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J.P. Sousa is in his seventh season as head coach of the Catholic University women’s soccer team. During that time he has led the Cardinals to two of the most successful seasons in school history. Since taking over as head coach in 2004, Sousa has set the mark for winningest coach in school history with a 78-32-12 record and has led the team to five straight post-season appearances.
The 2009 season was one for the ages for Sousa and the Cardinals
as they won 17 matches, captured the Landmark Conference
championship for the first time ever and earned a bid to the NCAA
Tournament for the second time in five years. In addition CUA
was ranked #25 in the NSCAA Division III national poll following an
unbeaten season on its home turf (10-0-1). For their
tremendous efforts, four Cardinals earned All-Landmark Conference
honors, three were named ECAC All-Stars, two garnered All-Region
accolades and Helene Nicoletti and Courtney Orgill were named the
Landmark Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Under Sousa’s direction in 2005, the Cardinals enjoyed their
most successful season in school history with an 18-1-2 record.
They completed an undefeated regular season, won the Capital
Athletic Conference Championship, and advanced to the NCAA
Tournament for the first time ever. They placed a record seven
players on the All-CAC teams and swept the post-season awards,
including Sousa’s first Capital Athletic Conference
Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year honor.
A standout forward for two years at Western Connecticut State
University, after transferring to WCSU from George Mason University
in 1996, Sousa went on to lead the team in scoring with six goals
and 17 points his junior year and was ranked fifth in scoring in
the Little East Conference. As a senior, Sousa tallied another six
goals, leading his team to the ECAC New England Region Tournament,
and was nominated for the Academic All-America team.
Sousa began coaching youth soccer in 1998 for Eastern FC of
Greenwich and led their U13 boys team to the Connecticut state cup
title and an appearance in the USYSA Region I Championships. Sousa
then moved to Virginia where he coached U15 girls and U13 boys for
Vienna Youth Soccer from 1999 to 2002. Since then, he has spent
time training girls youth teams for the McLean and Chantilly soccer
clubs, was an assistant coach for both the boys and girls varsity
teams at Oakton High School for four years, and joined the Northern
District Virginia ODP coaching staff in 2004. Sousa also coached
Super Y League soccer for the Northern Virginia Majestics,
assisting with the U17 and U20 girls teams in 2008 and 2009.
Originally from Danbury, Conn., Sousa was a three-year starting
varsity player at Danbury High School earning all-conference honors
twice and all-area honors once. He led all area scorers with 22
goals and 11 assists as a senior in 1993. While Sousa played for
Danbury, the team won three consecutive conference titles, was a
state finalist in 1991, state semi-finalist in 1993, and ranked as
high as #14 nationally in the NSCAA/USA Today poll. He also earned
all-conference and all-state honors in track and field.
Sousa graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 1998
with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and earned his
master’s degree in education for school counseling at George
Mason University in 2006. He holds the Advanced Regional coaching
diploma from the NSCAA and resides in Fairfax, Va., with his wife,
Suzanne and son Cameron.
