David Kulik has guided the Johnson & Wales (RI) University men’s soccer program to six Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) finals appearances and four conference championships (2013-15, 2019) since his arrival in April, 2012.
Since his arrival in Providence, the Wildcats have posted a 142-42-23 (.742 winning pct.); the 142 wins rank No. 18 in the nation during that span and No. 2 in New England, second to only Amherst. During that span, JWU has posted 99 shutouts to go along with a team goals against average (GAA) of .807 – both of which rank near the top of the NCAA standings.
Kulik – owns a career record of 245-127-46 (.641) over 23 seasons split between Clark (MA) University and JWU – also serves as an Assistant Athletic Director at JWU. He serves as the chairman of the Wildcats Athletic Hall of Fame and the university’s alumni liaison. Kulik owns a pair of GNAC Coach of the Year awards (2014, 2019)
This past season, the Wildcats won 15 matches (10-0-2 GNAC) and earned the No. seed in the GNAC Tournament, where they advanced to the finals. Four student-athletes garnered all-conference honors. As a team, JWU allowed 11 goals in 20 matches, including 12 shutouts.
Kulik came to Providence after spending 12 years as the head men’s soccer coach at Clark (MA) in Worcester, Mass, the last six as an associate AD. He left the Cougars program as the all-time leader in wins (103). Prior to his arrival in Worcester, Kulik spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach at Yale University, Boston College and Tufts University.
A two-time New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Coach of the Year (2005, 2008), Kulik was a four-year member of the NCAA Division III National Soccer Committee (2008-11) and served as the national chair of the committee in 2010. He began a four-year term as a chairman for Region 1 in 2021.
A highly touted high school recruit, Kulik played in the first national high school all-america match at Army-West Point which was broadcast on ESPN. He went on to play four years at Yale University, where he became the first student-athlete in the history of the program to start every game of their four-year career. He earned All-Ivy League and All-New England accolades in each of his four years playing for the Bulldogs, serving as captain as a senior. As a senior, Kulik helped the Bulldogs to an Ivy League Championship in 1986 following a 30-year drought.
During his college career, he was the recipient of the Walter J. McNerney Award as the team’s most valuable player and earned the Walter Leeman Senior Leadership Trophy as the player who upholds the ideals of Leeman through sportsmanship and team play. After Yale, he played professionally for the Boston Bolts and the Miami Freedom, competing in the American Soccer League championship in 1989 against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. In his first professional season, Kulik was named the team's hardest-working player and was fifth on the team in scoring with four goals and an assist.
Also active in the club soccer community, Kulik led his squads to numerous league titles, state championships, and trips to regional, national and international tournaments with FC Greater Boston Bolts and Bruno United. Outside of his college and club coaching experience, Kulik coached for one year at the St. John’s School in San Juan Puerto Rico and for one year at Central High School in San Angelo, Texas, where he guided the team to a school-record 17-win season being named the district Coach of the Year.
Kulik holds the United States Soccer Federation ‘A’ license and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National Diploma. A 1988 graduate of Yale University with a degree in sociology/economics, he obtained an advanced degree in psychology from Tufts University in 1992.
Kulik resides in Boston, Massachusetts. He has one daughter, Sidnie, who is an All-New England runner at Amherst College.
At Clark University (12 Seasons)
|
2000
|
8
|
9
|
1
|
2001
|
8
|
9
|
0 |
2002
|
4
|
11
|
2
|
2003
|
8
|
7
|
2
|
2004
|
9
|
8
|
0 |
2005
|
15
|
4
|
2
|
2006
|
11
|
4
|
2
|
2007
|
7
|
5
|
6
|
2008
|
11
|
5
|
2
|
2009
|
9
|
7
|
2
|
2010
|
5
|
9
|
2
|
2011
|
8
|
7
|
2
|
Total |
103
|
85
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
at Johson & Wales University (10 Seasons)
|
2012
|
11
|
7
|
2
|
2013
|
14
|
2
|
6
|
2014
|
15
|
6
|
1
|
2015
|
17
|
5
|
0 |
2016 |
11 |
5 |
4 |
2017 |
15
|
2
|
2
|
2018 |
12
|
6
|
3
|
2019 |
17
|
3
|
2
|
2020* |
No Season
|
COVID
|
|
2021 |
15
|
4
|
0
|
Total |
127
|
40
|
20
|
|
|
|
|
Career Total
|
230
|
125
|
43
|
22 Seasons
|