Chris Petrucelli

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Chris Petrucelli

| image =

| caption =

| full_name = Christopher Joseph Petrucelli{{cite book |location=Richmond, Virginia |title=Virginia, Marriages, 1936–2014 |publisher=Virginia Department of Health}}

| height =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|5|9}}{{cite web |url=https://texassports.com/news/2005/1/2/010205aaa_877.aspx |title=Head Coach Chris Petrucelli |publisher=Texas Longhorns |date=January 2, 2005 |access-date=February 18, 2022}}

| birth_place = Orange, New Jersey, U.S.

| position =

| currentclub = Dallas Trinity FC (General Manager)

| youthyears1 = 1976–1980

| youthclubs1 = J. P. Stevens Hawks

| collegeyears1 = 1980–1983

| college1 = UNC Greensboro Spartans

| collegecaps1 =

| collegegoals1 =

| manageryears1 = 1985

| managerclubs1 = Old Dominion Monarchs (men's, {{abbr|grad.|graduate}} assistant)

| manageryears2 = 1986–1990

| managerclubs2 = Old Dominion Monarchs (men's, assistant)

| manageryears3 = 1990

| managerclubs3 = Notre Dame Fighting Irish (men's, assistant)

| manageryears4 = 1990–1998

| managerclubs4 = Notre Dame Fighting Irish

| manageryears5 = 1999–2011

| managerclubs5 = Texas Longhorns

| manageryears6 = 2003–2004

| managerclubs6 = United States U21

| manageryears7 = 2012–2022

| managerclubs7 = SMU Mustangs

| manageryears8 = 2020

| managerclubs8 = United States U18

| manageryears9 = 2022–2023

| managerclubs9 = Chicago Red Stars

| manageryears10 = 2024–

| managerclubs10 = Dallas Trinity FC (General Manager)

}}

Christopher Joseph Petrucelli (born May 9, 1962) is an American soccer executive who is the general manager for the Dallas Trinity FC of the USL Super League (USLS), a position he has held since 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-09 |title=Dallas pro women's soccer team unveils name, logo |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/soccer/dallas-trinity-fc/dallas-womens-soccer-usl-super-league-team-name-logo/287-a75442fa-1093-4281-83f8-88e06dc0d849 |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}}

Playing career

Raised in Edison, New Jersey, Petrucelli attended J. P. Stevens High School, where he played for the soccer team.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95391679/scholastic-soccer-eb-tech-notches/ |title=Scholastic Soccer: E.B. Tech notches 14th |work=Home News Tribune |page=8 |date=November 4, 1978 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} In college, he played in 1980, 1982, and 1983 for UNC Greensboro, then a Division III school, under head coach Mike Berticelli.{{cite web |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/uncgspartans.com/documents/2021/8/25/2021_Record_Book_UNCG_MSoc.pdf |title=2021 UNC Greensboro Men's Soccer Record Book |publisher=UNC Greensboro Spartans |date=August 25, 2021 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} He helped the school to two NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship titles in 1982 and 1983, and was the team captain in his senior year.

In 1998, Petrucelli was inducted into the inaugural hall of fame class of J. P. Stevens High School.{{cite news |last=Pereda |first=Aimee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95390819/high-school-lauds-its-top-alumni/ |title=High school lauds its top alumni |work=Home News Tribune |page=B2 |date=April 24, 1998 |access-date=February 18, 2022}}

Coaching career

After graduating from college in 1985, Petrucelli joined Berticelli, his former coach at UNC Greensboro, as a graduate assistant coach for the Old Dominion men's soccer program. At the time, he worked at the docks in Norfolk, Virginia, for a tea-packing company. He became a full-time assistant coach from 1986, with the school achieving their best result in his final season by reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1989. In 1990, Petrucelli followed Berticelli to the University of Notre Dame. Berticelli had agreed to join Notre Dame, on the condition that the school would find a position for Petrucelli as well.{{cite news |last=Daniels |first=Rob |url=https://greensboro.com/notre-dame/article_130c2524-3040-573d-ae27-e496c5a9d5de.html |title=Notre Dame |work=News & Record |date=December 4, 1997 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} Petrucelli was appointed as the head coach of Notre Dame's women's soccer team in the team's third season of existence, and also assisted Berticelli with the men's team in the first year.{{cite web |url=https://texassports.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/coaches/chris-petrucelli/218 |title=Chris Petrucelli |publisher=Texas Longhorns |access-date=February 18, 2022}} Petrucelli led Notre Dame to six consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship from 1993 to 1998, including three straight appearances in the championship game from 1994 to 1996. The school won the 1995 championship 1–0 against Portland after three overtime periods, ending North Carolina's run of nine consecutive titles, with Notre Dame having defeated them 1–0 in the semi-finals. Notre Dame lost both the 1994 and 1996 championship games to North Carolina, by a score of 5–0 and 1–0 (after double overtime), respectively. In 1994 and 1995, he was named Women's College Soccer Coach of the Year by the NSCAA. He finished with a record of 175 wins, 22 losses, and 10 draws with the school.

