Camp Director - John Ciano
John Ciano finished his first season as head coach of the Union College men's soccer team in 2025.
In his first year at the helm, Ciano led Union to a 7-6-6 record and its best Liberty League finish in over a decade, finishing in fourth place with a 4-1-4 conference record that marked the program's fewest conference losses in a season since 2010. After recording their fewest regular-season losses in a decade, the Garnet Chargers advanced to the conference semifinals for the second time in three years by winning a thrilling penalty shootout in the first round of the postseason.
Ciano came to Schenectady from St. John’s University, where he has served as an assistant coach for two seasons. In 2024, the Red Storm earned a share of their first BIG EAST East Division regular-season title and reached the conference semifinals, the team’s second straight postseason appearance. He previously spent one year at Stony Brook University, serving as assistant coach while also taking part in the United Soccer Coaches Coach Credentialing Program.
Ciano is no stranger to the Capital Region, having spent six years as the head coach at Division II College of Saint Rose from 2016-21. The Golden Knights posted a 45-38-11 (.537) record in his time in Albany, including a stretch of four straight winning seasons for a program that had just one season over .500 throughout its first 36 years. He coached the team to the only two 10-win seasons at the school, concluding with a 10-6-2 campaign in 2021 that saw the team earn its highest finish in the Northeast-10 Conference regular-season standings and receive votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll for the first time ever. His 2019 team also reached the 10-win plateau, earned the first postseason win in program annals, and reached the NE-10 Championship game for the first time ever. Ciano left the school with the highest winning percentage in program history by more than 200 percentage points.
Prior to his time at Saint Rose, Ciano saw success over a combined five seasons as an assistant coach at the Division I level with Siena College and New Jersey Institute of Technology. In three seasons at Siena from 2013-15, Ciano served as recruiting coordinator for the Saints and helped the squad to 25 wins and a pair of MAAC Tournament appearances, including a 10-8-2 record in 2014 that remains the second-most wins in a season in program history. In two years with NJIT (2011-12), the Highlanders produced the most wins in their Division I history in his second season.
Ciano began his collegiate coaching tenure at Division III Manhattanville College (2009-10), where he helped guide the Valiants to a combined 24-11-2 record and a MAC Freedom regular-season title in 2009.
As an undergraduate, Ciano was a four-year starter in goal between his time at Central Connecticut State University and Manhattan College, starting 54-of-55 games in one year with the Blue Devils and three years with the Jaspers. He graduated from Manhattan in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education.
Camp Director - Nicole Ciano
Nicole Pacapelli Ciano enters her third season as the head coach of the women's soccer team for the 2025 season.
In her second season at the lead in 2024, Pacapelli Ciano led Marist to three wins on the campaign and saw nine student-athletes placed on the MAAC All-Academic Team
In her first season at the helm in 2023, Pacapelli Ciano led the Red Foxes to two wins, including a 1-0 victory over Rider on Sept. 9, for her first collegiate win as a head coach.
Pacapelli comes to Marist after a successful three-year run as an assistant coach at Binghamton. In the past three seasons, the Bearcats went 14-5-3 (.705) in America East play and 23-15-8 (.587) overall. Binghamton won a share of its divisional title in the Spring of 2021, won the America East regular-season championship outright in 2022, and reached the conference's championship match in the Spring of 2021 and 2022. These championship appearances marked the first for the Bearcats since 2009.
In the 2022 season, Pacapelli was part of the America East Coaching Staff of the Year. Maya Anand was named Striker of the Year, and Olivia McKnight was honored as Midfielder of the Year. It marked the first time in program history the Bearcats won more than one conference major award. Additionally, Anand and McKnight were named All-Region.
Prior to her arrival at Binghamton, Pacapelli was an assistant coach at Richmond in the Atlantic 10 in the 2019 season. For the 2016-18 seasons, Pacapelli was head coach at Queens College, where she doubled as the department's academic coordinator.
Pacapelli earned both her Bachelor's degree (Nutrition and Dietetics, 2014) and Master's degree (MBA, concentration in Sports Management, 2016) from the University of New Haven, where she was a Dean's List honoree. She began her coaching career with the Chargers as their lead assistant from 2014-15. In her three-year playing career at New Haven, Pacapelli helped lead the program to 31 wins and was a two-year captain and an All-Northeast-10 selection. She played her freshman season at Stonehill College.
Pacapelli played in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) for the Connecticut Football Club (CFC) Passion. She holds a United States Soccer "C" coaching license and United Soccer Coaches National and Advanced National Diplomas. She was selected to the 2022 United Soccer Coaches Coach Credentialing Cohort, was honored as a member of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Class, and was chosen to the 2020 NCAA WeCoach Academy Class.
Pacapelli is a native of West Haven, Connecticut. She was an all-state soccer selection and four-year scholastic standout.
Coach - Robb MacDonald
Robb MacDonald finished his first season as an assistant coach with the Union College men's soccer team in 2025.
In his first year with the team, Union posted a 7-6-6 record and its best Liberty League finish in over a decade, finishing in fourth place with a 4-1-4 conference record that marked the program's fewest conference losses in a season since 2010. After recording their fewest regular-season losses in a decade, the Garnet Chargers advanced to the conference semifinals for the second time in three years by winning a thrilling penalty shootout in the first round of the postseason.
MacDonald came to Union after serving as head coach of the men's soccer team at SUNY Adirondack in 2024, helping the team to a 5-9-0 record and a berth in the NJCAA Region 3A Quarterfinals. He also has experience coaching with the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association, working with both boys' and girls' teams for the Olympic Development Program, as well as serving as coach and technical director for the Saratoga-Wilton Soccer Club.
MacDonald graduated from Pitzer College in 2020 with a degree in economics and environmental science & politics, and spent one season with the Pomona-Pitzer men's soccer program
Coach - Bailey Bassett
Bailey Bassett finished his third season as an assistant coach with the Union soccer programs in 2025, working with the teams' goalkeepers.
In his second season on the Union sideline, both Union soccer teams conceded less than one goal per game, with the women allowing 10 goals and the men giving up 18 in 19 matches.
Bassett comes to Union after spending two years as an assistant coach with the boys' soccer team at Ellington High School in Ellington, Connecticut. At his high school alma mater, Bassett worked primarily with the goalkeepers, working with the goalies on their technique and understanding of the position while educating players on understanding formations and other tactical movements. In his first year back with the program, the Knights won the 2022 Connecticut Class M State Championship.
After spending two years on the men's soccer team at the University of Connecticut after his graduation from Ellington, Bassett spent four years as part of the men's soccer program at Southern Connecticut State University, where he appeared in 27 games with 24 starts in the Owls net. He graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Studies.