Former Daniel Webster College coaches or players who are now coaching were together recently for a preseason event at Rivier. From left, Norhern Essex assistant Marcos Vieria-Filho, NECC head coach Eusebio Marte, Rivier head coach Hayden Barbosa, Fitchburg State head coach Brady Hosey and his assistant, Michael Ottman. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – They stood together for a group photo on the new turf at Rivier University’s Joanne Merrill Field.

Hopefully they sent the pic to the guy who has helped them in their soccer endeavors, as the photo can be simply described as the Matt Correia Coaching Tree.

And that’s a tribute to the program they all came from at the now closed Daniel Webster College.

Former Eagle player and assistant – and Merrimack High School coach – Brad Hosey is now the head man at Fitchburg State, assisted by former Eagle and Alvirne assistant Micheal Ottman. Rivier University head coach Hayden Barbosa was an Eagle assistant. Marcos Vieria-Filho played at DWC and was the Alvirne head coach, and is now the assistant to another former Eagles player, Eusebio Marte at Northern Essex Community College (NECC) in Haverhill, Mass. Cooper Hall, Correia’s goalkeeper at DWC, is now an assistant coach at N.C. Wesleyan.

And let’s not forget that another former Eagle, Joe Morgan, coached Nashua South for a couple of seasons. Plus there are a few other Eagle alums coaching on the club level.

It’s got to make Correia, who built a small power at DWC with conference titles and NCAA tourney appearances (and one NCAA playoff win) and has done the same at larger but still Division III Salem State, proud.

“It’s been fun,” Correia said. “One of the things you have to do in coaching is prove yourself every year. It keeps me humble. I don’t take anything for granted.

“We’ve had some unbelievable players, which is why you see all these guys coaching. I recruited soccer guys who have really high soccer IQ, really smart players. They understand the game, and make my job easier. So it’s no surprise there are guys who played for me that are out there coaching now.”

Does all this amaze Correia?

“I’m proud of them,” he said. “I’m really, really proud of them. I’m not surprised, they’re all great guys,and I think that’s why we had so much success at Daniel Webster. They knew what it took to win championships. It’s impressive and it makes me proud. … It’s something that’s really cool.”

THE COACHING TALENT

What has made all of these Eagle alums good coaches?

In Hosey’s case, Correia could see a coach, as he was a take-charge player, “and after college he was able right away to find a great job, find success. He’s a guy who is going to go after good players. He got the job (at Fitchburg) in the spring and he’s already brought in 20 new players at Fitchburg. He’s a guy who’s not going to settle for average.”

Correia remembers when he and Hosey at Salem State would play one-on-one basketball all the time. “I would always get him, and he’d always get closer and closer and closer,” Correia said. “I’m old enough to know that I had to stop playing him because he eventually was going to beat me. He’s going to build this Fitchburg State team the same way. Year after year they’re going to get better and better. He’s going to be a problem for me.”

And they’ll be trying to recruit the same players. Hosey’s Falcons lost their season opener to Elms, 2-0 last weekend.

Indeed, Correia’s loyalty to his playing and coaching family was put to the test when he recommended Hosey for the Fitchburg job, because the two schools are rivals in the MASCAC, which Salem State won last fall.

“It put me in a tough spot, because obviously with Fitchburg in our league we don’t want them to be stronger,” Correia said. “But Brad Hosey is a guy who not only played for me, he coached with me for a year at Daniel Webster and he came with me to Salem State. He really helped us build this at Salem State.

“I have to make sure I always do right by my guys, whether they’re playing for me or past their playing days. I was happy to recommend him; I was thrilled for him when he got the job.”

And the two will tangle on Oct. 8. “I think it’s going to be really cool,” Correia said.

Meanwhile, Marte, who many know in the spring as the head coach of the International Soccer Club of Nashua Eagles, “lives, eats and breathes soccer” in Correia’s opinion. “It’s in his blood. It’s in his name, he’s named after a famous Portuguese soccer player. And he’s super loyal, too. I know he’s had opportunities to put in for other jobs, but he’s said ‘No, I want to make sure I build a soccer program (at Northern Essex) before I go anywhere’. That’s extremely impressive for a young soccer coach, because there’s so many young coaches that just want to bounce around.

