Year of Service: 19th Season
Alma Mater: Alderson Broaddus College '81
Education: BS, Physical Ed/Social Studies;
MEd, Physical Ed., TSC '82
Joe Russo was appointed as the head women's soccer coach at The College of New Jersey on September 18, 1989, and since then, Russo has turned the program into a national power. A native of the Trenton area, he is well-known in area soccer circles. Prior to taking over the women's program, Russo served as an assistant men's soccer coach at the College for seven seasons (1981-87) and twice during his tenure (1981 and 1984) the Lions gained NCAA Tournament bids. The 2008 campaign marks his 19th season at the helm of TCNJ's women's soccer program and last fall he hit a personal milestone as he recorded his 300th victory on September 23 as the Lions beat Montclair State University. Another milestone could be in the works for Russo in 2008 as he is 14 wins shy of 350.
In his first season, the Lions posted a 12-3-1 mark and finished as runners-up in the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Championship. Just one season later, Russo's squad received an NCAA berth and advanced to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. The 1992 season was another banner year for TCNJ, which spent five consecutive weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in Division III and finished the regular-season undefeated. The Lions advanced to the NCAA Regional title game and finished with a 16-1-4 record.
In 1993, Russo's team wrapped up the season by capturing the NCAA Division III National Championship when it defeated Plymouth State College, 4-0. The Lions finished the year with a 20-1-3 record, setting a school record for most shutouts. Russo was chosen as the NSCAA/Umbro Division III National Coach of the Year after earning the same for the NSCAA Division III Southeast Region in addition to New Jersey's Collegiate Coach of the Year.
His team successfully defended its NCAA crown in 1994 as they tallied a 4-3 sudden-death overtime win over the Tritons of the University of California-San Diego and finished the year with a 22-1 mark, setting a school record for best win percentage (.956). Russo was honored by Sports Illustrated with a selection to the "Faces in the Crowd" section in December 1994 for his accomplishments.
The 1995 season saw the team earn its fifth straight bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament as the Lions finished the year with a 16-3-1 mark. TCNJ had Kim Faust become the Lions' first three-time All-America honoree and the program's first player selected as the NSCAA Division III National Player of the Year. In 1996, TCNJ battled UC-San Diego for the right to be the NCAA's first three-time women's soccer champions. The Lions dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker and collected the program's first NCAA Division III Runner-Up title, while going 19-2-2 on the year.
After recording the program's first unbeaten and untied campaign in school history with a perfect 18-0 record in 1997, TCNJ earned its seventh straight NCAA Tournament bid after the Lions collected the program's fourth straight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship after a 6-0 league campaign. TCNJ picked up its third appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship game in 1998 as they met Macalester (MN) College in the final match, only to suffer a heart wrenching 1-0 loss in four overtimes. The Lions finished the year with a 19-3-1 record.
In 1999, the Lions earned another appearance in the NCAA Semifinals and finished in third place at the NCAA Tournament with a 21-1-2 mark, allowing just four goals in 24 contests and earning the program's fifth NJAC Championship as well. TCNJ had another record-setting season in 2000 that ended with the NCAA Division III Championship after the Lions downed Tufts University, 2-1, in the title game. Over the course of the season, TCNJ established school marks for most goals scored (89) and most wins (23), while also tying the school mark for most shutouts (21).
Continuing its highly successful streak in 2001, the Lions garnered their 11th consecutive NCAA bid as the team posted the program's second unbeaten and untied record with a flawless 15-0 regular-season mark. TCNJ would win four more before falling to eventual national champion, Ohio Wesleyan University, 1-0, in the NCAA Quarterfinal. Finishing with a 19-1 record and their third straight NJAC title, the Lions set school marks for fewest goals allowed (1) and longest consecutive shutout streak (19).
In 2002, TCNJ fell short once again as the Lions lost 2-1 in the NCAA Regional final game, posting a 17-1-2 mark and winning the program's eighth NJAC title. TCNJ advanced to the 2003 NCAA Semifinals for the first time since 2000, finishing with an 18-5 record after falling 2-1 to eventual national champion, SUNY Oneonta. Two seasons ago, the Lions sported an 18-2-2 overall record and bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the third round.
On March 13, 2004, Russo added to his list of honors as he was inducted into the Ewing High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He also earned his NSCAA Premier Diploma on January 11, 2004, which is the highest coaching license one can attain. Russo was named both the 1991 and 1992 New Jersey College Division Women's Soccer Coach of the Year by the New Jersey College Soccer Coaches' Association and was named the NSCAA/Umbro Northeast Coach of the Year for the 1992 season. During the summer of 1995, he joined TCNJ's Department of Athletics on a full-time basis as the program's first full-time head coach.
The Lions made another strong run at the national title in 2005 winning their first 22 games of the season before falling by a goal in the finals.
Two seasons ago, TCNJ won both the NJAC regular season and then the conference tournament extending their impressive streak of 16 straight appearances in the NCAA Division III Championships. The Lions again made a strong run at the national title before bowing to Wheaton (IL) in the final game falling to the Thunder by the score of 2-0.
TCNJ garnered another NJAC Championship in 2007 and advanced to the national semifinals for the third straight season. The team had numerous highlights as they went 21-0-1 in their first 22 games that included a 16-game winning streak. The 21 victories marked the sixth time in program history that Russo has guided the Lions to a 20-win season.
Russo has a lifetime 102-4-4 mark in the NJAC, having won all but two league championship titles since women's soccer was introduced in 1994 as a conference sport. He has earned the honor of NJAC Coach of the Year eight times after being tapped in 2002 and is a six-time honoree as the New Jersey College Coach of the Year after picking up the honor last in 1999.
