Jeff Vieira has been hired as the women’s soccer head coach at Roberts Wesleyan University after serving as the Redhawks’ lead assistant for six seasons. That includes a 31-8-5 record over the past two and a half seasons, last year’s 2023 East Coast Conference regular-season championship and the program’s second trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament (the other was 2015).
“We are excited to announce that we’ve elevated Jeff to the role of head coach, giving our program continuity and balance for the upcoming season,” said Executive Director of Athletics, Bob Segave. “We expect he that he will continue to build on the success that Coach Sarah McClellan had before moving on to Kenyon.”
Over the past several seasons, 18 Redhawks have earned all-conference honors, four squads were ranked nationally and the past seven have earned United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards. Vieira has been a part of all that.
A Rochester-area native who graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in Greece and SUNY Fredonia, Vieira has coached at multiple levels for 20-plus seasons, including extensive youth soccer work with the Chili Football Club (men’s and boys teams) since 2008, He was President of the Chili Soccer Association (CSA) for six years, working closely with former professional player and three-time Rochester Rhinos MVP, Craig Demmin. Vieira considers the native of Trinidad & Tobago a mentor.
Vieira was an assistant coach in 2014-15 for the Monroe Community College women (NJCAA Division I) and head coach of FC Dynamo ROC (men) in 2015-16.
“Coach exhibits a rare blend of expertise, dedication and genuine care for RWU players. His ability to inspire and motivate is exceptional, making him both a coach and mentor,” said former RWU midfielder Justine Sharda, who captained the Redhawks as a senior in 2022.
Professionally, Vieira is a Senior Vice President, Information Officer and Operations for Upstate National Bank. A Chili resident, Vieira has three children: Christian (age 24), Gracie (21) and Brady, a 17-year-old senior at McQuaid Jesuit and former MLS Next player.
Roberts opens its 2024 season at home against Lake Erie College at 5 p.m. on September 5.
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