Rudy Raffone ‘62 left Westbrook High School to start the soccer program at his alma mater Notre Dame of West Haven in the fall of 1988.
At the time, he had two older sons whom he had coached at Westbrook. He would go on to coach his youngest son and current assistant coach, Scott, at Notre Dame.
Well, from the life comes full circle department, the patriarch of the Green Knight soccer program for the last 29 years walked off the Sage Park soccer pitch last Monday night as Notre Dame head coach for the final time with his senior tri-captain and grandson Joe Antonucci by his side.
Raffone had told the team the previous weekend that he would retire from Notre Dame following their state tournament run. The Green Knights fell to Berlin 3-0 on Monday, November 6, 2017 marking the end of an era for Notre Dame soccer. The only coach the program has known, Raffone finished his career with a record of 234-203-91.
“It’s time to step down here at Notre Dame,” said Raffone. “I love this school and this program. I still have a passion for the kids and the game but the time is right to retire from coaching at Notre Dame.”
“I have had a lot of special classes in my 29 years coaching at Notre Dame,” added Raffone. “You never want to single out any player or any class but there is a nice symmetry to walking off the field coaching my grandson and this senior class in what turned out to be the final game for all of us. Soccer has been such an important part of our family and I am forever grateful for the opportunities Notre Dame afforded my family.”
Coach Raffone, who earned an International B Coaching License from the Scottish Football Association, initiated a program from scratch and built it into a competitive and well-respected program. During his 29-year tenure, his teams won six SCC Quinnipiac division championships and qualified for the state tournament 21 times. He coached 13 all-State players and guided the 1999 team to the semifinals of the Class L CIAC state tournament. He was named the 2002 Connecticut Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
“It is truly the end of an era with Coach Raffone’s retiring as our soccer coach,” said Notre Dame Athletic Director Tom Marcucci. “He began the Notre Dame program and built it from the ground up. The team for most of his years had to practice off campus and had no permanent home. Through those times, he never complained and always kept his players as his priority.”
Outside of soccer, Coach Raffone taught math at Notre Dame for more than 25 years before retiring from the classroom after the 2014-15 school year. Along with former hockey coach Bill Gerosa and current Director of Athletic Communications Stephen Kirck II, he helped formulate the plan and implementation of GoGreenKnights.com, which has become a staple in the Notre Dame community since 2008-09 academic year. While on the teaching staff, he served as moderator of the Varsity Club and organized student trips to Montreal annually to St. Joseph Oratory to help students connect to the Holy Cross Mission. He was also an assistant basketball coach for two seasons.
Marcucci added, “He has had a profound impact at Notre Dame not only in soccer but as a math teacher and enthusiastic supporter of so many people and programs at Notre Dame. I am grateful for all he has done. He will be missed but I know he will always stay involved because of his love for Notre Dame.”