Perry Nizzi is in his 15th year as head men's soccer coach at Hamilton College. Nizzi's teams have reached double figures in wins seven times and his overall record at Hamilton stands at 129-63-21. The Continentals have advanced to the postseason nine times, including four trips to the NCAA Division III championship, under Nizzi.
Nizzi led his team to the semifinals of the 2010 Liberty League championship after the team finished fourth in the league's regular season standings. He guided Hamilton to six straight wins from late September to late October, a 4-1-1 record on the road and a 9-3-3 overall mark.
The Continentals won their second league tournament title, advanced to the NCAA championship and finished with a record of 10-5-3 under Nizzi in 2007. The 2006 squad won the league's regular season title, played in the NCAA championship and finished with 11 victories. In 2004, Hamilton won its first league tournament crown, made an NCAA appearance and ended the season ranked 23rd in Division III. Nizzi guided the Continentals to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2000. Hamilton won the league's regular season title earlier that year. Nizzi's 2001 team finished 12-2 and tied the program record for most wins in a season.
Individual accolades are nothing new for Nizzi's players. Greg Rogan '07 became the third player in program history to receive All-America honors in 2006, when he was voted to the third team by Division III coaches. Jesse Arroyave '11 and Frank Campagnano '12 made the 2010 Northeast Region all-region first team to bring the number of all-region selections under Nizzi to 15. Leo Nizzi '14 was the 2010 Liberty League Rookie of the Year.
Nizzi also achieved a great deal of success at Herkimer County Community College, where his record was 291-56-11. He guided the Generals to three National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III championships from 1994 to 1996. HCCC established a national collegiate record for the longest winning streak in any sport with 97 consecutive victories. As a result of those amazing accomplishments, Nizzi was inducted into the NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at HCCC in 2006.
In 1999, Nizzi received the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association's award for outstanding contributions in the field of intercollegiate soccer. He was inducted into the Rome Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
A native of Rome, Nizzi graduated from Rome Free Academy, where he earned high school All-America honors. Nizzi enjoyed an All-America playing career at Mohawk Valley Community College and continued his education at SUNY Cortland. He was an all-state soccer player for the Red Dragons before receiving his bachelor's degree in 1977. Nizzi earned his master's degree in 1980. He was one of eight inducted into the SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame in 2009.
Frank Barbuto is in his 10th year as an assistant men's soccer coach at Hamilton College. Barbuto was a two-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American at Herkimer County Community College and went on to become a two-time NSCAA Division II Northeast Region all-region selection at Le Moyne College.
More recently, Barbuto played professionally in the United States Indoor Soccer League with the Albany Alley Cats.
Mike Fornino is in his 14th year as an assistant men's soccer coach at Hamilton College. Fornino earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America honors at Herkimer County Community College, where he played on the school's first national championship team.
Fornino continued his playing career at the University of Tampa -- an NCAA Division II program.
Perry Nizzi - Head Coach
pnizzi@hamilton.edu
315-859-4756
315-859-4117 (fax)
