Head coach Chris Chamides played soccer at Lafayette College from 1988 to 1992.
Chamides has extensive experience in the soccer world — in addition to his days at California State University, Los Angeles, Chamides has also worked with several Major League Soccer teams.
Sports Editor
The audio version of this article is generated by Trinity Audio using AI narration.
Head coach Chris Chamides played soccer at Lafayette College from 1988 to 1992.
When head coach Chris Chamides made the decision to come to LMU in December 2021 and take over the women’s soccer team, he was no stranger to the Bluff. However, he came looking for a challenge.
“I’ve lived in this area for a long time, and I have a great appreciation for LMU, both the University and the athletic department, so there was a fit there,” said Chamides. “Professionally … I was coming off of winning a national championship at my previous school. I just simply wanted a new challenge in my life, in my career, and the rebuilding of this roster and this program gave me an opportunity.”
Chamides was fresh off a NCAA Division II Men’s National Championship with California State University, Los Angeles’ (CSULA) men’s soccer team, and he had spent 18 years total with CSULA’s soccer programs, coaching both the women’s and men’s teams during his time there. Throughout his tenure, he built both teams up, becoming the all-time winningest coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at CSULA.
On the other hand, LMU women’s soccer was overdue for a shape-up — the Lions were just coming off a whopping 0-19 win-loss record in their 2021 season, the worst record the program had seen in years. Chamides was definitely in for a challenge.
At the conclusion of the coach’s first season in 2022, LMU women’s soccer walked away with a 3-8-6 win-loss-tie record. In the 2023 season, the Lions etched a 6-10-3 record, holding the penultimate spot in the West Coast Conference (WCC).
However, the 2024 season marked a huge step forward for the Lions. Chamides led the Lions to an 11-5-2 record and a No. 5 standing in the WCC, the highest standing for the women’s soccer team in years. Because of Chamides’ dedication and commitment to the team, he received the WCC Coach of the Year award at the conclusion of the season.
Chamides has extensive experience in the soccer world — in addition to his days at California State University, Los Angeles, Chamides has also worked with several Major League Soccer teams.
“I’ve been fortunate — [Coach of the Year] is something that I have been able to experience before in my career, but each [award] is extremely unique and … our staff is very appreciative for the award and our colleagues in the conference recognizing our work,” said Chamides.
There is much more success behind the ranking, though. This season, the Lions broke the record for most road wins and secured the first ranked win of the “Chamides era.” Five players received awards, spanning from first team All-WCC to the WCC’s All-Freshman team.
“We … understand as a program that the individual awards — whether it’s Coach of the Year or All-Conference for the players — those are really byproducts of the program doing well. Earning these awards [is] not our goal, necessarily, but we’re also very grateful and humble to know that our work is being recognized and that, in general, we’re doing good work on a daily basis,” said Chamides.
Despite the numerous accolades and impressive moments from the season, though, the moment that Chamides was most proud of surpassed the tangible.
“Just seeing the seniors step up in particular was something that our staff was very proud about. To see them get on the same page to make a big commitment, in terms of their preparation over the summer, and arrive to us fit and healthy and ready to go, and very coachable and very committed to what our project was going to be this year — we felt as a staff that was very inspiring,” said Chamides.
Coming off a season that sparked hope and potential for the Lions, the offseason will be fundamental for the team to continue their ascent, and Chamides is fully embracing this.
“We’re now going into the spring understanding that this group of seniors won’t be with us next fall, and we have to look at our roster and build internally to raise the abilities and the experiences of the current players on our roster,” said Chamides. “It’s going to be a lot of work, it’s going to be competitive, it’s going to be hard work — but we understand that that’s par for the course.”
Although the Lions have seen substantial improvement in the three years since Chamides joined the coaching staff, he believes this is just the beginning.
“We are excited about what we’ve done, not only this year, but for the last three years. We have had gradual progress. We’re proud of that, we’re excited about that, but we also want more, so we’re going to continue to the process of going to go chase more,” said Chamides.
Sports Editor
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