October 11, 2003

EAST BECOMES THE ALL-TIME WINNINGEST
MEN'S SOCCER COACH AT NJCU

PASSES LEGENDARY COACH ROBERT McNULTY WITH 69TH CAREER VICTORY

New Jersey City University's Kevin East captured his 69th victory to become the all-time winningest men's soccer coach in the 45-year history of the Gothic Knight program when NJCU defeated Susquehanna, 2-0 on October 11.

In just the 118th game of his career, East eclipsed the record previously held by legendary American soccer figure Robert McNulty. The victory improved East's career record to 69-41-8 (.619), as NJCU won its third consecutive game, having lost just once in its last 13 contests. McNulty, considered a building block of American soccer until his death in November 1992, won a record 68 games as former NJCU (then Jersey City State College) head coach from 1966-77.

In 2002, the Gothic Knights qualified for the ECAC Tournament under East, marking the fourth straight season NJCU saw action in either the NJAC or ECAC post-seasons. In 2001, the Knights established a school record for wins in a season with a 17-7 mark, and for the first time in school history, advanced to the New Jersey Athletic Conference and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship games, finishing the year ranked 25^th in the nation. 

Between 1999 and 2001, NJCU reached the NJAC Tournament in three consecutive years, earning NJAC berths with a higher finish in the league each year of competition. The Knights were selected for the ECAC Metro New York/New Jersey tournament the last three years, and earned the top seed in the field in 2001.

Upon accepting the head coaching job at NJCU in 1998, East inherited a  program that had endured eight straight losing seasons and three consecutive winless seasons in New Jersey Athletic Conference play.  He immediately guided a 1998 squad comprised primarily of freshmen and sophomores to a 10-7-1 record.  It was the program’s first winning season since 1985, while the ten victories were the second-most in the then-40-year history of the program.

In 2000, East was tabbed NJAC Coach of the Year in only his third season as a head coach at the college level.

Outside of NJCU, East is active in coaching circles on the national and state level. He is currently a representative on the NSCAA National Rating Board. East was the head coach of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) U-19 New Jersey state team during the spring of 2002. He is a former vice president of the College Soccer Association of New Jersey (CSANJ).

A 1993 graduate of Kean University with a B.A. in Political Science/Criminal Justice, East came to NJCU after serving as an assistant coach at his alma mater for four seasons (1993-98). 

A former goalkeeper at his alma mater, East was inducted into the Kean University Athletic Hall of Fame in the  schools’ 15^th annual induction ceremony. East was inducted as part of the entire 1992 Kean men’s soccer squad, which became the first team to be inducted by Kean.