Gomes Says Goodbye: Skyhawk Mentor Set To Retire

Friday, May 2, 2008


Information Provided By Stonehill Sports Information


Easton, Mass. – Jose Gomes, who spent the past 19 seasons on the sidelines coaching first the women’s then the men’s soccer programs at Stonehill College, has decided to retire, the College’s Director of Athletics Paula Sullivan announced on Thursday.

Gomes, who has served as the men’s head coach for the past six seasons, will remain with the College working in the Recreation Sports Department.

“We at Stonehill are extremely appreciative of Jose’s commitment to both our programs,” said Sullivan. “He is a man of great integrity and we will always be grateful for the dignity and class he showed during his tenure as one of the most well-respected coaches in our Conference.”

Gomes served as the head women’s coach from 1991 through 2001, compiling 125 victories along the way and guiding Stonehill to two Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships and an additional Conference tournament title.

Those titles came in 1993, 1995 and 1999, when he cemented his reputation as one of the best coaches in New England. He was named both the Northeast-10 and New England Division II Coach of the Year on three occasions and he became the winningest coach in the program’s history.

His best season was arguably 1999, when he was a finalist for the NSCAA Division II National coach of the Year after leading Stonehill to a school-record 17 victories and an 8-1 mark in Conference play. During his time on the women’s side, he produced a pair of All-Americans in Lindsay Pepler ’00 and Kathy Neff ’01 and had players selected to the Northeast-10 first-team 19 times.

Gomes took over the men’s program in 2002 and led the program to seven wins in 2006, its most wins in a season since 1999.

Prior to becoming the women’s head coach, Gomes served as an assistant to Ernie Branco for two years, and helped lead the Skyhawks to the 1990 Northeast-10 championship and the best season in the program’s history.

Gomes completed his undergraduate course work at Stonehill and graduated from the College along with his oldest daughter, Courtney in May 2005.

He and his wife, Cathie are the parents of three other children: Danny, a member of the Stonehill class of 2008 and former soccer player at the College, Michael and Lindsay.

He retires with a career record of 151-142-24.

A national search for his successor will begin immediately.