Tony Martone complete his 28th season at Merrimack College as
one of the winningest head coach in NCAA Division II history with
273 career victories, which currently ranks him 11th on the
all-time win list. His overall record stands at 273-245-40.
In 2009, the Warriors posted a 11-7-1 record, losing in the
Northeast-10 Quarterfinals to Southern Connecticut,
2-1. Martone's sophomore Robbie Sabadoz tied the program
record with 19 goals in a season while being named the Conference
Player of the Year--the first since Steve MacAuliffe in 1997.
In 2008, the Warriors posted a 10-4-4 record, losing in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals in penalty kicks to Le Moyne. Merrimack started the season 8-1-2, earning a #1 regional ranking and a #8 national ranking, led by all-conference first-team selection Tiago Dalboni and rookie sensation Robbie Sabadoz
The Warriors posted a 13-6-3 mark in 2007, falling just short of
their first NCAA Tournament berth. Merrimack reached the conference
championship, becoming the only conference team to defeat the
eventual national champion, Franklin Pierce.
Martone, who holds a United States Soccer Federation ‘A
License,’ has earned the distinction of consistently fielding
competitive teams. During his tenure, his teams have won several
regular season Northeast-10 championships as well as overall
conference championships. When the Warriors participated in the
ECAC tournament, his teams were selected for postseason play for a
record six straight years and won the overall ECAC championship in
1997.
Martone's emphasis on academics has also paid off in the classroom
as many of his players have earned conference, regional and
national academic team honors. In 2008, the Warriors were named to
the NSCAA Academic All-American team. He holds the distinction of
having graduated every four-year student-athlete that has
participated in his program. In addition, two of his former players
- Steve McAuliffe (1997) and Matt Johnson (1999) - were the
recipients of the ‘ECAC Scholar Athlete of the Year’
award. This prestigious award is given to the top student-athlete
in the ECAC from a pool of over 7,000 eligible athletes from all
male sports. They are the only two athletes in Merrimack history to
have earned this honor.
Martone began his coaching career in 1981 as an assistant coach at
Curry College. In 1982, he became the youngest head coach in the
country when he was hired by Merrimack at the age of 24. His
abilities, commitment and passion for the sport of soccer have
earned him numerous coaching honors over the years. The list
includes: N.E.I.S.L. Coach of the Year in 1994, 2004; E.M.S.C.A.
‘College Coach of the Year’ in 1995 and 2004; and
Northeast-10 ‘Coach of the Year’ in 1987, 1994, 2002,
and 2004). In 1994, Martone was recognized by Soccer New England as
‘The person who did the most for soccer in 1994’ and
was inducted into the Massachusetts Senior Soccer Hall of Fame in
2005.
For his dedication and professional accomplishments in the
coaching world, Martone was named the U.S. Adult Soccer Association
Region I Coach of the Year, and the runner-up National Coach of the
Year following the 2006-07 season.
Along with coaching the Warriors, Martone has been involved with
many other soccer programs across the New England Region, ranging
from youth to the professional level. Professionally, he has
coached with the Boston Bolts of the ASL and the Cape Cod Crusaders
of the USISL – both of which qualified for post-season play
in each of his seasons behind the bench - and has also worked with
the coaching staff and management of the Major League
Soccer’s New England Revolution, primarily as a scout.
Additionally, some of his youth teams went on to win state and
regional championships. Several of Martone’s players have
moved on to play at various levels of the US National Teams,
including the Men’s National team and the Olympic team, as
well as overseas. Further, over 40 of his former
protégés have gone on to join the coaching ranks at
the college and/or professional levels. From 2000 through 2004,
Martone coached the Massachusetts Men's State Team. During this
time, his team was ranked in the top 10 state associations in the
country.
Martone has been and continues to be an ambassador for the sport
in different capacities. In 1983, he helped to establish the South
Shore Sports Center, one of the very first full-fledged indoor
soccer facilities in the country. Twenty-six years later, he still
owns and operates the facility with his family which has been the
blueprint for the hundreds of similar facilities now in existence
throughout the country.
One of the most rewarding experiences for Martone came in 1994,
when he was selected as the Competition Manager for the
Boston/Foxboro venue for the 1994 World Cup. In his capacity, he
was responsible for overseeing all aspects of competition,
including the management of all the World Cup games played in
Boston. For his efforts, he was recognized by US Soccer and World
Cup USA 1994 as ‘The best competition manager in the
country.’
Martone is a 1981 graduate of Boston College, where he earned
three varsity letters. The highlight of his playing career came in
1980, when he was invited to train with U.S. Avellino of the
Italian First Division. His efforts and abilities earned him a
contract offer which would have loaned him to a third division
team. While his dream of playing professionally came to an abrupt
end due to a serious injury, Martone has remained an active player
for many top semi-professional and amateur teams throughout New
England. He currently still completes in an over-40 division.
Martone resides in Saugus, MA, with his wife, Patricia, and his
two daughters - Rosalba and Antonella.
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Eric Ernst enters his 13th season as assistant coach for
Merrimack College's men's soccer team.
During his tenure at Merrimack, the Warriors have captured three
Northeast-10 titles, one ECAC Championship, and one Northeast-10
Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Ernst joined the Warriors coaching staff after serving as the
goaltender coach at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island,
where he was a two-year starter in net for the Rams. A native of
Cranston, Rhode Island, Ernst graduated with a bachelor of arts in
political science and sociology. Ernst also graduated from Richmond
College in Florence, Italy, where he studied Italian and
economics.
Ernst played high school soccer at Cranston West and was a
two-time all-state goaltender. He was a three-sport athlete,
earning varsity letters in soccer, baseball, and
wrestling.
Ernst has been employed at AMICA Mutual Insurance Company as a
Senior Claims Supervisor in the Boston Regional office since 1994.
Ernst and his wife, Carrie, reside in Attleboro, MA, with their
daughter, Ashlee.
Entering his seventh season as an assistant coach, Mike Allen
was an All-Division player at Bishop Hendricken High School. He
walked onto the University of Connecticut men's soccer team in
1998, helping the Huskies win the Big East Regular Season title in
1999 and capture the Big East Tournament title and a birth into the
College Cup Final Four in 2000. Upon graduation from UConn, Mike
spent one season with the PDL Rhode Island Stingrays and now plays
with the MSSL Div 1 Boston Olympiakos and BSSL Cambridge
Arsenal.
A native of Rhode Island, Mike recently attained both his NSCAA
National Diploma and Advanced National Diploma for coaching and
also coaches clinics at New England Aztec and Skillz Check. He
works as a Sales Consultant for the 3M CHIM Division and currently
resides in Methuen, MA.
Derek Valego is in his second season as an assistant coach with the men's soccer program.
A four-year starter at Merrimack from 2001-04, Valego led the Warriors to a top-25 national ranking in each of his four seasons. Following college, he played for the Western Mass. Pioneers of the United Soccer League in 2005 and 2006, leading the Pioneers to a national runner-up finish in 2005.
Valego has coached the under-11 and under-12 Boston Blast FC in 2008 and has been an assistant coach for the under-17 and under-18 Western Mass. Junior Pioneers in 2006 and 2007.
He was an all-league and all-Western Mass. All-star at Chicopee High School in 2000.
Valego currently resides in Lawrence.