Cesar Markovic, who coached both St. Peter's and Stony Brook into first-ever NCAA tournament appearances, has been hired as the new men's soccer coach at NJIT, succeeding Pedro Lopes.



Markovic, who stands 151-125-34 in his college coaching career, led Stony Brook to a 10-7-3 mark last fall. Stony Brook reached the NCAA tournament in 2005 and 2009 under Markovic, who led St. Peter's into the NCAA tournament in 2003 when the Peacocks upset No. 11-ranked Brown for the school's only NCAA triumph in any sport.



``He is the ideal person to lead us to new success as a Division 1 program, while restoring a rich soccer tradition that goes back to before 1960 when Newark College of Engineering (NJIT's name at the time) won the NAIA national championship" said Lenny Kaplan, NJIT athletic director. ``



St. Peter's had gone 10 seasons without a winning record before Markovic took over and in his fourth season he guided the Peacocks to a school-record 18 victories and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship. Markovic led Stony Brook to 13 victories and its first NCAA appearance in 2005.



NJIT was 4-13-1 in 2001, Lopes' eighth season at the helm.