SCSU Men’s Soccer Head Coach Tom Lang enters his 25th year as the Owls’ head coach in 2021-22, and his 36th year overall.
Tom Lang Highlights
- Two-time NCAA Division II National Champion (1998, 1999)
- 13 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (1997-1999, 2001-2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017)
- Two-time NSCAA Division II Coach of the Year (1998, 1999)
- Most wins by an SCSU Men’s Soccer coach in program history
- Most wins among active Northeast 10 coaches
- Second most wins among all coaches in Northeast 10 history
- Five-time Northeast 10 regular season champions (2000-2004)
- One-time Northeast 10 Tournament Championship (2007)
- 19 Northeast 10 Conference Tournament appearances (2000-2018)
- Long Island Soccer Player Hall of Fame inductee (2015)
- Long Island Soccer Football League Hall of Fame inductee (2016)
The storied tradition of the Southern Connecticut State University men’s soccer program has soared to new heights since Tom Lang took over in 1997 as the third head coach in Southern Connecticut history.
The Owls have maintained their status as one of the top collegiate programs in the nation, regardless of level. In addition, the program remains the benchmark for all Division II squads to emulate.
Over the course of the past 24 years, the Owls have registered a 298-112-52 mark under Lang. In total, he has posted a career record of 390-196-69 as a collegiate coach. Lang is a member of the Long Island Soccer Player Hall of Fame (2015 inductee) and the Long Island Soccer Football League Hall of Fame (2016 inductee).
The program has qualified for the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions during that stretch, including back-to-back National Championships in 1998 and 1999.
Furthermore, the Owls have posted a winning record 18 times under Lang’s watch and have notched at least 10 wins in all but nine campaigns during his tenure.
Lang has guided the Owls to three 20-plus win seasons and ten 15-plus win seasons over that same period.
On an individual front, Lang has also coached two NSCAA National Players of the Year (G. Jean Baptiste, 1998 and Assaf Dagai, 1999), 23 NSCAA All-Americans and five Senior Bowl participants.
One of the most respected in the profession, Lang was honored in 1998 and 1999 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as the Division II Coach of the Year.
During the 2021 season, the Owls made their 20th Northeast 10 Conference Tournament. Their season was highlighted by a huge win against Southern New Hampshire on Senior Day, where they defeated, at the time, the No. 8 ranked team in the region in overtime. Alex da Cunha was honored with Third-Team All-NE10 and was named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team at the conclusion of the season.
Southern earned a plethora of year-end honors once again in 2019, as Devante Teixeirawas named to the NE10 All-Conference Team while Tomas Terrugi and Ty Hyde earned NE10 All-Rookie honors. Francisco Roldan was also named to the NE10 Academic All-Conference Team.
The Owls participated in the NE10 Conference Tournament for the 18th consecutive season in 2018. Four Owls also earned year-end honors. Devante Teixeira and Nicolas Ruiz Colodrero received NE10 Second-Team All-Conference honors, while Ignasi Perez Cereols earned Third-Team honors and Daniel Utgaard earned All-Rookie honors.
Southern Connecticut qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 34th time in school history in 2017 and were ranked as high as No. 21 nationally during the campaign. The Owls finished with an 11-4-4 record and received votes in the final national poll of the year. Six Owls earned year-end laurels from the NE10 - with Nicolas Colodrero earning Rookie of the Year honors. Louis Greenway-Tambini was also recognized as both an All-American and a Scholar All-America selection by the United Soccer Coaches, in addition to garnering Academic All-District accolades from CoSIDA.
The Owls were among the programs receiving votes in the NSCAA National Poll in 2016 and capped the year with seven wins. Two Owls were recognized with year end honors from the NE10, as the squad also once again qualified for the NE10 Tournament.
SCSU was ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation in 2015 and finished the year with nine wins and a berth in the Northeast-10 Tournament. Six Owls were honored by the Northeast-10 at the conclusion of the year.
The Owls were ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation in 2014 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. SCSU also advanced to the finals of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. The Owls closed the year ranked No. 17 nationally. Seven Owls were recognized with regular season honors from the Northeast-10, with four capturing All-Region laurels to go with one All-America selection.
Southern Connecticut closed the 2013 season with a 10-5-1 record and was ranked as high as No. 9 in the region. The Owls also qualified for the Northeast-10 Tournament.
In 2012, SCSU finished the year with an 8-7-1 mark and was nationally ranked as high as No. 24 in the nation during the course of the year. The Owls also qualified for the Northeast-10 Tournament.
The Owls posted an 8-8-1 campaign in 2011, and in 2010, the Owls qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 32nd time in program history. Nine student-athletes earned All-Conference honors at the conclusion of the year. Two Owls were named All-Region, with five also earning All-ECAC accolades.
SCSU capped off the 2009 season with a 14-5-2 mark. The Owls made it to the Northeast-10 Conference finals and qualified again for the NCAA Tournament.
Several individual student-athletes were recognized for their outstanding play in 2009, including seven All-Conference honorees, four All-Region selections, with two given All-ECAC accolades.
