Denison University

Christian da Cruz enters his second season as Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at Denison University in 2026.

In the 2025 season, da Cruz helped lead the Big Red to another standout season, finishing with a record of 15-3-3 overall and 5-1-2 in conference play for a second-place finish. The Big Red were dominant in the first half of the season, going 9-0-1 in their first 10 games while shutting out eight in the process. Denison made history, as the 2025 team became the first team in program history to be named No. 1 in the nation, where they held that spot for four weeks. The team would go on to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, where they would win their first round matchup against Washington and Lee in the 86th minute thanks to a goal from Phil Koutsaftis. Denison would then eventually fall to host Dickinson in the second round, 2-0. da Cruz helped develop first-year goalkeeper Alex Provost, who earned third team All-NCAC honors after leading the conference in shutouts (9), goals scored (12), goals against average (.675), and save percentage (.789).

da Cruz comes to Denison after spending two years with Springfield College as a graduate assistant with the men’s soccer team, working primarily with the team goalkeepers. The Pride advanced to the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals in his second year as coach, and coached Noah Pote, who had eight clean sheets in 17 games played. He also spent a summer with Rivier University as the assistant women’s soccer coach and goalkeeper coach, and recruited Jordan Butters, who led the team in goals (10) and assists (6).

His coaching experience goes beyond the collegiate level, as he also coaches with the New England Futbol Club (NEFC) working primarily with boys MLSNext Goalkeepers U14-U19 and NAL Keepers. He worked with the New Hampshire Olympic Development Program (ODP), assisting in identifying talent across the state of New Hampshire for the U17 boys select team. 

A native of Ludlow, Massachusetts, da Cruz attended Southern New Hampshire University and was a part of the men’s soccer team, playing goalkeeper. During his time, the Penmen advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament semifinals in 2021 and 2022. Before his time at SNHU, da Cruz played for FC Boston Bolts and Oakwood Soccer Club, both U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s. While playing for Oakwood, the team won the 2016 Northeast Division Championship.

He graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 2023, and received his Masters in Physical Education with a concentration in Athletic Leadership at Springfield College.