He also served as the head soccer coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1994 and 1995, and has worked as a coach for the Olympic Development Program.{{cite web |url=https://smumustangs.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/coaches/chris-petrucelli/464 |title=Chris Petrucelli |publisher=SMU Mustangs |access-date=February 18, 2022}}

In December 1998, Petrucelli was announced as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns women's soccer team for the following season.{{cite news |url=https://und.com/chris-petrucelli-leaving-notre-dame/ |title=Chris Petrucelli Leaving Notre Dame |publisher=Notre Dame Fighting Irish |date=December 31, 1998 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} He coached the school to first place during the regular season in the Big 12 Conference in 2001, and won the Big 12 Tournament in 2006 and 2007. From 2001 to 2011, the school made ten appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, only missing out during this stretch in 2009. Their best result in the tournament was reaching the last 16, achieved in 2004, 2006, and 2007. He finished with a record of 165 wins, 88 losses, and 26 draws while at Texas. From 2003 to 2004, Petrucelli also served as the coach of the United States women's national under-21 team, and won consecutive Nordic Cup titles.{{cite web |url=https://smumustangs.com/news/2015/12/18/Chris_Petrucelli_Reflects_On_Coaching_Career_With_U_21_U_S_Women_s_National_Team |title=Chris Petrucelli Reflects On Coaching Career With U-21 U.S. Women's National Team |publisher=SMU Mustangs |date=December 18, 2015 |access-date=February 18, 2022}}

In 2012, Petrucelli became the head coach of Southern Methodist University women's soccer team.{{cite web |url=https://smumustangs.com/news/2012/5/31/Two_Time_National_Coach_Of_The_Year_Chris_Petrucelli_Named_Head_Women_s_Soccer_Coach |title=Two-Time National Coach Of The Year Chris Petrucelli Named Head Women's Soccer Coach |publisher=SMU Mustangs |date=May 31, 2012 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} During his tenure, SMU made two appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2016 and 2021. In total, he finished with a record of 88 wins, 74 losses and 18 draws at the school.{{cite web |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/smumustangs.com/documents/2021/8/30/WS_Factbook_2021.pdf |title=SMU 2021 Women's Soccer Factbook |publisher=SMU Mustangs |pages=3–4 |date=August 30, 2021 |access-date=February 18, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/smumustangs.com/documents/2021/11/19/2021_SMU_Season_Stats_6_.pdf |title=2021–22 SMU Women's Soccer: Combined Statistics, All games |publisher=SMU Mustangs |date=November 20, 2021 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} In January 2020, he also was the coach of the United States women's national under-18 team for the Tricontinental Cup tournament in Lakewood Ranch, Florida,{{cite web |url=https://smumustangs.com/news/2020/1/21/womens-soccer-petrucelli-to-serve-as-us-u-18-womens-national-team-head-coach-at-tricontinental-tournament |title=Petrucelli To Serve As U.S. U-18 Women's National Team Head Coach At Tricontinental Tournament |publisher=SMU Mustangs |date=January 21, 2020 |access-date=February 18, 2022}} in which the U.S. finished second to the Netherlands.{{cite web |url=https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2020/02/u18-uswnt-falls-to-netherlands-2-1-to-finish-second-in-2020-tricontinental-cup |title=U-18 USWNT Falls to Netherlands 2–1 to Finish Second in 2020 Tricontinental Cup |publisher=United States Soccer Federation |date=February 3, 2020 |access-date=February 18, 2022}}

=Chicago Red Stars=

On February 18, 2022, the Chicago Red Stars announced Petrucelli as the coach of the team for the 2022 season in the National Women's Soccer League.{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagoredstars.com/post/chris-petrucelli-named-as-new-chicago-red-stars-head-coach |title=Chris Petrucelli Named as New Chicago Red Stars Head Coach |publisher=Chicago Red Stars |date=February 18, 2022 |access-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207105655/https://www.chicagoredstars.com/post/chris-petrucelli-named-as-new-chicago-red-stars-head-coach |url-status=dead }} Petrucelli is the second head coach of the Red Stars in the NWSL era after the scandal plagued exit of Rory Dames.{{cite web |url=https://equalizersoccer.com/2022/02/18/chicago-red-stars-name-chris-petrucelli-new-head-coach-nwsl/ |title=Chicago Red Stars announce Chris Petrucelli as new head coach |work=The Equalizer |date=February 18, 2022 |access-date=January 17, 2023}}

In his first season in 2022 the team went {{Win-loss record|w=9|l=7|d=6}}, which was good enough for sixth in the standings and the last playoff spot. After scoring first in the tenth minute, the team lost 2–1 in the first round to expansion club San Diego Wave FC.{{cite news |url=https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/95599/nwsl-2023-chicago-red-stars-forge-ahead-following.html?edition=29606 |title=NWSL 2023: Chicago Red Stars forge ahead following turbulent offseason |date=March 21, 2023 |access-date=April 17, 2023 |work=Soccer America |first=Ben |last=Wiley}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nwslsoccer.com/game/san-diego-wave-fc-vs-chicago-red-stars-2022-10-16/latest |title=NWSL Playoffs Recap: Morgan lifts San Diego over Chicago in extra time to book semifinal trip |publisher=National Women's Soccer League |access-date=April 17, 2023}}