Jose Gomes
	Head Men's Soccer Coach jgomes@stonehill.edu 508-565-1054

A fixture on the Stonehill soccer scene for nearly 17 years, Jose Gomes returns for his fifth season as Head Men's Soccer Coach at the College after guiding the fortunes of the women's program for 11 seasons. The Skyhawks have continued to make steady improvement over the course of their first four seasons under Gomes, whose name is synonymous with soccer excellence at Stonehill, and he is looking for that improvement to continue this fall.

A native of Brockton, Mass., Gomes served as the head women's coach from 1991 through 2001, compiling 125 victories along the way and guiding Stonehill to three Northeast-10 Conference championships. In becoming the winningest coach in the women's program's history, Gomes led the Skyhawks to league titles in 1993, 1995 and 1999 and was tabbed as both the Northeast-10 and New England Division II Coach of the Year on three occasions. Jose was also a finalist for NSCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors in 1999 after leading Stonehill to a school-record 17 victories, and he produced a pair of All-America performers in Lindsay Pepler '00 and Kathy Neff '01.

Gomes took the reins of the men's program in 2002 and has immediately gained the respect of opponents alike in the always-competitive Northeast-10 Conference, as the Skyhawks have claimed three league triumphs in each of his four seasons (matching their highest conference win total in four seasons last year), including shutout wins over Bentley, Assumption and Saint Michael's in 2005.

Prior to his arrival as head women's coach, Gomes served as an assistant to former Stonehill Hall of Fame head men's soccer coach Ernie Branco for two years, as he helped lead the Skyhawks to the 1990 Northeast-10 championship and the best season in the program's history. He also played a large role in the development of former Stonehill All-America Andy McMahon '92, who is currently an assistant coach at Division I power Clemson. Jose was inducted into the Brockton High School Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2001 and was a former standout at both Massasoit Community College and Babson College.

After leaving his role with the men's program following the 1990 season, Gomes immediately turned around the fortunes of the women's team, as he guided Stonehill to a 10-8-2 mark and a berth in the ECAC Division II championships. Two years later, the Skyhawks found themselves as Northeast-10 champions for the first time with a then school-best 15-3-2 slate, and Stonehill returned to the top of the conference in 1995 with an impressive road victory at league regular season champion Merrimack for the playoff crown. Jose's best performance came four years ago during the 1999 campaign when the Skyhawks began the year with 13 straight victories, including a 2-1 triumph over eventual national champion Franklin Pierce that snapped the Ravens' 106-game winning streak against New England opponents, and captured their third Northeast-10 championship of the ‘90's. Gomes had the women's program consistently ranked in the top 25 throughout his tenure, with the 1999 squad ranked as high as fourth nationally in Division II circles.

A past member of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer New England Regional Advisory Committee, Gomes is a noted camp counselor throughout the Southeastern Massachusetts area, as he co-directs the Stonehill Soccer Academy.

Jose completed his undergraduate course work at Stonehill and graduated from the College along with his oldest daughter, Courtney (23) in May 2005. Jose and his wife, Cathie, are the parents of three other children: Danny (20), who will be a junior on this year's Skyhawk squad, Michael (16) and Lindsay (10).