MDC Hires Coaches To Lead Its Soccer Program

Eight months after announcing it was resurrecting its soccer program, Miami Dade College has hired the coaches who will lead them. The College last fielded a soccer team 34 years ago. 

Giuseppe DePalo, who previously served as Nova Southeastern University men’s soccer coach, will fill the same role at MDC, and Ramiro Vengoechea, who won two state titles at Lourdes Academy, will oversee the women’s squad. 

More than 100 applicants vied for the positions. 

“It was a long process, a little longer than some expected,” said Sharks Athletic Director Mike Balado. “Sometimes you have to make sure you get the right people, and we feel we got the right ones.”

Miami Dade College last fielded a men’s soccer team in 1990. The program won national titles in 1979 and 1983.

When the women’s soccer team takes the field this coming fall, it will mark the first time female athletes have participated in the sport for MDC.

Both teams will feature 24 players. They will compete in Division I of the Southern Conference of the Florida College System Athletics Association. Home games will be played on the existing soccer fields on the northwest side of Kendall Campus. 

Giuseppe DePalo

DePalo, 52, who was born in Milan, Italy, currently serves as head coach of the Under-19 team at Inter Miami CF, Miami’s professional soccer club.

He has served as general manager of technical staff for the Oakland Roots SC, assistant coach  and head of recruiting for the Seattle Sounders FC, and assistant coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.

From 1998 to 2015, he led the Nova Southeastern University men’s soccer team from a NAIA program to Division II. He led the Sharks to a 155-127-28 record during his tenure. 

“I expect this program to be quality from the get-go,” said DePalo, who has already signed four players. “The school’s given us amazing resources and everyone’s been extremely supportive.” 

Ramiro Vengoechea

Vengoechea, 41, who was born and raised in Miami, has more than 15 years of coaching experience in South Florida.

He has been affiliated with the Pinecrest Premier Soccer Club since 2009, serving as the girl’s director of coaching since 2018. Vengoechea also coached the FC Surge, a Women’s Premier Soccer League Team, leading them to conference championships in 2018 and 2021. 

At Lourdes, Vengoechea won state titles in 2018 and 2021 as the varsity team’s head coach, garnering Miami Herald Coach of the Year honors seven times. 

Now he is primed to start the women’s soccer program at MDC. 

“We’re building this brick by brick,” Vengoechea said. “It’s gonna take time to build, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Miami Dade can be a powerhouse in women’s soccer.”

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