SUNY Cortland Athletics

Cydney Archer Scarano was an All-American on Cortland’s 1980 women’s soccer national championship team, and she has coached the sport on the scholastic and collegiate levels for more than 30 years since her graduation.
 
* The Syracuse native earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Cortland in 1982 and a master’s degree (National Science Foundation Graduate Assistantship) in education from Cortland in 1983, in addition to earning a Juris Doctor degree in environmental law from Syracuse University in 1990 and a master’s degree in education leadership from the University of New Hampshire in 2003
 
* Midfielder/wing halfback on Cortland’s first three women’s soccer varsity teams from 1978-80 that posted a combined 38-4-1 record, member of club soccer team from 1976-77, four-year indoor club soccer participant from 1977-80
 
* As a senior in 1980 earned All-America honors (first year women’s All-Americans were selected) and first team Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) all-region recognition, and was an all-region honoree in 1979
 
* Finished with a combined 27 goals and 10 assists for 64 points in three varsity seasons, including 10 goals and seven assists in 1978 and nine goals and three assists in 1980
 
* Helped Cortland win the first-ever U.S. National Women’s Soccer Championship in 1980, scoring a goal in a 5-1 win over UCLA in the national finals, and during a run to the EAIAW regional title scored goals versus top-seeded Princeton in the first round, Harvard in the semifinals, and Connecticut in the finals
 
* Scored tying goal with less than 14 minutes left in regulation in 1979 EAIAW regional final versus Harvard; teams were declared co-champions after a 1-1 tie
 
* Head women’s soccer coach at Wells College (1984-85) and women’s soccer and softball coach at Colgate University (1985-87)
 
* Summer Wilderness Guide for Wilderness Ventures (Jackson, Wyo.) from 1983-85, helping lead teenagers to successful ascents of Mt. Rainier (14,411 feet) in Washington and The Grand (13,770 feet) in Wyoming
 
* Environmental attorney in Syracuse from 1991-94
 
* Teacher, paraprofessional, maple sugar coordinator and sustainability leader at Moharimet Elementary School in Durham, N.H., from 2001-13
 
* High school coaching career included positions at head coach at Cazenovia High School (1994-96), assistant coach at Oyster River High School in New Hampshire (2007-14, including state title in 2007), head coach at Portsmouth (N.H.) High School (2015-19), and head coach at Oyster River (2020-present); also currently girls JV lacrosse coach at Oyster River
 
* 2015 New Hampshire State Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year as she led Portsmouth to a state runner-up finish
 
* Involved for more than 20 years in numerous community service efforts, including club soccer coaching, in Cazenovia, Colorado Springs and New Hampshire