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David Costa
David Costa is in his fifth season at the helm of the Belmont University men’s soccer program. Belmont Vice President, Director of Athletics Scott Corley selected Costa as the fifth men’s soccer head coach in school history on Dec. 27, 2018.
In his first three seasons leading the Bruins, coach Costa has completely transformed the program. Building Belmont into a conference title contender, Costa has taken the Bruins from a bottom 50 NCAA RPI (Rating Percentage Index) team to a top-70 RPI program.
Taking over a program that had endured 10-straight losing seasons and owned just four total winning seasons, it took Costa only one season before posting back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time in school history. After going 5-12-2 in Costa’s inaugural year, Belmont compiled 20 match wins in only two seasons and reached back-to-back Southern Conference Championship finals.
A total of nine Bruins have garnered all-conference recognition under Costa’s leadership and three different players have earned all-region honors. Belmont has earned some of its biggest match wins with Costa managing the team, including three of the school’s four victories over top-25 opponents and the program’s first tie against a nationally-ranked foe.
Creating a standard of excellence both on and off the field, Costa’s student-athletes have been named to numerous all-academic teams with four College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honorees and Academic All-America selection JP Armbruster (2021).
During the fall 2021 season, Costa led the Bruins to an impressive 13-5-1 overall record and Belmont’s most successful campaign to date en route to SoCon Co-Coach of the Year laurels. The Bruins set single-season records for wins (13), shutouts (9), consecutive shutouts (4) and consecutive victories (6). Completing its first undefeated home slate, Belmont went 9-0 at E.S. Rose Park and improved to 15-4-2 under Costa on its own turf. Receiving a vote in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll of the regular season for the first time in school history, the Bruins ended the fall ranked ninth in the ultra-competitive South Region, also a program first.
Collecting Belmont’s first tie versus a nationally-ranked opponent in the 24th Battle of the Boulevard against No. 22 Lipscomb (1-1), the Bruins took down 16th-ranked UNC Greensboro (2-1) at Rose Park. The win over the Spartans represented the highest-ranked opponent Belmont had ever defeated at home. The Bruins went on to beat top-seeded and 25th-ranked UNC Greensboro (2-1) once again in the SoCon Championship semifinals to reach their second-straight SoCon Championship title match.
Senior goalkeeper Drew Romig and senior forward Niccolo Dagnoni were both named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team, while sophomore attacking midfielder AJ Chastonay landed a spot on the all-region third team. Six different players earned All-SoCon recognition led by first-team selection Dagnoni, who completed his Belmont career as one of the most revered offensive players in the country. Setting the program record for assists (26), Dagnoni claimed the Bruins’ single-season assist record with 11 helpers and closed his career second in school history in points (60) and tied for third in goals (17). Dagnoni, along with Romig and forward Liam O’Brien, were placed on the 2021 SoCon All-Tournament Team.
Propelled by its strong defensive play, Belmont ranked among the nation’s top 20 in shutout percentage (.474) during the fall season of 2021 and was 27th nationally in team goals against average (.919). The Bruins held opponents to 0.95 goals per match and allowed just 18 goals for the entire season.
Costa led Belmont to one of its most successful seasons with a 7-3-2 record during the unique 2020-21 campaign, which was played during the spring of 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. The Bruins set program records for fewest goals allowed (10) and consecutive matches without a loss (7) while making their first appearance in the SoCon Championship title match. During its conference tournament run, Belmont knocked off top-seeded and 25th-ranked Furman (3-1) in the SoCon Championship semifinals.
A record seven Bruins earned all-conference accolades, which included five All-SoCon Second Team (Niccolo Dagnoni, Liam O’Brien, AJ Chastonay, Jack Shaw, Drew Romig) and three All-SoCon Freshman Team (AJ Chastonay, Michael Saunders, Eric Stiles) selections. Additionally, a record three players (Kyle Barks, AJ Chastonay, Drew Romig) were named to the spring 2021 SoCon All-Tournament Team.
In his inaugural season in the Music City, Costa guided Belmont to a 5-12-2 record and the program’s first appearance in the SoCon Championship semifinals. The Bruins shut out their opponents by a combined score of 6-0 in the first two rounds of the conference tournament before nearly upending the second-seeded Spartans of UNC Greensboro in overtime.
Tallying eight goals and nine assists in its three postseason matches to close the year, Belmont was fueled by Dagnoni throughout 2019. The Milan, Italy, native recorded eight goals and eight assists for the third-most points (24) in a single season in school history. Dagnoni was tabbed All-SoCon First Team and earned a spot on the 2019 SoCon All-Tournament Team alongside sophomore midfielder Kyle Barks.
The Bruins immediately excelled in the classroom in Costa’s first year with six student-athletes named to the fall 2019 Academic All-SoCon Team. Overall, Belmont logged its highest fall GPA at the time as six student-athletes tallied a 4.0 GPA and 86 percent of the squad earned a 3.0 GPA or above.
Costa arrived in Nashville after spending two seasons as associate head coach at Xavier. In his short time in Cincinnati, Ohio, Costa’s impact was undeniable as the Musketeers earned results against eight nationally-ranked opponents and reached the Big East Conference Championship title match.
Prior to Xavier, the North Carolina native spent six seasons as the top assistant at North Carolina State University. While in Raleigh, Costa helped the Wolfpack earn results over the likes Wake Forest, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College, among others.
Costa’s career took off while on staff at another Big East Conference stronghold, Butler. During his five seasons assisting the Bulldogs, the program ascended to a No. 5 national ranking and a program-record 18 victories in 2010.
Costa has coached three Major League Soccer players: 2016 MLS Defender of the Year Matt Hedges, Nazmi Albadawi and Conor Donovan.
Beyond his extensive collegiate experience, Costa has served in several prominent roles with youth soccer programs, including time as the head coach for Carmel (IN) United. He was named 2008 and 2010 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Central Conference Coach of the Year and was the 2008 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Midwest Regional Coach of the Year. Currently, Costa also coaches club soccer locally in Franklin, Tennessee.
A four-year letter winner at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Costa helped lead the 49ers to the 2003 Conference USA Championship title match. As a student-athlete Costa received the David Schlee Memorial Award, given for determination and desire to succeed as a member of the Charlotte men's soccer program.
Costa holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) ‘A’ License and has completed evaluations for the U.S. Youth National Teams and U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs. He is an MLS Professional Match Evaluator (PME) and serves as a scout for U.S. Soccer.
Attaining Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology and history from Charlotte in 2004, Costa added his master's degree in liberal studies in 2005.
Costa and his wife, Meghan, have two sons, Nicholas and Benjamin, and reside in Franklin.
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