Former TJ star Costanzo helps Pitt turn the corner

2004 Post-Gazette Male Athleteof the Year.

The accolades don’t stop there. Costanzo enrolled at Penn State, where he became the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, then transferred to the University of Maryland in 2006. He ascended to the rank of team captain as a senior in 2008 and led the Terrapins to anACC and NCAA title.

Costanzo then played professionally from 2009 to 2013, helpingthe Rochester Rhinos to regular-season titles in 2010 and 2011 before finishing his career back home with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. After the 2013 season, he decided to transition to a coaching career and spent the next three seasons as an assistant at Army before he got the call fromVidovich.

Like Vidovich, whose desire to return to the ACC drew him to Pitt, Costanzo didn’t shy away from the challenge of coaching in college soccer’s toughestconference.

“It was a no-brainer,” Costanzo said. “To be able to get on staff with coach Jay, to learn from him and to have him as a mentor is really second to none. It’s a once-in-alifetime opportunity.”

While Costanzo is reaping the rewards of coaching underVidovich, nobody has benefited more from their partnership than the players. Once viewed as the ACC’s perennial bottom-feeders, the Panthers have served notice tothe conference’s blue bloods thatthey’re here to stay.

“There’s no question, we’re starting to make a name for ourselves as a program,” Costanzo said. “I truly believe we can compete with any team in the country right now when we have all our players healthyand able to play.”