Feb. 12, 2004

BURLINGTON, Vt. - -

Oregon State men's soccer associate coach Jesse Cormier accepted the position of head coach of the University of Vermont men's soccer program, Beaver head coach Dana Taylor announced Thursday.

Cormier will return to his alma mater, where he earned a bachelor's degree in History in 1995, to head the program after three years as first an assistant and then associate coach at OSU, where he helped build the Beaver squad into a nationally-ranked program and West Coast powerhouse.

"We're going to miss Jesse," Taylor said. "This is a great opportunity for him to coach his alma mater. Vermont is getting a strong leader - a committed leader - who cares about the student-athletes in his program. Jesse will enable Vermont to move to the forefront of college soccer."

Cormier's departure marks the second year in a row a Beaver assistant has advanced to the head coaching ranks at a Division I program - Steve Simmons became the head coach at Northern Illinois in 2003 after two years as an assistant at OSU.

"We wish Jesse and his family success in his endeavor," Taylor said. "It's an honor to see my assistants move on and have a chance to incorporate what they've learned into their own programs."

With Cormier's help, the Beavers advanced to the NCAA postseason for the first time in program history while winning a school-record 13 games in 2002; OSU repeated the feat in 2003, this time hosting a first-ever opening-round NCAA Tournament match after finishing second in the Pacific-10.

Cormier, who worked mainly with OSU's attacking elements, helped the Beaver offense flourish and rank among the nation's top 26 teams offensively the last two years.

In 2003, eight Beavers earned All-Pac-10 honors, and five were named Academic All-Pac-10. As recruiting coordinator, Cormier helped bring in recruiting classes that were ranked among the top 20 in the nation each of the last two years.

Cormier returns to a Vermont program where he was a two-time All-East and all-conference first-team selection and ranks third on Vermont's all-time scoring list.

Cormier inherits a Catamount program that was 4-10-5 last year and 3-5-2 in the America East Conference. He replaces former coach Roy Patton, who resigned in November.

Prior to coaching at OSU, Cormier served as the first assistant coach at West Virginia from 2000-01 and as an assistant at Bradley University from 1997-99. He also played professionally in the "A" League and in the English Second Division for the Oxford United Football Club.