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Christopher Joseph Petrucelli (born May 9, 1962) is an American soccer coach who was most recently the head coach of the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League.

Playing career

Raised in Edison, New Jersey, Petrucelli attended J. P. Stevens High School, where he played for the soccer team.[3] In college, he played in 1980, 1982, and 1983 for UNC Greensboro, then a Division III school, under head coach Mike Berticelli.[4] He helped the school to two NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship titles in 1982 and 1983, and was the team captain in his senior year.[2]

In 1998, Petrucelli was inducted into the inaugural hall of fame class of J. P. Stevens High School.[5]

Coaching career

After graduating from college in 1985, Petrucelli joined Berticelli, his former coach at UNC Greensboro, as a graduate assistant coach for the Old Dominion men's soccer program. At the time, he worked at the docks in Norfolk, Virginia, for a tea-packing company. He became a full-time assistant coach from 1986, with the school achieving their best result in his final season by reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1989. In 1990, Petrucelli followed Berticelli to the University of Notre Dame. Berticelli had agreed to join Notre Dame, on the condition that the school would find a position for Petrucelli as well.[6] Petrucelli was appointed as the head coach of Notre Dame's women's soccer team in the team's third season of existence, and also assisted Berticelli with the men's team in the first year.[7] Petrucelli led Notre Dame to six consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship from 1993 to 1998, including three straight appearances in the championship game from 1994 to 1996. The school won the 1995 championship 1–0 against Portland after three overtime periods, ending North Carolina's run of nine consecutive titles, with Notre Dame having defeated them 1–0 in the semi-finals. Notre Dame lost both the 1994 and 1996 championship games to North Carolina, by a score of 5–0 and 1–0 (after double overtime), respectively. In 1994 and 1995, he was named Women's College Soccer Coach of the Year by the NSCAA. He finished with a record of 175 wins, 22 losses, and 10 draws with the school.[8]

He also served as the head soccer coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1994 and 1995, and has worked as a coach for the Olympic Development Program.[9]

In December 1998, Petrucelli was announced as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns women's soccer team for the following season.[10] He coached the school to first place during the regular season in the Big 12 Conference in 2001, and won the Big 12 Tournament in 2006 and 2007. From 2001 to 2011, the school made ten appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, only missing out during this stretch in 2009. Their best result in the tournament was reaching the last 16, achieved in 2004, 2006, and 2007. He finished with a record of 165 wins, 88 losses, and 26 draws while at Texas.[8] From 2003 to 2004, Petrucelli also served as the coach of the United States women's national under-21 team, and won consecutive Nordic Cup titles.[11]

In 2012, Petrucelli became the head coach of Southern Methodist University women's soccer team.[12] During his tenure, SMU made two appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2016 and 2021. In total, he finished with a record of 88 wins, 74 losses and 18 draws at the school.[8][13] In January 2020, he also was the coach of the United States women's national under-18 team for the Tricontinental Cup tournament in Lakewood Ranch, Florida,[14] in which the U.S. finished second to the Netherlands.[15]

Chicago Red Stars

On February 18, 2022, the Chicago Red Stars announced Petrucelli as the coach of the team for the 2022 season in the National Women's Soccer League.[16] Petrucelli is the second head coach of the Red Stars in the NWSL era after the scandal plagued exit of Rory Dames.[17]

In his first season in 2022 the team went 9–7–6, which was good enough for sixth in the standings and the last playoff spot. After scoring first in the tenth minute, the team lost 2–1 in the first round to expansion club San Diego Wave FC.[18][19]

Personal life

Petrucelli is a native of Orange, New Jersey, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1984 with a degree in business administration. He has three children with his wife Eve.[2]

References

  1. ^ Virginia, Marriages, 1936–2014. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Health.
  2. ^ a b c "Head Coach Chris Petrucelli". Texas Longhorns. January 2, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  3. ^ "Scholastic Soccer: E.B. Tech notches 14th". Home News Tribune. November 4, 1978. p. 8. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "2021 UNC Greensboro Men's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). UNC Greensboro Spartans. August 25, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Pereda, Aimee (April 24, 1998). "High school lauds its top alumni". Home News Tribune. p. B2. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Daniels, Rob (December 4, 1997). "Notre Dame". News & Record. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  7. ^ "Chris Petrucelli". Texas Longhorns. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "SMU 2021 Women's Soccer Factbook" (PDF). SMU Mustangs. August 30, 2021. pp. 3–4. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Chris Petrucelli". SMU Mustangs. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  10. ^ "Chris Petrucelli Leaving Notre Dame". Notre Dame Fighting Irish. December 31, 1998. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "Chris Petrucelli Reflects On Coaching Career With U-21 U.S. Women's National Team". SMU Mustangs. December 18, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Two-Time National Coach Of The Year Chris Petrucelli Named Head Women's Soccer Coach". SMU Mustangs. May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  13. ^ "2021–22 SMU Women's Soccer: Combined Statistics, All games" (PDF). SMU Mustangs. November 20, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  14. ^ "Petrucelli To Serve As U.S. U-18 Women's National Team Head Coach At Tricontinental Tournament". SMU Mustangs. January 21, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  15. ^ "U-18 USWNT Falls to Netherlands 2–1 to Finish Second in 2020 Tricontinental Cup". United States Soccer Federation. February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Chris Petrucelli Named as New Chicago Red Stars Head Coach". Chicago Red Stars. February 18, 2022. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Chicago Red Stars announce Chris Petrucelli as new head coach". The Equalizer. February 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  18. ^ Wiley, Ben (March 21, 2023). "NWSL 2023: Chicago Red Stars forge ahead following turbulent offseason". Soccer America. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  19. ^ "NWSL Playoffs Recap: Morgan lifts San Diego over Chicago in extra time to book semifinal trip". National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Petrucelli