Coaches

Greg DeVito

Following two seasons as an assistant coach, Greg DeVito took over in 2007 as only the sixth head coach in the current 61-year history of the program, and immediately returned the program to a place of prominence among New England small colleges. As a head coach, he has compiled an overall record of 184-74-24 (69.5 winning percentage), including 86-25-12 (74.8) in Little East Conference regular-season and playoff play in 15 seasons.


Through 2021, DeVito is one of only seven coaches in New England currently ranked among the Top 50 active soccer coaches in Division III in overall winning percentage. That winning percentage of 69.5 ranks in a tie for 22nd among the Top 50 and third among New England coaches. Among the winningest coaches all-time who have spent at least ten years in Division III, DeVito's winning percentage rates in a tie for 46th.


After leading the Warriors to their third straight LEC regular-season title in 2021, Eastern was named Coaching Staff-of-the-Year in the Little East for the second time in four seasons. Prior to that, DeVito was selected as LEC Coach-of-the-Year twice, the first time in his first season in 2007.


Already having accumulated the best winning percentage by a wide margin among all previous Eastern men's soccer coaches, DeVito became the winningest head coach in program history with his first victory of 2019 -- a 6-0 non-conference victory over Medgar Evers College at Rick McCarthy Field Aug. 31, 2019 which gave him a total of 154. DeVito had tied the record of legendary coach Tom Nevers on the final day of the 2018 regular season in a 2-0 win at the Mansfield Complex Oct. 26. Exactly one month earlier, DeVito had coached the 1,000th match in program history when the Warriors posted a 4-3 come-from-behind LEC win over Western Connecticut at Thomas Nevers Field.


Since 2007, the Warriors have earned seven trips to the NCAA tournament, gaining eight post-season berths in all under the current head coach. Under DeVito, Eastern has captured six LEC playoff titles (five in his first seven years), and won or shared nine LEC regular-season championships, averaging just 1.3 LEC regular-season losses each season. Eleven of his 15 teams have lost one or no regular-season matches in the LEC. DeVito has won 74.8 percent of his 123 LEC regular-season and post-season playoff matches, including 76.7 percent (74-19-10) in the LEC regular-season.


No current LEC head coach has won more than DeVito’s 86 LEC regular season and playoff conference matches nor more than his 12 playoff victories, nine regular-season titles or six playoff championships. DeVito ranks first among active LEC head coaches in overall winning percentage and among coaches with at least five years on the job, is first in overall wins per year and is second in overall wins (conference and non-conference).


Under DeVito, the program has featured two USC All-Americas, three Scholar All-Americas, two Pinnacle Awards, six Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Awards, nine team academic awards, ten scholar all-region and 22 all-region. Additional major regional awards include one ECAC Player-of-the-Year, three ECAC All-Stars, two CoSIDA Academic All-District, and 19 NEISL selections, and in the LEC, there have been the inaugural Man-of-the-Year selection (instituted in 2021-22), 13 Players-of-the-Year, two Rookies-of-the-Year and 90 All-Academic qualifiers.


In 2019 (prior to the 2020-21 COVID-abbreviated season), the Warriors repeated as outright LEC regular-season champion with a second straight record of 7-1-0 and matched DeVito's program overall season record for wins with 17 (in 20 contests). Following a 9-0-0 start in 2019, Eastern was ranked in New England in the final seven polls of the year. The Warriors were ranked as high as No. 7 three times, including the final two polls of the season. In post-season awards, sophomore Patrick Agyemang became DeVito's second All-America when he was selected by the United Soccer Coaches (USC). Patrick and junior brother Emmanuel were also voted to the USC All-Region Team after being selected as LEC Offensive and Defensive Player-of-the-Year, respectively. That duo was also joined by four teammates on the All-LEC team.


Coming off an uncharacteristic 2-3-2 conference season in 2017, the Warriors posted their ninth season of one or no conference losses in 2018, winning seven and losing one LEC contest and running the table following a 1-0 loss at Keene State College in their opening conference match in mid-September. Eastern opened the season with an 8-1-0 record, put together winning streaks of four three times and never losing as many as two in a row. For his team's turnaround season in 2018, DeVito was named LEC Coach-of-the-Year for the third time in 12 years.


Eastern was the only public institution to be ranked regionally in every USC New England poll each from 2007 to 2013 and again in 2015. The Warriors were ranked as high as second regionally and as high as a tie for eighth nationally in that span. The 2016 season was highlighted by a 2-1 victory over No. 2 nationally-ranked conference opponent UMass Boston.


In 2015, the Warriors captured at least a share of their sixth LEC regular season title and earned the No. 1 playoff seed. The Warriors started that season with victories over three ranked opponents and were ranked as high as No. 8 nationally after shutting out perennial powers Babson College, Wesleyan University, and Muhlenberg College. In 2015, the Warriors spent every week in the D3 Soccer.com national poll but narrowly missed an NCAA bid in a tough New England region following a semifinal loss in the LEC playoffs.


During that 14-4-4 season in 2015, six players received All-LEC recognition, with Cooper D’Ambrosio being recognized with numerous awards which included first-team NSCAA All-New England Region and NSCAA Academic All-America recognition. D’Ambrosio also repeated LEC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors.


After two seasons as an assistant under Frantz Innocent, DeVito hit the ground running in his first stint as a collegiate head coach in 2007. In 2006, the Warriors placed fifth in the LEC regular season and did not qualify for the LEC tournament for the fourth time in five years. In 2007 under DeVito, Eastern won its first LEC regular season title in 15 years, claimed an LEC playoff win for the first time and won a penalty-kick shootout for its first title in the nine-year history of the LEC tournament.


In 2018/19, Eastern was awarded perhaps its highest honor to that point as one of only two men's programs in all divisions of college soccer to qualify for the inaugural Pinnacle Award from the United Soccer Coaches (USC). In 2019/20 it went one-better when it became the only men's program nationwide to qualify for the award, which combines the Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award, Team Academic Award and a team winning percentage of at least .750.


Six times since 2012, Eastern has been awarded the Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Bronze Award for accumulating the minimum number of yellow cards in each of those seasons, and in each of the last nine years has earned a USC Team Academic Award for a year-long team GPA of at least 3.00. In 2014-15, the program was presented with the Be The Match National Marrow Donor Program Awareness Award and in 2016-17, the Be The Match Award of Merit by the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators.


An award instituted in 2019/20, Eastern has captured the Little East Team Academic Award for the highest team GPA among the LEC's nine men's soccer programs in both years of the award's existence.In 2020/21, that team GPA was 3.49.


In 14 years, DeVito’s teams have featured two NSCAA All-America, three NSCAA Scholar All-America, nine NSCAA Scholar All-Region and 21 All-Region players, 13 LEC Player-of-the-Year selections, 74 LEC All-Academic qualifiers, and 68 All-LEC selections.


DeVito, who holds a USSF A License and NSCAA Premier Diploma, has been coaching soccer on a variety of levels since 1988. Having coached at the premier level for the last 22 years, DeVito recently spent four years coaching at Oakwood MLS Next Academy. He has won six CJSA Open Cup championships, four CJSA State Cup Finalists as well as advancing to the Region 1 semifinals in 2010 and winning a US Club regional championship in 2004.