JERSEY CITY, NJ…After two seasons as one of the most successful men's soccer coaches in New Jersey City University history, CRISTIAN da SILVA has resigned as head coach of the Gothic Knights to accept a position as Head of Player Recruitment for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
Da Silva, the 2007 NCAA Division III Metro Region Coach of the Year as selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and the 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, posted a two-year record of 29-10-5 for a .716 winning percentage.
The 12th head coach in the 50-year history of the program, he leaves NJCU with the third highest winning percentage and fourth most victories in the record books while his .706 winning percentage in NJAC games is second highest in program history. NJCU was 11-4-2 in the conference in the past two years.
In 2007, he guided the Gothic Knights to the greatest all-around season in school history in his first year as a collegiate coach at any level. NJCU qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament as an at-large Pool C selection, and advanced to the Sweet 16, outscored the two league champions it faced in the first two rounds of the tournament, 6-1, before losing to Montclair State University in overtime in the third round, 3-2. NJCU finished the year with a 3-3 record against nationally ranked opponents.
In the 2007 NCAA Division III final post-season poll, the Gothic Knights were ranked No. 12 in the nation. NJCU finished with a single-season record 18 victories (18-5-1), and earned the highest two regular season rankings ever—eighth in the October 23 NSCAA poll and seventh in the October 30 rankings. Prior to the 2007 season, the highest ever NSCAA ranking for the Knights was 11th.
NJCU won its first-ever outright regular season NJAC title, finishing with a 7-1-1 mark, en route to the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament—another first. The Knights fell in the conference finals for the second consecutive year.
NJCU was the No. 1 ranked team in all three NCAA Division III Metro Region rankings and also first in the NSCAA Metro poll—the first time the Knights had achieved either of these feats.
In 2008, the Knights finished with an 11-5-4 ledger, reached the NJAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and qualified for a post-season tournament for the ninth straight year, reaching the ECAC Division III Metro Semifinals.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
