Morais

Rafael Morais

2021 marked year two of the Rafael Morais tenure for the Knights that saw the team go 3-8-2 and 2-6-1 in East Coast Conference play after not playing the previous year. Despite the below .500 record the Knights were in a number of competitive games with the likes of Daemen College, eventual conference champions Molloy College and NCAA third round participant Mercy College and did so without playing a game at home the whole season. Despite the struggles the Knights earned plenty of accolades as three players, forwards Jacklyn Diel, Julia Ragone, and midfielder Marina Pappas all made the all-ECC third team. Also noteworthy was that Diel and Ragone were both freshman, marking the first time in program history that two freshmen earned all-conference selections in the same season. 
 
In his debut campaign in 2019, Morais led the Knights to their highest number of wins since the 2013 season as the team finished with a 7-9-1 record. The six out of conference wins on season, highlighted by victories over the likes of Jefferson, Bloomfield, and Wilmington, also was the most non-conference victories the Knights recorded in a single season since 2010. Along with the team success Morais oversaw some great individual campaigns as two Knights players, Guro Eriksen and Victoria Ramirez, achieved all-ECC team spots. Ramirez posted her best season ever as a Knight under Morais as her 25 points in 2019 was tied for the eighth-most points recorded by a player in a single season in QC women's soccer history and her nine-assist mark was one off the program record set by Cheryl Meany back in 2003. 
 
Morais brought an overall coaching record of 111-44-7 (.685 win percentage) to Flushing after coming off two successful seasons at the Division III level with the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's College-Long Island. Morais went to consecutive Skyline Conference semifinals in 2017 & 2018, posting a 24-14-1 overall record at SJC-LIalong with a strong 13-5 mark in conference play.

Morais has a strong connection to Long Island soccer; prior to his tenure at St. Joe's, he coached for a year at Mattituck High School where he posted an 8-5 record in his only season with the Tuckers girls' soccer program. Morais also made waves as the head women's soccer coach at Suffolk Community College from 2015-17, where he led the Sharks to their first-ever NJCAA Tournament appearance in 2015. That year, as well, Suffolk won the District and Region XV championships. Morais returned to Suffolk County following a one-year stint at Pennsylvania College of Technology in 2014 where he was the school's first full-time men's soccer coach and game-day manager.

Morais served as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Recreation at Briarcliffe College from 2008-2013, and actually began coaching Briarcliffe's men's soccer team in 2007. Here, he led the Bulldogs to five straight United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) title games including winning the championship in 2008 and 2012. Morais was a two-time USCAA Coach of the Year and went 85-12-5 with Briarcliffe.

His coaching experience also expanded to international play, as Morais served as the head coach of the Puerto Rico Women's National Team in 2010; this included coaching two friendlies against regional power Mexico along with leading Puerto Rico in the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Venezuela.

Morais began his playing career at Dowling College in 2002 before transferring to what was then known as C.W. Post (now LIU Post) in 2004. He made nearly 60 appearances in a Pioneer uniform, serving as team captain in his junior season while tallying 33 points (14 goals, five assists). Morais graduated from C.W. Post in 2007 with a B.A. in comparative language and Spanish.

A native of Brazil, Morais is also the owner of United World Soccer Academy (UWSA) and won the 2016 Girls U18 State Open Cup with his club team, Farmingdale Legacy.