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Frank Vertullo
Frank Vertullo, a former National Coach of the Year and an NJCAA National Champion head coach, was named the head coach of the Queens College men's soccer team in 2017 and enters his sixth season in charge of the Knights in 2023.
Vertullo and the Knights are coming off a historic 2022 campaign that saw the team reach new heights. The Knights finished the season with a program-best record of 13-7, including a 9-4 record at home. Queens would earn the number two seed in the East Coast Conference standing as they earned hosting rights to one of the ECC semi-final matches for the first time in program history. On November 7, Vertullo and the Knights would earn the program’s first-ever NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament At-Large bid to highlight the season.
Vertullo would lead four Knights to earn ECC All-Conference honors in Thomas Esperoe, Adolfo Martinez Paquet, Leo Pinto, and Dario Cruz. While Vertullo would earn his first ECC Coach of the Year honors. Paquet would go on to earn D2CCA All-East Region honors before becoming the first All-American under Vertullo's guidance.
In five seasons at Queens, Vertullo has guided the Knights to an overall record of 45-32-8 (.576%) with two ECC postseason appearances and one NCAA Tournament At-Large bid.
The 2021 season marked year four under coach Vertullo as the Knights returned to the pitch after COVID-19 canceled the 2020 season. Despite having to play the entire season away from Queens College, Vertullo’s guiding hand kept the team focused as they went 8-8 while the team finished 3-6 in East Coast Conference play. The five wins in non-conference play the team recorded were the most a Knights team recorded in a season since Vertullo took over. Despite narrowly missing out on the playoffs 2021 had some notable moments as coach Vertullo moved into 2nd place in the men’s soccer career wins list. The Knights also saw two players, forwards Nicholas Tagios and Leonel Zelaya both earned All-ECC second team honors. This marked the fourth season in a row that saw at least one Knights player earned all-conference honors under Vertullo.
In year three at the helm Vertullo navigated a 2019 campaign highlighted with a number of regional ranked foes such as Mercy, Franklin Pierce, and Southern New Hampshire as the Knights finished with a 6-7-3 record on the season while going 3-4-1 in ECC competition. The squad saw three players score four goals or more on the season as the club picked up victories over the likes of Jefferson, UDC, and New York Tech. Defender Paul Hayes was also named to the All-ECC second-team for the 2019 season, the third straight year that saw at least one of Vertullo’s Knights named to an all-conference team.
The 2018 season was the Knights' best season in nearly a full decade, as Vertullo and his staff guided Queens to a 10-4-3 overall record which included a 6-2-1 mark in East Coast Conference play as the Knights returned to the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Knights finished the year 5-0-3 in their final eight games, falling in penalty kicks to second-seeded LIU Post in the conference semifinals. András Breuer was named an All-American by the Jewish Sports Review as well as earning All-ECC First Team accolades while three other players---Romario Hulea, Kevin Quituizaca and David Ramirez---picked up Third-Team All-ECC honors. Michael Bolvin was named ECC Goalkeeper of the Year and the Knights spent much of the latter part of the season inside the top-ten of the East Region rankings, showcasing significant strides for the program since Vertullo took over.
In Vertullo’s first season at Queens College in 2017, he led the Knights to an 8-6-2 overall record, winning four of their last five, giving them their second highest win total in eight years. The Knights mounted some notable victories throughout the season, including a 2-1 victory on Senior Day over District of Columbia and a 1-0 shutout of NYIT. Midfielder András Breuer and forward Emgi Gousse were both awarded All-ECC Second Team honors under Vertullo in the 2017 season.
Vertullo joined Queens after spending 10 seasons as head coach at Suffolk Community College, where he led the Sharks to their first two NJCAA National Championships in school history.
Over Vertullo’s 10 seasons at the helm, Suffolk owned one of the best records for junior colleges in the country at 161-24-13 overall. Vertullo, who took over the Suffolk program in 2007, guided the Sharks to national titles in 2010 and 2014. Suffolk also reached the national quarterfinals in 2008, the national semifinals in 2012 and the national finals in 2013.
Vertullo was named NSCAA Coach of the Year in 2010 after the Sharks’ first national title. He also earned Coach of the Tournament accolades twice (2010 and 2014) and NJCAA Region XV Coach of the Year five times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016). Under Vertullo’s watch, Suffolk won five regional championships (2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014), and the Sharks were regional finalists four times (2007, 2009, 2015, 2016).
Two of Vertullo’s players at Suffolk earned NSCAA National Player of the Year honors (Zacchious Ogoo, 2010; Joseph Lopez, 2014). He mentored 13 NJCAA All-Americans and nine NSCAA All-Americans. Additionally, Vertullo coached two NJCAA Region XV Player of the Year honorees, one Academic All-American (Eddie Hackett, 2010) and 60 NJCAA All-Region players.
Prior to Suffolk, Vertullo served as assistant coach at his alma mater, Dowling College, from 2001-2006. In those six seasons, Dowling went 93-12-20 overall, reached the NCAA Division II National Semifinals four times (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006) and won the school’s first men’s soccer National Championship in 2006. East Coast Conference (ECC) Hall of Famer Morten Jensen was named NSCAA National Player of the Year in 2006, and forward Guy Kpene was drafted by DC United of Major League Soccer (MLS).
A three-year captain and four-year starter as a student-athlete at Dowling, Vertullo started in all 73 contests and helped the Golden Lions go 52-18-3 during his four seasons. He was a three-time all-conference selection and was NYCAC Newcomer of the Year in 1997. Dowling made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1997, 1998, 2000) and captured two conference championships (1997, 1998).
After his playing days at Dowling, Vertullo played professionally for the New York Freedoms, where he was a two-year starter at center back. The Freedoms reached the third round of the US Open Cup in 2004 and played a friendly versus Juventus of the Italian Serie A. The Freedoms also made two USL playoff appearances.
Vertullo graduated from Dowling College in 2001 with a degree in business. He completed his master’s degree in education at Dowling in 2004. Vertullo is a teacher of 19 years and resides in Commack, N.Y., with his wife Maxine, son Michael and step-son Dylan.
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