Cusu Selected as New Head Men's Soccer Coach

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Interim Director of Athletics and Recreation Alex Winnicker has announced Ovid Cusu, a former Division I soccer player with nearly 10 years coaching experience, as the new head men's soccer coach.

"Ovid is a great addition to the Bears coaching staff," remarked Winnicker. "His accomplishments at the high school and club levels in addition to his playing experience will help make us a more competitive and professional team in the Skyline."

Cusu becomes just the second head coach of the Bears and will lead them into its sixth season in program history and second in the Skyline Conference.

He comes to Clinton Hill after serving as the head boys varsity coach at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, N.Y. where he has amassed 55 wins since 2007. While with the Royals, the Yugoslavian (now Serbia) native helped elevate the Christ the King boys soccer program from the 'B' division, where they were the champions in 2007, to the top 'AA' division—among city powerhouses as Archbishop Molloy, St. Francis Prep and Fordham Prep—earning two city semifinals appearances in 2011 and 2013. He was named the NY Post Queens High School Coach of the Year in 2010 and the CHSAA Times News Ledger Queens Head Coach of the Year in 2007.

As a pre-academy head coach in the Blau Weiss Gottschee organization, a U.S. Soccer Development Academy member, Cusu guided their under-17 squad to the champions of the Disney Cup International and the New York City Cup in 2012.

"I would like to thank St Joseph's College for giving me the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level," commented Cusu who possesses as USSF B Coaching License and a NSCAA Advance National Soccer Coaching Diploma. "I am aware there will be challenges competing in the Skyline Conference, but challenges that will bring the best out of me, my coaching staff and most importantly, my players. I am looking forward to establishing a very competitive men's soccer team in Brooklyn at St Joseph's College."

As a player, Cusu played his collegiate soccer nearby at St. Francis Brooklyn and was a member of the 1998 Northeast Conference Championship team—the last Terrier title-winning team before they collected the titles in 2013 & 2014. Prior to immigrating the US, Cusu played as a youth internationally in his home country for FK Vulturul rising as high as the first team.

Cusu resides in Middle Village, N.Y. with his wife Heather, and two sons Sebastian and Gabriel. He is the eighth grade dean and mathematics teacher in the NYC Department of Education, where he has worked since 2002. Cusu holds a Bachelors of Science from St. Francis Brooklyn and a Masters of Arts in Economics from Brooklyn College.