Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Ray Cabral, who posted a combined 165 victories during a 14-year tenure as both the men’s and women’s soccer coach at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, has been named as Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Massachusetts Maritime.  Cabral’s appointment, which is effective immediately, was confirmed today by Bob Corradi, Massachusetts Maritime’s Director of Athletics.

A resident of Mattapoisett, Mass., Cabral becomes the second head coach in the Buccaneers’ four-year varsity history, as he replaces Christine McCarey, who resigned earlier this spring after leading Massachusetts Maritime over its first three varsity campaigns to concentrate on her full-time duties at the Academy. 

Cabral started the women’s club soccer program at UMass Dartmouth in 1988 and in four short seasons took the Corsairs to the 1992 NCAA Division III national championship match before falling to SUNY-Cortland by a 1-0 final.  A four-time selection as Little East Conference Coach of the Year, Cabral led UMass Dartmouth to five straight NCAA tournament berths, including a spot in the 1993 “Sweet 16”, and along the way he recorded a cumulative mark of 92-31-8 (.733) before stepping down in 1995 after he and his wife, Mary, became the parents of twins.

Cabral returned to the UMass Dartmouth sidelines in 2001 as the Corsairs’ Head Men’s Soccer Coach, and success once again found its way to the North Dartmouth campus, as he posted an overall mark of 63-52-12 (.543) in seven seasons, including four 12-win campaigns along the way.  He was inducted into the UMass Dartmouth Corsair Hall of Fame in 2000 for his efforts in guiding the women’s soccer program.

A noted camp counselor and clinician throughout the area, Cabral has extensive experience in both youth and collegiate soccer.  He posted a 90-37-17 (.684) mark in 12 seasons as the head boys’ soccer coach at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, Mass. prior to his tenure at UMass Dartmouth, and he has also coached both travel and premier teams for both boys and girls.  Cabral served as Director of Player Development for the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association and was appointed to the Advisory Board of the New England Revolution.  Ray and Mary Cabral are the parents of four children:  Colin, Seth, Kelsey and Leah.

“I am extremely pleased to welcome Coach Cabral to the Buccaneer family,” Corradi says of Cabral’s appointment.  “Ray has taken a program in its infant stages to great heights, and I am confident that he will continue to build our program to the same standards of success in the future.”

The Ray Cabral era of Massachusetts Maritime women’s soccer begins on Wednesday, September 7^th when the Buccaneers host Becker in a non-league match at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at 7:00 p.m.