Tony Martone is entering his 29th season at Merrimack College and is one of the winningest head coaches in NCAA Division II history with 272 career victories, currently ranking him 11th on the all-time win list. His overall record stands at 272-230-39 entering 2010.

In 2009, the Warriors posted an 11-7-1 record earning a top five finish in the Northeast-10 Conference for the sixth-straight season. Before falling in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals to Southern Connecticut, 2-1, Martone led his team to 10 or more wins for the sixth consecutive year. One of Martone's top recruits, sophomore Robbie Sabadoz, tied the program record with 19 goals in a season while being named the Conference Player of the Year--the first since Steve MacAuliffe in 1997.  Sabadoz is also the only player to be named an all-American in Martone's tenure since MacAuliffe.

In 2008, the Warriors posted a 10-4-4 record, losing in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinals in penalty kicks to Le Moyne. Merrimack started the season 8-1-2, earning a #1 regional ranking and a #8 national ranking, led by all-conference first-team selection Tiago Dalboni and first year sensation Robbie Sabadoz.

The Warriors posted a 13-6-3 mark in 2007, falling just short of their first NCAA Tournament berth. Merrimack reached the conference championship, becoming the only conference team to defeat the eventual national champion, Franklin Pierce.

Martone, who holds a United States Soccer Federation ‘A License,’ has earned the distinction of consistently fielding competitive teams. During his tenure, his teams have won several regular season Northeast-10 championships as well as overall conference championships. When the Warriors participated in the ECAC tournament, his teams were selected for postseason play for a record six straight years and won the overall ECAC championship in 1997.

Martone's emphasis on academics has also paid off in the classroom as many of his players have earned conference, regional and national academic team honors. In both 2008 and 2009, the Warriors were named to the NSCAA Academic All-American team. He holds the distinction of having graduated every four-year student-athlete that has participated in his program. In addition, two of his former players - Steve McAuliffe (1997) and Matt Johnson (1999) - were the recipients of the ‘ECAC Scholar Athlete of the Year’ award. This prestigious award is given to the top student-athlete in the ECAC from a pool of over 7,000 eligible athletes from all male sports. They are the only two athletes in Merrimack history to have earned this honor.

Martone began his coaching career in 1981 as an assistant coach at Curry College. In 1982, he became the youngest head coach in the country when he was hired by Merrimack at the age of 24. His abilities, commitment and passion for the sport of soccer have earned him numerous coaching honors over the years. The list includes: N.E.I.S.L. Coach of the Year in 1994, 2004; E.M.S.C.A. ‘College Coach of the Year’ in 1995 and 2004; and Northeast-10 ‘Coach of the Year’ in 1987, 1994, 2002, and 2004. In 1994, Martone was recognized by Soccer New England as ‘The person who did the most for soccer in 1994’ and was inducted into the Massachusetts Senior Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005.

For his dedication and professional accomplishments in the coaching world, Martone was named the U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region I Coach of the Year, and the runner-up National Coach of the Year following the 2006-07 season.

Along with coaching the Warriors, Martone has been involved with many other soccer programs across the New England Region, ranging from youth to the professional level. Professionally, he has coached with the Boston Bolts of the ASL and the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USISL – both of which qualified for post-season play in each of his seasons behind the bench - and has also worked with the coaching staff and management of the Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution, primarily as a scout. Additionally, some of his youth teams went on to win state and regional championships. Several of Martone’s players have moved on to play at various levels of the US National Teams, including the Men’s National team and the Olympic team, as well as overseas. Further, over 40 of his former protégés have gone on to join the coaching ranks at the college and/or professional levels. From 2000 through 2004, Martone coached the Massachusetts Men's State Team. During this time, his team was ranked in the top 10 state associations in the country.

Martone has been and continues to be an ambassador for the sport in different capacities. In 1983, he helped to establish the South Shore Sports Center, one of the very first full-fledged indoor soccer facilities in the country. The facility has been the blueprint for the hundreds of similar facilities in existence across the country. In the summer of 2009, Martone sold the business after 27 years of serving Boston's South Shore.

One of the most rewarding experiences for Martone came in 1994, when he was selected as the Competition Manager for the Boston/Foxboro venue for the 1994 World Cup. In his capacity, he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of competition, including the management of all the World Cup games played in Boston. For his efforts, he was recognized by US Soccer and World Cup USA 1994 as ‘The best competition manager in the country.’

Martone is a 1981 graduate of Boston College, where he earned three varsity letters. The highlight of his playing career came in 1980, when he was invited to train with U.S. Avellino of the Italian First Division. His efforts and abilities earned him a contract offer which would have loaned him to a third division team. While his dream of playing professionally came to an abrupt end due to a serious injury, Martone has remained an active player for many top semi-professional and amateur teams throughout New England. He currently still completes in an over-40 division.

Martone resides in Saugus, MA, with his wife, Patricia, and his two daughters - Rosalba and Antonella.

Eric Ernst enters his 14th season as assistant coach for Merrimack College's men's soccer team. 
  
During his tenure at Merrimack, the Warriors have captured three Northeast-10 titles, one ECAC Championship and one Northeast-10 Goalkeeper of the Year award.
  
Ernst joined the Warriors coaching staff after serving as the goalkeeperr coach at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, where he was a two-year starter in net for the Rams. A native of Cranston, R.I., Ernst graduated with a bachelor of arts in political science and sociology. Ernst also graduated from Richmond College in Florence, Italy, where he studied Italian and economics. 
  
Ernst played high school soccer at Cranston West and was a two-time all-state goalkeeper. He was a three-sport athlete, earning varsity letters in soccer, baseball and wrestling. 
  
Ernst has been employed at AMICA Mutual Insurance Company as a Senior Claims Supervisor in the Boston Regional office since 1994. Ernst and his wife, Carrie, reside in Attleboro, MA, with their daughter, Ashlee.

Entering his eighth season as an assistant coach, Mike Allen was an all-division player at Bishop Hendricken in Warwick, R.I. He walked onto the University of Connecticut men's soccer team in 1998, helping the Huskies win the Big East regular season title in 1999 and capture the Big East Tournament title and a berth into the College Cup Final Four in 2000. Upon graduation from UConn, Mike spent one season with the PDL Rhode Island Stingrays and now plays with the MSSL Div 1 Boston Olympiakos and BSSL Cambridge Arsenal.

A native of Rhode Island, Mike recently attained both his NSCAA National Diploma and Advanced National Diploma for coaching and also coaches clinics at New England Aztec and Skillz Check. He works as a Sales Consultant for the 3M CHIM Division and currently resides in Methuen, MA.