Sasho Cirovski (born 14 October 1962) is a Macedonian-Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. Born in Macedonia and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Cirovski led his

team to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championship in 2005, 2008, and 2018.

Early life and career

Born in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, he grew up in

Vratnica Vratnica () is a small village and community located in the Jegunovce Municipality of North Macedonia. Vratnica lies in the north-west, and is 22 km away from the city of Tetovo and 5 km away from Jažince - the border crossing point wi ...

, a small village. Cirovski immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the age of eight and became an outstanding all-around athlete in Ontario schools. A stand-out college soccer player for the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

he was selected the school's outstanding athlete upon his graduation in 1985. He earned a master's degree there in 1989. He played for the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of the American Indoor Soccer Association during the 1986–1987 season and later played and coached the

North York Rockets The North York Rockets were a professional soccer team based in North York, Toronto, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of ...

. His subsequent coaching career included stints at both his alma mater and at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

, where he led his team to two consecutive NCAA Tournament berths.

Cirovski at Maryland

In February 1993 Cirovski was recruited by then Assistant Athletic Director Gothard Lane to come to the University of Maryland, College Park, where the soccer program had enjoyed limited success for years. Upon his arrival in College Park, Cirovski startled the local soccer community when he announced that his goal was to "win the national championship." Starting with holdover players and two transfer students from Hartford who came to join their charismatic coach, his teams began to turn out winning records within two years. In 2002, the Terrapins began a remarkable streak of four consecutive appearances in the NCAA College Cup, the final four of American college soccer. In 2005, they captured the national title with a 1–0 win over top-ranked

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. In 2008, he led the Terps to an ACC championship win over Virginia, the team's first since 2002, and also guided his team to the 2008 National Championship over North Carolina by a score of 1–0 in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

. In October 2017, Cirovski achieved his 400th win in Division I versus the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

, becoming the ninth Division I coach to achieve the feat. In 2018, the Terrapins won their third national title under Cirovski with a 1–0 win over the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

, not allowing a goal in any game of the NCAA Tournament.

Personal information

A vocal and demonstrative coach, Cirovski cultivated a "family" atmosphere on his close-knit teams. He also earned the respect of his colleagues, who selected him as the chairman of the national collegiate coaches association in 2004, and the national coach of the year in 2005. He lived in the Maryland suburbs with his wife

Shannon Higgins-Cirovski Shannon Danise Higgins-Cirovski (; born February 20, 1968) is an American former soccer midfielder who earned 51 caps with the United States between 1987 and 1991. She was a member of the U.S. team at the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup and is a m ...

, herself a former soccer All-American and member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

, and their three daughters.THE WINNINGEST COACH IN MARYLAND SOCCER HISTORY (Profile)
– UM Terps A young Cirovski can be seen performing his soccer skills in the 1987

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Home Video, "Teaching Kids Soccer with

Bob Gansler Bob Gansler (born July 1, 1941) is a Hungarian-born American soccer player and coach of German descent. He coached the U.S. National Team at the 1990 World Cup, the team's first appearance at the tournament since 1950. Playing career As a pl ...

References

External links

Game Plan: First Find The Leaders

Maryland bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cirovski, Sasho 1962 births Living people People from Jegunovce Municipality Canadian soccer coaches Canadian men's soccer players Macedonian football managers Yugoslav men's footballers National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Men's association football midfielders Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Hartford Hawks men's soccer coaches London City Soccer Club players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer coaches Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer coaches Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer players Milwaukee Wave players North York Rockets players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen