Jesse Cormier, a 1995 graduate of the University of Vermont, begins his fifth season as the head coach of his alma mater in 2008. He has led the Catamounts to back-to-back trips to the conference title game highlighted by the 2007 America East Championship and the school's eighth appearance in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament.

Cormier, who was named Vermont's seventh head men's soccer coach on February 12, 2004, led the Catamounts to a remarkable midseason turnaround in 2007. Playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the region, Vermont started the campaign 4-9-0 and rebounded to finish second in the league standings, win the conference title and advance to the second round of the NCAAs in 2007. UVM finished the 2007 season with the 40th best RPI in the nation.

In each of his five seasons at Vermont, Cormier's teams have finished in the top four of the regular season standings and have hosted a home postseason game at Centennial Field. The Catamounts also have been strong in the classroom earning a NSCAA Team Academic Award the past two seasons. UVM was one of only 10 of the 48 teams in the 2007 NCAA Tournament to earn academic honors by the NSCAA.

The conference title came a year after Cormier returned the Catamounts to the America East Championship title game for the first time since 2002. The second-seeded Catamounts topped New Hampshire, 1-0, in the semifinals at Centennial Field. UVM went 9-7-4 overall and had a 5-1-2 mark in conference games, one of the Cats best-ever records in league play.

In 2005, Cormier guided the Catamounts to an 11-5-3 overall record and a fourth place finish in the America East. Vermont was ranked in the NSCAA National Poll six out of nine weeks during the regular season and went 2-0-1 against ranked opponents.

In his first season at Vermont, Cormier led the Catamounts to a 9-5-5 overall record. UVM, picked to finish last in the 2004 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, came in fourth in the regular season standings. One of the nation's most improved teams, the Catamounts ranked seventh in the final 2004 NSCAA New England Region Poll.

An outstanding recruiter, Vermont's group of newcomers for 2006 was ranked 36th in the nation in the College Soccer News Top 40 Recruiting Classes. In the past three seasons the Catamounts have had six members on the America East All-Rookie Team with two, T.J. Gore in 2006 and Lee Stephane Kouadio in 2005 earn America East All-Conference First-Team honors. Kouadio also was the America East Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 2005.

Cormier has emphasized off-field citizenship and academics at Vermont and his teams have excelled in the classroom. In 2006 and 2007, Vermont picked up its first two NSCAA Team Academic Awards. In the spring semester of 2006, the men's soccer team earned a collective 3.36 grade point average, a program-high and the best GPA among all of UVM's men's athletic teams. A record 16 Catamounts earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher and the team posted a 3.31 GPA in the spring semester of 2005. UVM's Connor Tobin was named the 2007 America East Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete. In 2006, Corey Bronner '07 was selected as a ESPN The Magazine Men's Soccer Academic All-American.

A former standout with the Catamounts, Cormier is the first UVM alum to be named the team's head coach. He returned to Vermont after serving as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Oregon State. During his time in Corvallis, he helped lead the Beavers to the most successful three-year run in school history and was promoted to associate head coach in 2003. Prior to his tenure at Oregon State, Cormier was an assistant coach at West Virginia (2000) and Bradley (1997-99).

During Cormier's coaching career, he spent seven seasons at three of the nation's top rated soccer conferences, the Pac-10, Missouri Valley and the Big East. His national experience is valuable in the highly competitive America East which has seen eight different schools win the conference title in the last 10 seasons.

At Oregon State Cormier helped transform the program into a national power with outstanding coaching and recruiting. In 2002, OSU made its first-ever NCAA College Cup appearance. As Oregon State's recruiting coordinator, Cormier's final two classes were recognized among the nation's best by CollegeSoccerNews.com. The national website also cited Cormier as one of the outstanding assistant coaches in the country.

In 2003, the Beavers had the most successful season in school history. OSU hosted a first-round match in the NCAA College Cup. The Beavers earned a #2 ranking in the elite NSCAA Far West Region and the team's offense was ranked 10th nationally in goals per game. OSU finished second to UCLA, the 2002 NCAA Champion, in the Pac-10 standings and defeated five nationally-ranked opponents while setting 11 individual or team records.

Cormier served as the academic liaison at Oregon State. In 2003, five Beavers were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team and OSU boasted a 3.11 team grade point average in 2002.

Cormier is heavily involved in all levels of youth soccer in Vermont. He and his staff host coaching clinics in the spring and he is the director of the Vermont Soccer Camp and the executive director of the very successful Nordic Soccer Club.

A native of Hoosick Falls, N.Y., Cormier earned his master's degree in leadership and human services at Bradley in 1999. He holds a NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and a USSF "B" Coaching License.

Cormier had a solid playing career at Vermont (1991-94). He ranks sixth in career points (59) and is tied for sixth all-time in goals (24). A regular for coach Ron McEachen from the start of his career, he earned a spot on the America East All-Championship Team as a sophomore in 1992, leadng Vermont to the conference title game. He led the team in scoring as a senior (9-3--21) and following the season he earned All-New England honors and was selected as the team's most valuable player. Cormier received his bachelor's degree in history from Vermont.

Following graduation, Cormier went on to play professionally in the United States and overseas before beginning his coaching career.

Cormier and his wife, Amy, have three children, a son Kai, and daughters Parrish and Jazaher. They reside in Shelburne.

A native of St. Albans, Vt., Jean brings 19 years of successful college coaching experience to the Catamounts with 10 years as a head coach in Division I and II compiling a 103-64-22 record. He returned to the Green Mountain State in 2006 and revitalized the Purple Knights program recording an 11-5-4 record his first season and a 10-5-4 mark a year ago. Both seasons SMC reached the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and he was named the league's coach of the year in 2006.

Prior to his stint at Saint Michael's, Jean was the head coach at Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pa. with an 82-54-14 record over eight seasons. He was named Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year an unprecedented four times (1999, 2002, 2004, 2005) while leading the Dukes to a share of three consecutive A-10 regular season titles, from 2003 to 2005, and three appearances in the league's championship game. Duquesne also recorded four straight seasons of 13 or more wins from 2002 to 2005 and in 2003, the Dukes were ranked 25th in the nation in the final national poll.

Jean arrived at Duquesne after serving five seasons as an assistant at two successful Mid-American Conference programs, Bowling Green (1995-97) and Illinois State (1993-94). Prior to entering the Division I ranks, he was the head coach at Champlain College, a former NJCAA power in Burlington, and was an assistant at his alma mater, Johnson State, for one year.

Like at UVM, academics have been an emphasis of Jean's programs. His teams at Duquesne were regular winners of NSCAA Team Academic Awards and in 2003-04, the Dukes had the second highest grade point average in the country. Saint Michael's in 2006-07 also earned a NSCAA Team Academic Award and saw one of its student-athletes earn a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Men's Soccer College Division Academic All-America Team.

Jean, who attended high school and participated in athletics at BFA St. Albans with UVM Athletic Hall of Famers John LeClair '91 and Matt Johnson '91, is a 1990 graduate of Johnson State where he was a four-year standout defensive midfielder. He helped lead the Badgers to three Mayflower Conference titles and was a co-captain as a senior. He also earned his master's degree from Illinois State in 1996.

Jean, who holds a NSCAA Advanced National Coaching Licence, also is a coach in the Nordic Soccer Club. He and his wife, Marcella Pelkey, have two daughters, Sienna (12) and Emma (10).

Duncan, who played at OSU when UVM head coach Jesse Cormier was on the Beavers staff, is involved in all facets of the Catamount men's soccer program. His work was instrumental in Vermont capturing the 2007 America East Men's Soccer Championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAAs.

Duncan was a four-year letterwinner for the Beavers for head coach Dana Taylor from 2000 to 2003. He was a starter at back and outside midfield on Oregon State's first two teams to reach the NCAA College Cup in 2002 and 2003. He was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team as a senior in 2003.

A native of Corvallis, Ore., Duncan received his degree in cultural anthropology from OSU in 2004. After graduation he played for two seasons in the Australian Premiership League for the Queensland Lions and Brisbane Strikers. He returned to the U.S. in 2005 and spent that season as an assistant coach for Corvallis High. Since 2000, he was a staff coach for the OUSA Soccer Club in Oregon where he coached former Catamount Loren Hill '08 and current players Jordan Crasilneck, Denton Brown and Ryan White.

Duncan also is a member of the coaching staff at the Nordic Soccer Club in Vermont. He and his wife, Lindsey, reside in Winooski.