Cabrini University Athletics

Tom DeMatteis came to Cabrini with aspirations to become a famous sports writer, but somewhere along the way his path went from writing the stories to being the subject of them.

It was the College’s strong communications program, location and opportunity to continue his soccer career that were the basis for his college decision.

DeMatteis was the team’s leading scorer during two of his four years in the Blue and White and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player following the 1980 campaign. A Dean’s List student, DeMatteis worked for the College’s radio station and was on the editorial staffs for both Loquitor and Woodcrest.

During his college years, DeMatteis recognized the potential difficulties of becoming a sports writer, so he began taking the education courses to graduate with a certification so he could teach and coach.  

Upon graduting from Cabrini, DeMatteis retuned to his alma Mater, St. Mark's High School, as a teacher and, two years later, was named head coach, just seven years after scoring the first goal in the school’s first soccer game.

Over the next 25 years, DeMatteis established the Spartans as a national power. In his 25 years as the boys’ head coach, St. Mark’s went 356-73-31 and won 11 state championships in 15 appearances.  

Of his 11 titles, DeMatteis led St. Mark’s to championships in his first two season, raised three consecutive titles (1990-92) and six straight crowns from 1996-2001.

Owner of seven boys’ soccer coach of the year honors, DeMatteis’ teams were nationally ranked at the end of nine seasons, amassed five 20-game win streaks, three 30-game win streaks and one run of 41 straight victories.

DeMatteis started the school’s girls team in 1994 and duplicated his success with the boys. Over 14 years, the Spartans posted a 223-25-12 mark with four consecutive state titles and eight championship appearances.

From 2001-04, the Spartans posted a state-record 65 game unbeaten streak, while four of his girls’ teams closed the season nationally ranked.

While every successful coach claims thousands of influences, DeMatteis credits his early coaching foundation partially formed from his days as a Cabrini student-athlete.