Paulo Canineu-Neto, a 13-year collegiate coaching veteran, was named the head coach of the Saint Francis University men's soccer program on May 21, 2015.
Paulo Neto enters his third season as the SFU head men's soccer coach, guiding the Red Flash to two championship appearances in two seasons.
Neto has compiled a 23-11-6 record in two seasons (.650) as Saint Francis head coach, including a 12-6-2 mark in 2016. A highlight of the season was a 3-1 win at Penn State. The Red Flash went 4-1-2 in conference play to earn the no. 2 seed in the NEC Tournament before falling to St. Francis Brooklyn 1-0 in double overtime. Saint Francis placed three players on the NEC First Team, one on the Second Team and one on the All-Rookie Team.
Under Neto's coaching, Francis de Vries developed into a three-time All-American selection. He was drafted in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft by the Vancouver Whitecaps, marking Saint Francis's first draft pick in school history.
In his first season in Loretto, Neto guided the Flash to their fifth double-digit win season in the past six years with an 11-5-4 campaign, including 5-2 in the Northeast Conference. Neto led the Flash to a NEC tournament berth and a trip to the NEC Championship game after a semi-final win over Robert Morris.
Neto also coached Francis de Vries to his second-straight All-American season as he was named to the All-America Team by the National Soccer Coaches’ Association. de Vries was also named the NEC and ECAC Defender of the Year. Neto also coached Mario Mastrangelo to an All-Rookie season and the sixth-most goals in an SFU season with a 10-goal campaign.
His Red Flash also posted eight shutouts and a goals against average of just 0.89 in his first season.
He became the seventh coach in program history and comes to Loretto after spending three seasons at Shorter University (NCAA-II) in Rome, Georgia. At Shorter, he took the team to the Gulf South Conference tournament championship game in 2014, in the first year of NCAA post-season eligibility, after transitioning from NAIA. Also, he led the team to a No. 7 ranking in the nation at the end of the season after an NCCAA-I Final Four Appearance. Neto's squad also improved its team GPA from a 2.56 to a 3.3 during his tenure.
Prior to his time in Georgia, Neto was the head men's soccer coach at the University of the Cumberlands (NAIA) for six seasons. He left after compiling an overall record of 84-30-9 and finishing four of the seasons ranked in the top-25.
Neto began his collegiate coaching career at Lincoln Memorial University (NCAA-II) in 2003 where he was an assistant coach for both the men's and women's soccer programs, as well as the recruiting coordinator.
Neto is very involved with the Olympic Development Program. He serves as an ODP Region I staff coach. In past years, he was a regional head coach for Region II ODP, as well as a Kentucky ODP head coach. Neto has extensive experience coaching semi-professional teams, with stints as head coach at Baton Rouge Capitals-PDL (2008-2009), Gulf Coast Texans-NPSL (2013), and Knoxville Force-NPSL (2014-2015). Coach Neto is also the founder and director of Brazilian Way Soccer Camps. Brazilian Way has been a driving force in growing the game of soccer in the east side of Kentucky and Tennessee through clinics and camps, and is now expanding to west PA.
Neto hails from Sorocaba, Brazil, and was a 2003 graduate of Union College with triple majors in Business Administration, Physical Education, and Sports Management. He earned a masters degree in Business Administration from Lincoln Memorial University in May of 2008.
Before coming to the United States, Neto played in the youth system of some of the best clubs in the world including Fluminense FC and SC Corinthians. He also was pre-selected to the U-17 Brazilian National Team. In the USA, Neto played at Union College (KY) and served as team captain from 2000 to 2002. In addition to being named team captain, Neto was a four-year starter earning All-Conference honors each season including Conference Player of the Year his final season. His various other achievements include being named All-Region in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and All-America in the same years. He's the all-time leading scorer at Union with 69 goals and 50 assists. Neto was an exemplary student-athlete and was recognized twice as an NAIA All-American Scholar. Professionally, Neto was part of the Cincinnati Kings squad (USL) in 2005 before taking over his first head coaching position.
Off the field, Neto serves as a member of the NCAA DI Men's Soccer Regional Advisory Committee. Neto holds a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) “A” License, a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) "A" License, and a USSF National Youth License. Neto has also been an instructor for Kentucky and Tennessee Youth Soccer Associations on state license courses, being on the Coaching Education Staff. He lives in Cresson, PA, with his wife Maria, and four children Tulio, Lucas, Gabriel, and Giovanna.
