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In his first season, the Lions posted a
12-3-1 mark and finished as runner-up in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship.
During the 1991 season Russo's squad received an NCAA berth and advanced
to the championship game of the Mid-Atlantic Regionals before falling to
eventual national champion Ithaca, 1-0. The 1992 season was another banner
year for the Lions who finished the regular season undefeated. They advanced
to the NCAA Division III Regional title match where they fell to the eventual
national champion, Cortland State, 1-0.
In 1993, Russo's squad capped off the season
with the NCAA Division III National Championship when they defeated Plymouth
State College, 4-0. TCNJ finished the year with a 20-1-3 record, setting
school records for the most victories, most shutouts, most goals scored,
and fewest goals allowed by the opponents. Russo capped off the season
with a selection as the NCAA/Umbro Division III National coach of the Year.
In 1994, Russo's troops successfully defended their NCAA crown as they posted a 4-3 sudden-death overtime win over the Titans of the University of California-San Diego. The team finished the year with a 22-1 mark, setting a new school record for wins and best win percentage (.956). Russo was honored by Sports Illustrated with a selection to the "Faces in the Crowd" section for his accomplishments. In addition, TCNJ produced two All-American performers. The Lions produced two more All-Americans in 1995, while Kim Faust became TCNJ's first three-time honoree and the program's first player selected as the NSCAA Division III National Player of the Year. In 1996, the Lions battled U.C. San Diego for the right to be the NCAA's first three-time women's soccer champions. The Lions dropped a heartbreaker, 2-1, and collected the program's first NCAA Division III Runner-Up title, while going 19-2-2 on the year. After recording the program's first unbeaten and untied campaign in school history with a perfect 18-0 record in 1997, the Lions earned their seventh straight NCAA Tournament bid, but fell 2-1 in the first round of the tournament to Elizabethtown College. The 1997 season saw the Lions collect the program's fourth straight NJAC Championship after a 6-0 league campaign and produce another pair of All-Americans in the process. The Lions picked up their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship game in 1998. They fell in four overtimes to Macalester College (MN), 1-0, to take home the national runner-up title for the second time in school history. TCNJ finished the year with a 19-3-1 record and produced another All-American as senior forward Traci Tapp rewrote most of the Lions' scoring records by year's end. Most recently, the Lions earned their ninth straight NCAA tournament bid. Unfortunately, the Lions fell in the semi-final match to U.C. San Diego,who eventually went on to win the championship. The Lions finished the 1999 season with an impressive 21-1-2 record. The year 2000 brought a record-breaking season for Coach Russo. In addition to breaking a number of existing team records, including most wins in a season (23), most goals scored in a single season (89), fewest goals allowed in a season (3), and best winning percentage in team history (.958, 23-1), Coach Russo's Lions also managed to defeat Tufts University for its third NCAA Division III National Championship title. This win brought Coach Russo's record to 26-7-2 in the NCAA tournament. The Yardley, PA resident was a soccer stand-out
in his own right. He starred for Ewing High School, then went on the Alderson-Broaddus
College in West Virginia. He won NAIA All-South honors and captained the
Battlers as a junior and senior. As a junior, he helped lead the team to
the NAIA finals, where his team finished runner-up to Quincy College of
Illinois.
Russo, who received All-State honors in basketball and soccer and Ewing High School, has earned his National Advanced Diploma (coaching license) from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. In addition to a bachelor of science degree
in physical education and social studies from Alderson-Broaddus College,
Russo has earned a master's degree in education from Trenton State College.
During the summer of 1995 Russo joined TCNJ's Athletic Department on a
full-time basis as the program's first full-time head coach. To date, Russo
has produced a 203-19-15 record at the helm of TCNJ's women's program.
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