NEW PALTZ, NY — SUNY New Paltz Head Men’s Soccer Coach Stuart Robinson and Head Women’s Soccer Coach Colleen Bruley were both honored with the Coach of the Year Award in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) this afternoon.
Picked to finish sixth in the pre-season coaches poll, Robinson directed his team to a 6-3 record and a third place finish in the SUNYAC. The Hawks reached the semifinals of the conference tournament before falling 1-0 to second-seeded and eventual champion Geneseo. After an 0-5 start, SUNY New Paltz won 12 of its last 17 games to finish with a 12-10 record. With 12 victories, SUNY New Paltz recorded its highest win total since 1970 when the team finished with a 14-5-1 mark.
It’s the second time in Robinson’s 12 years at SUNY New Paltz that he has been named the league’s top coach. Robinson was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year in 1996 after piloting his team to a 6-4 league record and an overall mark of 9-9-1.
Bruley was named the conference’s Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. She returned to the sidelines this fall after taking a leave of absence in 2003 following the birth of her son. Picked to finish ninth in the 11-team league, Bruley and her squad proved the pre-season coaches poll wrong. SUNY New Paltz recovered from their 1-9 league record in 2003 to finish sixth in the conference with a record of 4-4-2. The Hawks were 7-10-3 overall and qualified for the SUNYAC Tournament for the first time since 1999. SUNY New Paltz was seeded sixth in the tournament and lost, 2-1 to third-seeded Cortland in the opening round.
