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Tim Cupello
Tim Cupello enters his 10th year at the helm of the UC Riverside men's soccer program in 2023 after leading the Highlanders to the Big West regular season and postseason title in 2022. Cupello, who joined the men's soccer staff as an assistant coach in June of 2010 before being named interim head coach prior to the 2013 season, earned the program's first Big West Coach of the Year honor in 2022.
UCR has seen 13 First Team All-Big West nods since Cupello's first full year, including five in 2022. The program has also collected seven of its 11 NSCAA All-Far West Region honorees under Cupello's leadership, including current LA Galaxy midfielder Daniel Aguirre and current LAFC and U.S. Men's National Team defender Aaron Long.
Cupello was named to the NCAA Rules Playing Committee in June of 2020, a position he currently holds until 2024. He is the only Big West representative on the nine-person roster, and the only Division I representative from the west coast.
Cupello took UCR to the Big West Tournament in his interim 2013 season, a year after the program set a single-season record for wins. UC Riverside continued to roll, capturing the 2014 Big West South Division championship and making the program's fourth trip to the Big West Tournament in six years in the 2016 season. In 2018, Cupello guided the Highlanders to the two seed in the Big West Tournament and the program's first Big West title.
In 2014, UC Riverside had six players honored with All-Big West accolades—the most ever for the Highlanders in a single season. In all, UCR has seen 21 All-Big West performers under Cupello, including Aguirre and Long. Cupello also has been either an assistant or head coach at UCR for five of the program's seven MLS draft picks.
In addition to his responsibilities at UC Riverside, Cupello also coaches with the U-16 FC Golden State team in the US Soccer Development Academy. Cupello came to UC Riverside following three seasons as an assistant at Syracuse University. While at Syracuse, Cupello helped oversee the development of five All-Big East players, including Kyle Hall, who was selected in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC. In 2007 and 2008, SU posted an undefeated non-conference record.
Also during his time with the Orange, Cupello helped create a student fan club known as “Colvin Street Elite,” the official student support group of Syracuse men’s soccer that was featured on ESPNU’s “Campus Connection” during the fall of 2009.
Prior to his time at Syracuse, Cupello was the assistant coach at his alma mater, NCAA Division III Fredonia State University in Fredonia, NY, for two years. He helped guide the Blue Devils to a 29-11-6 overall record and a 13-4-1 conference mark during that time.
In 2005, Fredonia went 17-4-4 and ranked 15th in the final NSCAA Division III rankings after losing to eventual national runner-up Gustavus Adolphus in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. In 2006, the Blue Devils returned to the postseason and won the ECAC Upstate Championship, finishing the year with a 12-7-2 record.
Cupello earned his bachelors of science degree in sport management and exercise science from Fredonia in 2006. As a four-year player for the Blue Devils, he was team captain and earned All-Conference and All-Tournament Team honors as a senior. He was the squad’s leading scorer with four goals and 10 points in 2004 and tallied seven goals and 16 points while starting all 22 matches in 2003.
Cupello holds a USSF “B” Coaching License, and is currently pursuing a masters of science degree in instructional design, development and evaluation at Syracuse University.
Cupello prepped at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, NY, where his senior season was marked with a state championship and selection as Sectional MVP and Team MVP.
His father, Nelson, played professionally in the North American Soccer League for the Rochester Lancers from 1975-80 and in the American Soccer League for the Rochester Flash from 1981-83. He has also been a collegiate coach for over 30 years at Fredonia State University and Monroe Community College.
In his free time, Cupello enjoys playing and watching sports, listening to live music, and doing anything outdoors. He married former UC Riverside Assistant Volleyball Coach Brianna Koche in the spring of 2015, and in 2016 the couple celebrated the birth of their first child.
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