Amherst College Men's Soccer

2-Time NCAA Division III National Champion (2015 & 2024) 7-Time NESCAC Champion 2-Time Division III Coach of the Year 17 NCAA Tournament Appearances in 17 seasons Having shaped Amherst into one of the premier teams in NCAA Division III men’s soccer, Head Coach Justin Serpone returns to the sideline for his 19th season in his 20-year tenure in 2026 (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Serpone also serves as the director of Amherst LEADS, Amherst's leadership development program that features a variety of symposia, workshops, speakers and interactive experiences to educate the College's student-athletes about becoming strong, ethical and influential leaders. Since taking the reins in 2007, Serpone has amassed a superb 272-44-51 overall record. His .810 winning percentage ranks fourth among all active men’s soccer coaches in Division III. Serpone became the all-time winningest coach of the Amherst men’s soccer program in the 2023 season. Amherst has won seven NESCAC championships (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2022, 2023) and played in the NCAA Division III Tournament in all 18 seasons of Serpone's tenure, reaching the round of 16 in each of the last 14 straight seasons, as well as eight quarterfinals, six semifinals and five national championship game appearances, winning the program's first national championship in 2015 and the second national championship in 2024. The 2024 season saw the Mammoths win their second national championship in the culmination of a run of success that included appearances in four of the last five national championship games. Closing the season on a 10-game unbeaten streak, Amherst lifted the trophy in Las Vegas with a final record of 16-2-4 after defeating NESCAC foe Connecticut College in penalty kicks in the national championship game. Serpone and his staff were co-winners of the United Soccer Coaches Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year award. The 2019 campaign was also a season of program records as the 19 wins sits as the highest win total in a season in Amherst history. Additionally, Amherst's 58 goals were the most goals ever scored in a season by the Mammoths. German Giammattei ’22 became the program's first-ever National Player of the Year and tied the NESCAC goal-scoring record with 26 goals in the 2019 season, then became the first player ever to win back-to-back Division III National Player of the Year awards in 2021. 2015 was a historic season that culminated in the program’s first-ever national title. Serpone’s squad opened the memorable campaign undefeated and untied in its first 14 games of 2015 and earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Amherst earned three straight victories at home to secure a trip to the national semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri. Amherst battled SUNY Oneonta to a 0-0 deadlock and eventually won the thrilling contest on penalty kicks, 4-3, to advance to its first-ever national championship match, where Amherst completed the amazing journey with a 2-1 victory over Loras College. Guiding his team to an 18-1-2 record (9-0-1 NESCAC), Serpone was named the 2015 NSCAA, D3soccer.com, and HeroSports.com Division III Coach of the Year. In 2014, Serpone guided Amherst to an impressive 14-1-6 ledger and a 7-1-2 mark in conference play. Amherst extended its conference unbeaten streak to 37 games dating back to 2011 and spanning four seasons (Oct. 29, 2011 to Oct. 18, 2014). The stretch, which included NESCAC tournament games, resulted in the seventh-longest run of that kind in NCAA Division III history. An historic 2012 campaign saw Amherst finish with an unblemished 17-0-3 mark, closing out the season having never trailed in a match. Racking up a 56-3 goal differential, Amherst enjoyed the best season of goal prevention in NCAA history, regardless of division. In 2013, the Purple & White increased their unbeaten streak to 40 straight games (30-0-5) dating back to 2012, which still stands as the ninth-longest streak in Division III history, en route to their second consecutive appearance in the Division III quarterfinals. Amherst earned its first ever No. 1 national ranking during the year and finished with an 18-1-2 overall mark. The 2007 season marked Serpone’s debut at Amherst, and his team was immediately in the spotlight after rattling off 11 consecutive wins on the way to a 15-2-1 mark. The 2008 season brought even more success as his team advanced to the national semifinals for only the second time in program history (first time since 1997). The Purple & White ended the 2008 season with a No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA national poll and has maintained its elite status ever since. Prior to his arrival in Amherst, Serpone served as the assistant men’s soccer coach at Duke University in 2006, helping to lead the Blue Devils to an 18-4-1 record, the ACC regular season and tournament championships, and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Duke he worked as a head assistant coach at Lafayette College (2001-02) and Northwestern University (2003-05). Serpone served as