UMass coach Koch dies

UMass head coach Sam Koch

AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts men's soccer coach Sam Koch, who led the Minutemen to a berth in the 2007 College Cup, has died after a two-year battle with sinus cancer.

The university said in a statement that Koch died Sunday at his Hadley home. He was 59.

Koch had a 222-182-45 record in 23 seasons at UMass. He won four regular-season Atlantic 10 Conference titles and two A-10 tournament championships, reaching the NCAA tournament three times.

In 2007, the unranked Minutemen won four consecutive games, including 2-1 against No. 1 Boston College, to reach the tournament's final four, before losing 1-0 to Ohio State in the semifinals.

Before UMass, Koch was the coach at Stanford from 1984-89, going 58-53-16.

He is survived by his wife and four children.