Peter Veltri enters his 25th season at the helm of the Niagara women’s soccer program after being introduced as the fifth head coach in program history prior to the 1999 season.

Veltri has led Niagara to over 200 wins during his tenure, including the programs lone MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006.

He has earned MAAC Coach of the Year honors three times.  Veltri earned the nod in his first season at Niagara (1999) and again following the 2003 and 2005 campaigns. He was also named 2005 Runner-Up Coach of the Year for the Northeast Region by SoccerBuzz.

In 2022, Veltri led the Purple Eagles to their first MAAC Championship title game appearance since 2009 after defeating Marist and Fairfield in the quarterfinal and semifinal contests. Niagara set a program-record shutout streak of 661:46 that included six-straight shutouts. 

Under Veltri, the Purple Eagles have 11 seasons with at least double-digit wins and 12 with five or more wins in conference play.

In his 23 seasons, Veltri has mentored nine major award winners, 22 All-MAAC First Team, 31 All-MAAC Second Team, two All-MAAC Third Team, and 26 MAAC All-Rookie Team selections.

Notably, Veltri mentored ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-American Brittany Bisnott in 2006, NCAA goals per game leader Rosie Luzak in 2002 and most recently Florence Vaillancout who, in 2021, became the first Purple Eagle to earn MAAC Offensive Player of the Year since Bisnott in 2007.

Veltri’s coaching experience includes stints at Keuka College (1996-98) and as co-head coach at Bethany College (1996) and Brooke High School (1993-96). Veltri was named the West Virginia Coach of the Year and the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC) Coach of the Year after helping the Brooke Bruins to the OVAC title. 

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Veltri graduated from Bethany College in 1993 after lettering on the nationally ranked men’s soccer team from 1989 to 1992. He played in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including two NCAA semifinals.

Veltri’s playing experience included a year with a semi-professional team in Cosenza in Southern Italy in 1989. During high school in Hamilton, Veltri was a member of the U-16 and U-18 Canadian National pool, which represented Canada in tournaments around North America. He trained in the Canadian National program for three years and was involved in the national pool of players selected for the FIFA U-16 World Cup.