president of the student body and earned a B.A. in economics at Drew University while competing for the nationally-ranked men’s soccer team as a goalkeeper. Since graduating from Drew, Serpone has earned an “A” coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation as well as a Premier Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA). In keeping with the academic spirit of Amherst and the NESCAC, Serpone has completed five graduate degrees: Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Northwestern University (2010) Master of Business Administration from Bay Path University (2012) Master of Arts in Higher Education from Bay Path University (2012) Master of Science in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts (2020) Master of Science in Leadership and Negotiation from Bay Path University (2020) He is currently enrolled in three more Master’s Degree programs: Sociology (with a focus in Diversity and Inclusion) at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Creativity and Critical Thought at the University of Massachusetts Strategic Fundraising and Philanthropy at Bay Path University A proud native of Winchester, Massachusetts, Serpone and his wife, Angela McMahon-Serpone, reside in Deerfield with their daughters, Lily and Annabelle, and their son, Tyson. Angela is a faculty member and head girls lacrosse coach at Deerfield Academy and previously spent 12 seasons as head women's lacrosse coach at the University of Massachusetts, winning eight Atlantic 10 championships. Both Justin and Angela rank among the all-time top 10 winningest coaches by percentage in their respective sport and division. Angela was also named head coach of the first-ever Italian national team, which competed at the 2017 FIL World Cup with Serpone serving as co-head coach. JUSTIN SERPONE COACHING CAREER 2007–present: Head Coach, Amherst College 2006: Assistant Coach, Duke University 2003–05: Assistant Coach, Northwestern University 2001–02: Assistant Coach, Lafayette College   JUSTIN SERPONE CAREER COACHING RECORD Season Overall Record NESCAC Record NESCAC Finish 2007 15-2-1 8-2 T-1st 2008 15-4-3 5-3-1 2nd NESCAC Champions 2009 12-4-1 6-2-1 T-2nd 2010 13-2-4 5-1-3 T-3rd 2011 16-2-2 7-1-2 T-1st NESCAC Champions 2012 17-0-3 8-0-2 T-1st NESCAC Champions 2013 18-1-2 8-0-2 1st NESCAC Champions 2014 14-1-6 7-1-2 2nd 2015 18-1-2 9-0-1 1st NCAA Division III National Champions 2016 17-1-2 8-1-1 1st NESCAC Champions 2017 12-4-3 6-2-2 T-2nd 2018 14-5-1 6-3-1 4th 2019 19-2-2 8-0-2 1st 2020 season canceled 2021 17-3-2 7-2-1 2nd 2022 14-1-6 4-1-5 T-2nd NESCAC Champions 2023 17-3-4 6-1-3 2nd NESCAC Champions 2024 16-2-4 7-2-1 3rd NCAA Division III National Champions 2025 8-6-3 4-4-2 7th Total (18 seasons): 272-44-51 (.810) 119-26-32 (.762) IN THE NEWS Read more on the Serpone/McMahon coaching tandem Read a Q & A with Serpone in the The Amherst Student Learn about the Sports Analytics initiative launched by Serpone

Alex Ortega has coached for the Mammoths since 2022, helping Amherst win the NCAA Division III Championship in 2024. On the heels of the national championship win, Ortega and the Amherst coaching staff were co-winners of the United Soccer Coaches Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year award. The Mammoths also won the NESCAC Championship in each of Ortega’s first two seasons on the staff. Ortega came to Amherst from Randolph-Macon College, where worked as an assistant coach since prior to the 2019 season. The Yellow Jackets were 24-15-3 in his time. In 2021 RMC went 5-1-3 in conference play, its fewest league losses in one season since 1999.  Prior to his time with Randolph-Macon, Ortega spent one season at Clark University. During his tenure with the Cougars, the team led the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) for goals, assists and points. Clark's 3.06 goals-per-game were a top 15 mark in the nation. Before Clark, Ortega served as the assistant men's soccer coach for three seasons at his alma mater Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire. While with the Chargers, Ortega was part of a staff which consistently won more than ten games a season and had stellar North Atlantic Conference records. Colby-Sawyer's offense was ranked in the top four in the NAC during his tenure. In the club ranks, Ortega has experience with the New England Futbol Club in Massachusetts and with Lightning Soccer Club in New Hampshire. His NEFC U14 boy's team won the New England Premiership last fall. Ortega coached all levels from U14 to U17 while with Lightning Soccer Club. Ortega graduated from Colby-Sawyer in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in sport management. While with the Chargers, he was named All-Conference as a junior and senior and served as a team captain in his senior year. He played in all 80 games across his career, including 62 starts. He finished his career in the Chargers record book with the second-most points (72), second-most goals (28) and fourth-most assists (16) in program history. He ranked 27th in the nation for game-winning goals in his senior year, collecting five on the season. Ortega is a native of Milton, Vermont.