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NCAA Division I Men's Tournament Bracket NCAA Division I Men's Conference Tournament Scoreboard
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NCAA Albert retires at W&M after 29 straight winning seasons; Cicala resigns.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Friday, January 23, 2004) -- Al Albert stepped down today after more than three decades as coach of William & Mary's men's team. Chris Norris, a William & Mary defender from 1991-94 and an assistant to Albert since, was named head coach. As coach of the Tribe for 33 seasons, Albert compiled a 401-187-64 (.664) record, the eighth most victories for a Division I men's coach, the fourth most at one school. W&M had a winning record in the last 29 years of Albert's tenure, the fourth-longest streak in Division I. The Tribe went to the NCAA tournament 12 times under Albert, but did not go last season after compiling a 9-6-4 record. Albert was appointed to a position as a fundraiser for the Tribe Club, the school's athletics booster organization.. "It is tough to walk away from a job that I have loved for so long, but I am thrilled and energized by the opportunity to continue as part of the William & Mary family," Albert said. "I hope as a member of the Tribe Club staff, I can continue to help not only our men's soccer team, but every other team in the department as well."
"Al Albert was a great coach at this college for a long time," W&M director of athletics Terry Driscoll said. "We're excited about the opportunity to keep him associated with the department. I feel that many of the same attributes that made him such a successful coach will have an equally positive impact on our fundraising efforts." Albert led the Tribe to one Southern Conference championship, then six Colonial Athletic Association titles and was named CAA "Coach of the Year" four times. Among the players produced by W&M under Albert are goalkeeper Adin Brown of the New England Revolution, defender Wade Barrett, who played for the San Jose Earthquakes before joining AGF Aarhus of Denmarks' first division, and defender Steve Jolley who was recently traded by the MetroStars to the Dallas Burn. All three have appeared in Major League Soccer All-Star Games. Cicala leaves George Mason women
A search for a successor has begun. Cicala leaves GMU as the all-time leader in women's coaching victories with a career mark of 139-93-22 (.591), surpassing program founder Hank Leung who was 126-58-19 (.667) in 10 seasons. Cicala led the Patriots to the 1993 NCAA Division I championship game and a 6-0 loss to North Carolina in Mia Hamm's senior season. UNC avenged a loss to GMU in the 1985 title game, the only time the Tar Heels had not won the NCAA championship to that point. The Patriots made four of their overall 11 NCAA tournament appearances under Cicala, but have not been to the national tourney since 1997. The 2003 team was 9-6-6. Cicala taught political science and government at Lake Braddock, another area high school for nine years, leading the boys soccer team to Virginia Group AAA state championships in 1982, 1983, 1988 and 1989. While he had been elevated to full-time at George Mason years ago, when he first accepted the job, he was part-time and continued his high school teaching responsibilities. He will teach U.S. government at Centreville. "My decision to leave George Mason was based on family reasons," Cicala said. "It was a great experience with many positive memories. I'm thankful I had the opportunity to coach Division I soccer at George Mason. I owe so much of my success to the players whom I will truly miss." A 1975 George Mason graduate who played three years for the men's soccer team, Cicala served as a GMU assistant women's coach in the first three years of the program (1982-84) and again in 1990-91. "Jac has been an integral part of George Mason soccer, first as a player, then playing a critical role in the development of the women's soccer program to the national level," said O'Connor. "We appreciate his dedication to the program." |
