Jac Cicala Position: Head Coach Experience: 12th Year

For more than 20 years, Jac Cicala has been an integral part of the history of George Mason women’s soccer, playing a critical role in the development of the legacy and pride of the Patriot soccer program. Entering his 12th year at the helm of the George Mason women’s soccer team, Cicala looks to maintain the Patriots’ level of excellence with the goal of another Colonial Athletic Association championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

The 2002 co-Coach of the Year in the CAA, Cicala posted his 100th career victory in the 2000 season opener and he became Mason’s all-time leader in women’s coaching victories in 2002, surpassing program founder Hank Leung (126-58-19 over the first 10 years). He boasts a career mark of 130-87-16 for a .592 winning percentage.

Cicala had two stints as an assistant coach -- in the first three years of the program (1982-84) and again in 1990-91 -- before assuming head coaching duties in 1992. As head coach, he has taken the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a berth in the championship game in 1993, and has kept the Patriots at or near the top of the CAA (52-15-3 all-time mark in conference games) during his tenure.

Cicala has had no trouble finding success while coaching the Patriots. His winning percentage ranks him among the top-50 active coaches in Division I, while his 130 total wins also ranks in the top-40. Cicala’s teams have concluded the CAA regular season in first place five times since the conference’s inaugural 1993 campaign, and the Patriots have never had a losing conference record. His 52 conference victories rank second in the league.

With the increase in the number of Division I teams, cut-throat competition and ambitious regular-season scheduling, one might wonder how Cicala, the 1993 National Coach of the Year, has managed to keep George Mason at the forefront of women’s soccer. By looking at Mason’s women’s soccer program, it’s obvious that Cicala is a goal setter and an achiever as he has put the Patriots on the map as a national soccer power.

For the past five years, George Mason has been knocking on the door in its quest for a 12th NCAA Tournament berth. Despite key injuries to some of the team’s top players, Cicala’s 2001 squad still managed to win almost 10 games, losing seven contests by a one-goal margin. The Patriots were 12-9 and advanced to the CAA Tournament championship game in 2000, and the 1999 squad ranked 14th in the NCAA in scoring offense and was the only team in the top-20 not to have an overall winning record.

Last season may have seen some of Cicala’s best work as a coach. George Mason played 11 games against 2001 NCAA College Cup participants, including eight on the road, and was 3-8 after 11 games. But the Patriots rebounded to win their last six CAA games to finish 7-2 in the conference and advance to the CAA Tournament championship game for the fourth time in eight years.

Cicala and his staff put together four national top-20 teams in the five-year span from 1993-97. The 1993 squad had a school-record 18 wins en route to the NCAA Tournament championship game, the program’s fourth appearance in the finals in 12 years, and the Patriots reached the “Sweet 16” in 1994. After a sub-par campaign in 1995, George Mason returned to national prominence with two more trips to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the “Sweet 16” once again in 1997.

Cicala’s system has produced a trio of All-America goalkeepers and numerous all-region, All-CAA and All-Virginia players. Three Patriots were selected in the 2001 WUSA inaugural draft and two remain as starters in the league.

In between his assistant coaching stints with the Patriots, Cicala was the head coach for the boy’s varsity soccer team at nearby Lake Braddock Secondary School. He guided the Bruins to four Virginia Group AAA state championships in nine years and was a political science and government teacher.

In addition to his collegiate coaching responsibilities (until 1999), Cicala was the head coach for the Region I Girls Olympic Development Program (ODP) and has been one of the coaches for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) under-20 national women’s team. During the summer of 1993, Cicala led the East squad to the silver medal in the U.S. Olympic Festival in San Antonio. As an assistant coach, he helped guide the Maryland Pride, a semi-pro women’s team, to a second-place conference finish in the summer of 2000. Cicala also has coached youth club teams that have won numerous state and regional championships, including appearances in the national championships.

Cicala holds clinics and lectures in Northern Virginia and conducts soccer camps for girl’s teams at George Mason during the summer. For the past 17 years, he has been a certified instructor for the Joint Coaching Program (JCP) in Virginia where he teaches coaches about instructing soccer. Cicala holds national coaching and soccer licenses from both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Cicala graduated from George Mason University in 1975 with a degree in political science after playing three years on the men’s soccer team. He received a master’s degree in secondary school administration in 1988.

A native of Italy, Cicala spent his youth living in various countries in Latin America. He has lived in Virginia for more than 27 years, and he currently resides in Fairfax with Barbara, his wife of 23 years. They have three daughters -- Stephanie, Jennifer and Kristen.

THE CICALA RECORD
1992: 8-6-3
1993: 18-3-2 (CAA Co-champion, NCAA national runner-up)
1994: 16-3-2 (NCAA “Sweet 16”)
1995: 8-12-1
1996: 14-7-2 (NCAA first round)
1997: 14-6-4 (NCAA “Sweet 16”)
1998: 12-8-1
1999: 9-11-0
2000: 12-9-0
2001: 9-11-1
2002: 10-11-0
Totals: 130-87-16