Bruno Victal, just the sixth head coach in program history, is entering his eighth season and ninth year overall as the head men's soccer coach at Saint Anselm ahead of the 2024 season.

The Hawks are coming off a historic 2023 campaign that saw the program earn both its first postseason appearance and postseason win since 2009. It was also Victal's first trip to a conference postseason during his tenure. The team earned a 6-9-3 record and a 4-4-2 mark in Northeast-10 Conference play, which saw them finish in a tie for fourth place in the final league standings. It was their best finish in the NE10 table since 2002. They defeated Saint Rose in the NE10 Quarterfinals for their first postseason victory in 14 years before bowing out in the NE10 Semifinals following a 3-2 loss against top seeded and eventual conference and national champion, Franklin Pierce. The Hawks also earned a signature 2-0 win during the regular season against Southern New Hampshire, who was ranked ninth in the nation at the time. Victal coached Michael Provenzano to an All-NE10 Third Team Selection and Connor Lovely to an NE10 All-Rookie Team selection.

The Hawks posted a 7-9 record in the 2022 season and matched the 2019 team for the highest winning percentage in over a decade. The year began with a 5-0 record, something that had not been done by the program since 2001. The winning streak was extended to five after a 1-0 win over crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire, which snapped an 11-match unbeaten streak for the Penmen in the all-time series that dated back over a decade. On the streak, the Hawks allowed just two goals and posted three clean sheets. Following a 6-1-0 record, the Hawks reached ninth in the United Soccer Coaches Division II East Region poll. The team was ultimately one spot out of playoff contention.

Victal led the Hawks to another six wins during the 2021 campaign, which saw Zach Elliot earn All-NE10 Third Team accolades. The 2020 season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The regionally-ranked Hawks posted a 7-9 record under Victal in 2019, the squad's highest win total in a decade. Beginning the year with four straight victories, Saint Anselm's hot start was most recently accomplished by the Northeast-10 Conference and ECAC Division II Championship-winning 1999 squad, who also posted a 4-0 record in its first four games. In those first four matches during the 2019 season, the Hawks rattled off 14 goals. The team finished with a winning record at home, notching five of the team's seven victories from the friendly confines of Melucci Field. Victal also coached an All-NE10 Rookie Team pick in Kevin Jordan, the program’s first All-NE10 Rookie honoree since 2015.

The 2018 season featured only one win with three draws, but also saw just one defeat by three goals - the remaining losses were by one or two goal margins. The Hawks secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over championship-bound Southern Connecticut State in their season finale.

In 2017, Victal's team finished 3-11-2 overall with four of its losses coming at the hands of nationally-ranked teams. The Hawks upended No. 21 Franklin Pierce at Melucci Field on Sept. 26 for the program's first win against a nationally-ranked opponent in nearly seven years (Oct. 7, 2010). Saint Anselm remained in contention for its first berth in the NE10 Men's Soccer Championship since 2009 until the final week of the regular season. Victal also helped coach senior Dan Kelly and junior Emmet O'Callaghan to spots on the All-NE10 Third Team, the program's first All-NE10 honorees since 2014.

In his first season on the Hilltop in 2016, the Hawks went 4-11-1 overall. Victal earned his first-career victory with a 2-1 overtime win over Assumption in the Catholic Cup on Sept. 3. Other highlights from the season include a 1-0 win at Saint Rose on Sept. 24 courtesy of a JD Hayward 88th-minute goal and a 4-1 Senior Day victory over Bentley on Oct. 15.

Prior to moving to the United States, Victal played soccer for 15 years as part of the Division 1 Academy in Brazil and played three years for the University of Vila Velha (1999-2001). He was a member of the Brazilian National Team for two consecutive years playing in Spain and France, earning a bronze medal at the World University Games in Palma de Mallorca, Spain in 1999. That same year, he was named the best college player in Brazil. Professionally, Victal played for Clube Atletico Taquaritinga, Rio Branco Atletico Clube and locally for the New Hampshire Phantoms.

He has spent the last 15 years working with several youth clubs in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and is currently working as a club director for Nashua World Cup. Victal is a nationally-recognized futsal coach, serving as a current member of the coaching staff for the United States Youth Futsal national teams and as the director of coaching for FutsalNH, one of the largest futsal academies in the country. He is also known for his year-round youth camps and clinincs called Brazilian Arts Soccer Training.

He currently resides in Merrimack with his wife, Glaucia Silva, and has two kids, Gabriel, and Sofia.

Victal Year-by-Year