, Montclair State University
Mid-Atlantic: Eric Wagner, Swarthmore College
New England: Dave Saward, Middlebury College
Northeast: Shawn Griffin, Hobart College
South: Sonny Travis, Emory University
West: Bob Carlson, Carleton College
Additional finalists: Dave Brandt, Messiah College; Tim O�Donoghue, Stevens Inst.; Justin Serpone, Amherst College

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