Position: Associate Athletic Director, Head Coach
Experience: 16th season
Dr. Dave Masur enters the 2006 season having reached
unprecedented success in collegiate soccer throughout his 15 years
at the helm of the St. John's men's soccer program. Over Masur's
tenure, St. John's has won a national championship (1996), made two
appearances in the NCAA finals (1996 and 2003) and reached 14
consecutive NCAA Tournaments. A testament to the program's
consistent success, the Red Storm has been the only program in the
nation to appear in the last 10 straight NCAA Tournament Rounds of
16.
Masur has instilled a team first focus and an emphasis in group
leadership and overall preparation to a St. John's program that has
risen to the upper echelon of collegiate soccer. The Red Storm has
garnered numerous team, individual and academic achievements, and
Masur has guided the team to an average of 15 wins per
season.
The Red Storm has posted a 229-65-43 record in 15 seasons under
Masur, and the 20th-year head coach has racked up a 282-86-49
career record. Between his coaching stops at Montclair State and
St. John's, programs Masur helped build from the ground up, Masur
has posted the third-highest winning percentage (.735) of any coach
in Division I soccer.
Individual accomplishments are as varied for Masur as they are
for the many highly decorated players he has coached. The
Montclair, N.J., native has twice been named national coach of the
year - by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA) in 1996 and by Soccer America in 2001. He is also a
two-time collegiate All-American, two-time BIG EAST and Northeast
Region Coach of the Year and a member of the St. John's University,
Rutgers University and Columbia High School halls of fame.
Chris Wingert won the 2003 Hermann Trophy as the nation's top
collegiate player to highlight an impressive list of individual
honors under Masur. Red Storm players have combined for 76 all-BIG
EAST, 13 All-America and 30 Regional All-America nominations in the
last 15 seasons, and 11 different players have earned selections in
the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
In addition to his work on the sidelines, Masur has also
practiced what he has preached and delivered a positive message in
the classroom. He holds a doctorate in education administration
supervision from St. John's, a master's degree in physical
education from Montclair State and a bachelor of science in sports
management from Rutgers and has instilled his value of an education
to each of the hundreds of players he has coached.
Team leaders Wingert and Matt Groenwald have embodied the St.
John's philosophy of winning, graduating and serving, as both have
been named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year within the
last three seasons. In six seasons since Academic All-America and
Academic All-District honors have been awarded, Red Storm players
have racked up nine All-District and seven All-America
selections.
The results in the classroom have paralleled superior results on
the field in the last 15 seasons. From the beginning of his tenure,
Masur has led the St. John's program to landmark wins and stellar
academic results. In 2006, Red Storm players continued both
traditions, posting a 4-1-2 record against nationally ranked teams,
while also combining for a 3.28 grade point average for the 2005-06
academic year.
A stellar run of success immediately followed Masur's arrival in
1991, as the Red Storm won a then-program record 12 games in his
first season. In 1992, St. John's won its first ever BIG EAST
Tournament championship and made its first ever appearance in the
NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm followed that up with BIG EAST
Tournament titles in 1993, 1994 and 1995 as part of a run of four
straight tournament crowns.
The next season, the 1996 team set new single-season records for
wins (22), goals (80), assists (88) and points (248) on its way to
the first national championship in St. John's University history.
The Red Storm won the BIG EAST regular season title, but fell in
the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament and earned an at-large
bid to the NCAA Tournament. St. John's ran through the tournament
field with five straight wins and handled Florida International,
4-1, in the championship game to cap a 22-2-2 season with a
national title.
A second straight BIG EAST regular season title followed in 1997
when the team went 18-4-2 and 9-1-1 in conference play. Where the
1996 national championship did it with the most dominant offensive
effort in school history, the 1997 team did it with a stellar
defense. The Red Storm shut out a school-record 15 opponents and
allowed just 13 goals in 24 games on the way to the second-highest
wins total (18) in school history.
Records continued to be broken in 1998 when the Red Storm set a
BIG EAST Conference mark with the fifth tournament championship in
program history.
After the program's eighth and ninth straight NCAA Tournament
appearance in 1999 and 2000, the 2001 team won the BIG EAST
Tournament championship and advanced to the College Cup. The Red
Storm won six consecutive postseason contests and defeated No. 1
Southern Methodist to advance to the national semifinals against
Indiana. The Hoosiers prevailed, 2-1, in overtime to avenge a 1-0
season-opening win by St. John's and advance to the national
championship game.
In 2002, the opening of Belson Stadium marked a season in which
the Red Storm also earned the first No. 1 national ranking in
school history. St. John's played Wake Forest to a 1-1 tie in front
of a sellout crowd of 2,266 in the first game at Belson and went on
to earn a No. 1 national ranking for the first time in school
history.
