Hood College

Jesse Zafiratos was named the head coach of the Hood College men's soccer program in December 2020.

Zafiratos comes to Hood sporting a stellar career record of 58-20-5. His .729 winning percentage is one of the top records among all college soccer coaches over the last four years.

He served as the head coach at Rosemont College in 2019. In his first season with the Ravens, he quickly doubled their win total and led the program to its first Colonial States Athletic Conference Championship Game appearance in seven years, ending a five-year playoff drought. In the semifinals, Rosemont pulled off the upset at top-seeded Centenary to advance to the championship game. The Ravens fell 1-0 in the title game to regionally ranked Keystone.

Zafiratos turned in an impressive three-year run as head coach at Penn State Brandywine from 2016-18, culminating in the Lions’ first United States Collegiate Athletic Association Championship. He compiled a 50-10-3 overall record, including a perfect 27-0 in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference en route to three straight conference titles. His 2018 team won a school record 16 straight games and upset No. 1 ranked Johnson and Wales University (N.C.) 1-0 in overtime to win the department’s only national championship. He coached 22 All-PSUAC selections and 10 USCAA All-Americans. His 2018 team led all levels of collegiate soccer with 102 goals scored. Zafiratos was named the 2017 PSUAC Coach of the Year and the 2018 Philadelphia Inquirer Small College Coach of the Year.    

Before taking over the program at Penn State Brandywine, he spent four seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Widener University. Zafiratos helped the team increase its win total each season, including a berth in the ECAC South Region Semifinals in 2014. 

On the club side, Zafiratos was a full-time administrator and senior staff coach with the prestigious Lower Merion Soccer Club for five years. He served as the regional assistant director of coaching and also ran the college advisory program. His LMSC Invictus team went to three straight state championship games from 2017-2019 against PA Dominion. His Invictus side won in 2017 before falling in penalty kicks and overtime, respectively, the next two seasons. The 2017 team lost in overtime in the regional finals against Real NJ 2004.

Zafiratos began his collegiate playing career at Kutztown University before transferring to La Roche University in Pittsburgh, Pa. He was a three-year starter and senior captain, helping the Redhawks qualify for three Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoff appearances. He scored 21 goals and had 13 assists during his Redhawk career. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education.