“Eusebio has said to me multiple times, ‘I took this job knowing it was going to be a challenge, and I want to make sure I build it to the best I can.’ And I think this year he’s probably going to have the best team he’s ever had.”

Correia says he sees Marte the most of any of them, as his nephews play for him at Salem State.

“When he was a player for me,” Correia said, “it was like having a coach on the field.”

Marte, Vieria-Filho, and Ottman all played on that last DWC team that won the New England Collegiate Conference as well as a first round NCAA tourney game. Vieria-Filho and Ottman were a very good coaching duo at Alvirne before they moved on after last season, keeping the Broncos competitive. Vieria-Filho was helping Marte when he could while at Alvirne, but he wanted to focus on coaching in college so he stepped down.

“Marcos is a major competitor,” Correia said. “He’s a guy that will do whatever it takes to win. I see a different side of him as a coach. He’s a lot more serious. He knows there are a lot more players that sort of just need that structure.

“He knows that if he has any success at winning he has to make sure he sort of implements that. He’s a little more serious, but it’s just because of how competitive he is and how badly he wants to win.”

Correia was at the game last year when Alvirne faced Merrimack, Vieria-Filho vs. Hosey. How did that make him feel to see his former players go at it as coaches?

“Oh man, I’m just super proud of them, that they still found a way to stay involved in the game, because they were such a factor in my career,” Correia said. “I’m so grateful for them, and I try to make sure they know that. Even though all these years have gone by, I want them to know that I would be nothing without those guys, what they gave me during their time at Daniel Webster really changed the course of my career.”

Correia envisions Vieria-Filho becoming a head college coach someday.

“I think he’d take a similar path to Hosey,” Correia said. “With Hosey it was a matter of time before he became a head coach somewhere, and I certainly believe Marcos would go down a similar path.”

Ottman worked well with Vieria-Filho and “tells it how it is,” Correia said. “He was the same way as a player, a no-nonsense player, tough. That probably rubs off on the players he’s coaching, that probably gives off that vibe. But he’s also very smart, too, and his ability to interact with the players is going to be really, really crucial for Fitchburg’s success.

“Hosey is going to demand a lot, and it might be tough for some guys at times. I think Ottman will be sort of that voice of reason that lets them know ‘Hey we’re doing this for a reason. There’s a reason why we demand so much from you guys.’ He’ll be a great voice for that.”

Barbosa was an assistant under Correia for two seasons at DWC, in 2014 and 2015. At Rivier he has basically decided after COVID dismantled his program to build everything back up again, and brough in a ton of players a year ago and again this year. The Raiders won their opener earlier this past week at the University of Northern Vermont-Lyndon, 4-0.

“Hayden’s been there for a few years, and it’s not an easy place to recruit (because of the tough Great Northeast Athletic Conference),” Correia said of Rivier. “He’s had challenges. But he’ll continue to do his best to try to get kids in and hopefully he can make a run at the GNAC. It’s a tough league, a top heavy league where it seems there are three teams who seem to dominate that league: St. Joe’s of Maine, Norwich and Johnson&Wales.

“But he could find a way to get into the middle of the pack there and win some playoff games. I’m happy Rivier is still healthy. They just put in a brand new turf field (Joanne Merrill Field at Robinson Pavilion) and they’re in a good spot.”

CORREIA’S MENTOR

And how about for the coach who grew that tree? Correia in four years had a great class, and now he feels his program is starting over, and may take some lumps. But he, too, knows his roots and that started with his work several years ago as an assistant under former DWC head coach Bill Lawler, who went on to coach at Rivier and whom Barbosa has now succeeded.

“I have so much respect for Bill Lawler,” Correia said. “He gave me my first shot, and I thank him so much for that. What I took from him was just his non-stop recruiting work ethic. This guy was a machine.

“He knows everything about every player in just about every area. I can’t even keep up with that. I was sort of able to find my style of recruiting, but if I didn’t have the basics and the foundation that I’ve learned from Bill Lawler, no way would we have been able to have the success that we’ve had.”

How about the others’ recruiting ability?

“Eusebio is everywhere, and with Marcos and Hosey, a lot of coaches can recruit a lot of players, but they don’t necessarily get the best players. I think Hosey and Marcos know what it takes to win at a high level, and that’s why they’re going to find success.”

Just like their mentor did.