Miami Dade College is adding soccer programs this fall.
The school recently hired MDC alumnus Ramiro Vengoechea to coach the inaugural women’s team.
Giuseppe DePalo is head coach of the men’s program that is returning for the first time in more than three decades.
“I look forward to working with students and developing a winning program that will serve many generations to come,” DePalo said in a media release.
Vengoechea was head coach at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami and took that school to the state championship game of the Florida High School Athletic Association tournament four times, winning titles in 2018 and 2020.
He also was coach of FC Surge, a women’s amateur soccer club in Miami.
“As a Miami native, I’m excited to build this program in our community and look forward to creating a championship culture and a tradition of excellence, both on and off the field at MDC,” Vengoechea said in the release.
DePalo is a graduate of Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, N.H. He coaches the U19 team for Inter Miami CF.
He was previously head coach of the men’s soccer program at Nova Southeastern University, where he earned a master’s degree in sports management, MDC said.
He inherits a program that won a national championship in 1983 and was dissolved around 1990 when MDC dropped several programs citing budget restrictions.
Miami Dade College has won 38 national championships in its athletic history.