For the third time in eight seasons, the Red Storm made a run to
the College Cup after posting a 17-6-3 overall record. Wins over
perennial national powers UC-Santa Barbara, Creighton and Maryland,
St. John's faced a familiar foe Indiana again in the national
semifinals. The Hoosiers scored twice in the first 20 minutes of
the match and held on to win by a final score of 2-1.
A trip to the quarterfinals of the 2004 NCAA Tournament was the
end result of a challenging regular season schedule. The Red Storm
played seven contests against nationally ranked teams, then
defeated No. 6 UCLA, 2-1, on the road in the third round of the
NCAA Tournament. St. John's again went on the road in the
quarterfinals, falling at No. 3 Maryland, 1-0.
The 2005 team posted a 4-1-2 record against ranked teams and
went on to finish the year with an 11-6-5 overall record and a 10th
straight trip to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. The Red Storm led
the BIG EAST with five first and second team All-BIG EAST
selections and had a school record three ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District choices.
Prior to his remarkable success at St. John's, Masur began his
career as a head coach at Montclair State in 1987. As a rookie
coach, Masur nearly doubled the Redhawks win total from the season
before, finishing with a 7-5-2 overall mark. Montclair State went
17-4-3 and won the ECAC New York-New Jersey Regional Championship
in 1988 and followed that up with a 13-8-1 record, a New Jersey
Athletic Conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in
1989. In his final season at Montclair State in 1990, Masur led the
Redhawks to 16-4-0 overall record and a second berth in the NCAA
Tournament.
Masur began his coaching career at his alma mater, Rutgers
University, in 1984. He was an assistant to his former coach,
Bob Reaso, for two seasons, before taking the job at Montclair
State in 1987.
As a player at Rutgers, Masur was a two-time All-American and
just the third soccer player in school history to be inducted into
the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. The only Scarlet Knight
player to be named an All-American in back-to-back seasons, Masur
earned national distinction in 1983 and 1984 as well as all-region
honors from 1982-84.
Following his graduation from Rutgers, Masur was drafted by the
New York Cosmos and went on to play professionally with the Chicago
Sting, Toledo Pride, New Jersey Eagles, Penn Jersey Spirit and New
Jersey Imperials.
Masur's most recent Hall of Fame induction came at Columbia High
School, where he was a Parade All-American and New Jersey State
Player of the Year, in May 2006. Prior to that, Masur was inducted
into the St. John's Athletics Hall of Fame in May 2004 and saw his
jersey retired by Rutgers University in 1989.
Masur, and his wife, Shannon, have three daughters, Samantha,
Jessica and Sidney, and a son, Christopher David. They reside in
Montclair, N.J.
The Masur File
Head Coach
St. John's University (1991-present)
Montclair State University (1987-1990)
Assistant Coach
Rutgers University (1984-86)
Professional Player
Chicago Sting, Toledo Pride, New Jersey Eagles, Penn Jersey
Spirit, New Jersey Imperials
Amateur Player
Rutgers University (1981-84) and Columbia High School (1977-80)
As Head Coach
282-86-49 career record in 19 seasons
Third-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I soccer
Member of the St. John's University Athletic, Rutgers Olympic
Sports and Columbia High School Halls of Fame
Two-time National Coach of the Year (1996 and 2001) and five-time
Northeast Region Coach of the Year (1991, 1993,1996, 2001 and
2003)
Two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year (1991 and 1993)
New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (1989) and New
Jersey College Coach of the Year (1989)
At St. John's
229-65-43 record in 15 seasons
1996 national championship
College Cup appearances in 1996, 2001 and 2003
14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances
Nation's only program to reach 10 straight NCAA Tournament Rounds
of 16
Worked with United States U-20 team in 2002
11 BIG EAST Tournament and regular season championships
76 All-BIG EAST, 13 All-America selections and 30 Regional
All-America choices in 15 seasons
11 all-time selections in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft
At Montclair State
53-21-6 record in four seasons
NCAA Tournament appearances in 1988 and 1989
1988 ECAC New York-New Jersey Regional champions
1989 New Jersey Athletic Conference champions
As a Player
Drafted by New York Cosmos out of Columbia High School in
1979
Only two-time All-American in Rutgers University history
(1983-84)
Three-year team captain (1982-84) as a sweeper at Rutgers
Had jersey retired by Rutgers in 1989
Parade All-American, New Jersey State Player of the Year at
Columbia High School
Education
Doctorate in education administration supervision from St. John's
in 2003.
Master's in physical education, with a concentration in
administration, from Montclair State in 1991.
Bachelor of science in sport management from Rutgers in 1984.
Graduated from Columbia High School in 1979.