Women's Soccer Coaches

J.P. Sousa

Head Women's Soccer Coach sousa@cua.edu 202-319-4746

J.P. Sousa enters his fifth season as head coach of the Catholic University women's soccer team. He came to the team as an assistant coach during the 2001 season and has been instrumental in the recent success of the program. Since taking over as head coach in 2004, Sousa has set the mark for winningest coach in school history with a 51-21-9 record and has led the team to three straight post-season appearances. 

In 2007, the squad posted 12 wins, three losses, and five ties in the inaugural year of the Landmark Conference.  The team finished in third place during the regular season and advanced to the conference semifinals. They also earned a berth to the ECAC South Region Tournament, closing out the season with a remarkable run to the championship game.  Under Sousa's direction in 2005, the Cardinals enjoyed their most successful season in school history with an 18-1-2 record. They completed an undefeated regular season, won the Capital Athletic Conference Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. They placed a record seven players on the All-CAC teams and swept the post-season awards, including Sousa's first Capital Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Coach of the Year honor.

A standout forward for two years at Western Connecticut State University, after transferring to WCSU from George Mason University in 1996, Sousa went on to lead the team in scoring with six goals and 17 points his junior year and was ranked fifth in scoring in the Little East Conference. As a senior, Sousa tallied another six goals leading his team to the ECAC New England Region Tournament and was nominated for the Academic All-America team.

Sousa began coaching youth soccer in 1998 for Eastern FC of Greenwich and led their U13 boy's team to the Connecticut state cup title and an appearance in the USYSA Region I Championships. Sousa then moved to Vienna, Va., where he coached U15 girls and U13 boys for Vienna Youth Soccer from 1999 to 2002. Since then, he has spent time training girls youth teams for the McLean and Chantilly (Va.) soccer clubs, was an assistant coach for both the boys and girls varsity teams at Oakton High School for four years, and joined the Northern District Virginia ODP coaching staff in 2004.  Sousa also coaches Super Y League soccer for the Northern Virginia Majestics, assisting with the U16 and U17 girls' teams.

Originally from Danbury, Conn., Sousa was a three-year starting varsity player at Danbury High School earning all-conference honors twice and all-area honors once. He led all area scorers with 22 goals and 11 assists as a senior in 1993. While Sousa played for Danbury, the team won three consecutive conference titles, was state finalists in 1991, state semi-finalists in 1993, and was ranked as high as #14 nationally in the NSCAA/USA Today poll. He also earned all-conference and all-state honors in track and field.

Sousa graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in political science, and earned his master's degree in education for school counseling at George Mason University in 2006. He holds the advanced regional coaching diploma from the NSCAA and resides in Fairfax, Va., with his wife, Suzanne.

 

Rob Summers

Assistant Coach

Rob Summers returns to the CUA coaching staff for his fourth season after serving as a volunteer assistant in 2004. He will assist Head Coach J.P. Sousa with the day-to-day operations of the team, as well as helping with the goalkeeper training. Summers played one year of soccer at Nathaniel Hawthorne College in Antrim, N.H., in 1987 before beginning his coaching career in 1995 at Valley High School in Albuquerque, N.M. He also ran clinics for youth teams in the Duke City Soccer League of Albuquerque. After finishing his bachelor's degree at Cornell University, Summers coached boys varsity soccer at the Hyde School of Woodstock, Conn., in 1998. Summers coached the boys JV soccer team at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., during the spring of 2001 before moving to Massachusetts, where he led the Arlington High School girls JV soccer team in 2002 and 2003. For the past four years he has taught social studies at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., where he was also the head coach of the girls' varsity soccer team from 2005 to 2007.

Summers graduated from Cornell University in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in American studies and religious studies, and earned a master's degree in social studies education from New York University in 2000. He currently resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Corie, and their daughter, Kaia.

 

Jackie Yacenda

Assistant Coach

 Jackie Yacenda will begin her fourth season on the CUA coaching staff, where she will continue to assist with the day-to-day operations of the team and coordinate alumnae relations. She returned to her alma mater as a volunteer in 2004 after enjoying a successful playing career from 2000 to 2002. During that time Yacenda was a three-year starter for the Cardinals, best known for her vocal leadership and strong defending. She graduated from Catholic University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in graphic arts and digital design. Along with coaching at CUA, Yacenda served as the assistant coach for the girls' varsity soccer team at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., in 2005 and 2006. Originally from Chester, N.J., she currently lives in Washington, D.C.