The Owls completed the 2007 season with a 14-2-5 mark and claimed the Northeast-10 Conference Championship for the first time in school history.
In Lang’s first season with the Owls (1997), SCSU reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
However, they followed that campaign up with back-to-back NCAA championships in 1998 and 1999, extending the Owls’ string to six national titles since 1987, a Division II record for most championships.
A veteran of nearly four decades of coaching at the collegiate level, Lang had already compiled an impressive resume before arriving in New Haven.
He spent seven seasons prior to taking over the Owls as the head men’s coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University. His FDU teams reached the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game in 1990 and 1992.
Lang earned his first head coaching position at Hofstra University in 1982. While guiding the men’s program, his Flying Dutchmen had winning records each year and captured the 1985 East Coast Conference title.
A 1981 graduate of Adelphi, Lang returned to his alma mater as head women’s coach in 1987 and, in three seasons, established one of the top programs in the nation. His 1989 team reached the NCAA national semifinals.
Lang was a forward and three-year captain for the Panthers. He played on four straight NCAA tournament teams, including the 1974 Division II National Championship team. He is believed to be the only person to have won a Division II title as both a player and a head coach.
Lang was also playing at Adelphi when the Panthers moved from NCAA Division II to Division I and earned a tournament berth in their first season, 1976.
He went on to play professionally in the North American Soccer League (NASL) with the New York Cosmos, Atlanta Chiefs and Caribous of Colorado. Lang gained his start in coaching as an assistant with Adelphi.
Lang also coached the Lynbrook (N.Y.) over-30 men’s team (1984 U.S. federation champion) and served as an Olympic Development Program (ODP) coach.
Lang also has additional experience as an assistant coach with the United States U-18 National Team and as a scout with U.S. Soccer.
Inducted into the Adelphi Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994, Lang currently resides in Wallingford, Conn. with his wife, Doreen, and daughters, Kelly and Megan, an SCSU graduate.
Tom Lang Career Coaching Record Wins Loss Ties WL%
| 1982 |
Hofstra |
8 |
7 |
2 |
0.529 |
| 1983 |
Hofstra |
9 |
4 |
2 |
0.667 |
| 1984 |
Hofstra |
9 |
6 |
1 |
0.594 |
| 1985 |
Hofstra |
11 |
6 |
1 |
0.639 |
| 1990 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
8 |
8 |
3 |
0.500 |
| 1991 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
5 |
11 |
2 |
0.333 |
| 1992 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
7 |
10 |
3 |
0.425 |
| 1993 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
9 |
8 |
1 |
0.528 |
| 1994 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
7 |
10 |
0 |
0.412 |
| 1995 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
11 |
7 |
0 |
0.611 |
| 1996 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
8 |
7 |
2 |
0.529 |
| 1997 |
Southern Conn. St. |
21 |
1 |
1 |
0.925 |
| 1998 |
Southern Conn. St. |
20 |
2 |
1 |
0.891 |
| 1999 |
Southern Conn. St. |
20 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
| 2000 |
Southern Conn. St. |
12 |
4 |
3 |
0.711 |
| 2001 |
Southern Conn. St. |
17 |
4 |
2 |
0.783 |
| 2002 |
Southern Conn. St. |
15 |
2 |
2 |
0.842 |
| 2003 |
Southern Conn. St. |
17 |
3 |
1 |
0.833 |
| 2004 |
Southern Conn. St. |
15 |
1 |
4 |
0.850 |
| 2005 |
Southern Conn. St. |
10 |
4 |
4 |
0.667 |
| 2006 |
Southern Conn. St. |
17 |
3 |
3 |
0.804 |
| 2007 |
Southern Conn. St. |
14 |
2 |
5 |
0.786 |
| 2008 |
Southern Conn. St. |
6 |
7 |
5 |
0.472 |
| 2009 |
Southern Conn. St. |
14 |
5 |
2 |
0.714 |
| 2010 |
Southern Conn. St. |
14 |
2 |
4 |
0.800 |
| 2011 |
Southern Conn. St. |
8 |
8 |
1 |
0.500 |
| 2012 |
Southern Conn. St. |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0.531 |
| 2013 |
Southern Conn. St. |
10 |
5 |
1 |
0.656 |
| 2014 |
Southern Conn. St. |
15 |
5 |
0 |
0.750 |
| 2015 |
Southern Conn. St. |
9 |
7 |
1 |
0.559 |
| 2016 |
Southern Conn. St. |
7 |
8 |
2 |
0.471 |
| 2017 |
Southern Conn. St. |
11 |
4 |
4 |
0.684 |
| 2018 |
Southern Conn. St. |
9 |
9 |
0 |
0.500 |
| 2019 |
Southern Conn. St. |
5 |
7 |
4 |
0.438 |
| 2021 |
Southern Conn. St. |
4 |
12 |
1 |
0.333 |
|
|
390 |
196 |
69 |
0.648 |
|
Southern Conn. St. |
298 |
112 |
52 |
0.701 |
|
Fairleigh Dickinson |
55 |
61 |
11 |
0.476 |
|
Hofstra |
37 |
23 |
6 |
0.606 |
