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Dave Masur
Sport: Soccer
Born: January 10, 1962
Town: Maplewood
David Masur was born January 10, 1962 in Maplewood. Quick, smart and coordinated, Dave excelled as a boy in basketball and soccer. At Columbia High School he also became a top lacrosse player. Dave became a starter for the Cougars soccer team as a midfielder in 1978 and led the varsity to state titles as a junior in 1979 and as a senior 1980. In 1980 he was named State Player of the Year. In the 1979 NASL draft, the Cosmos selected Dave, but could not convince him to turn pro. Instead, he accepted a scholarship to Rutgers.
Dave settled in at sweeper for the Scarlet Knights and was named team captain as a sophomore. He was a first-team All-American in 1983 and third-team in 1984. Rutgers went 35–14–6 during his four varsity seasons. Dave was the cornerstone of a program that featured fellow All-Americans Peter Vermes, Steve Rammel and Glenn Carbonara, and was coached by Bob Reasso. After Dave’s senior season he worked briefly for Reasso as an assistant.
 In 1985, Dave was drafted by the Chicago Sting of the MISL. He played pro soccer on and off for a decade, but set his sights on a coaching career after becoming coach at Montclair State in 1987. He turned a lousy program around in a year, posting a 53–21–6 record and taking the Red Hawks to three NCAA Tournaments in three seasons. That success led to the head coaching job at St. John’s.
In 1992, the Red Storm qualified for the NCAA Tournament, beginning a magnificent 15-year run. In 1996, St. John’s made it to the championship game and beat Florida International 4–1. It marked the first time the school won a national championship in any sport. Dave was an easy pick for NCAA Coach of the Year. In 2003, St. John’s returned to the title game but lost to Indiana, 2–1. Among the players Dave developed were Huey Ferguson, Ben Hickey, Kevin Daly and Chris Wingert.
In 1989, Rutgers retired Dave’s uniform. In 2001, he was named Division I Coach of the Year again. In 2004, he was inducted into the St. John’s Hall of Fame. And in 2006, he was inducted into the Columbia High School Hall of Fame.
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