FSU women’s soccer coach Mike Krikorian adds third national title
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BVM) – Winning is a culture on the pitch for Florida State’s women’s soccer team as they recently claimed their third national title in program history.
The mastermind behind the Seminoles success is long-time coach Mike Krikorian who proved to be successful again for his group of young ladies who lifted the hardware once again. Krikorian led the Seminoles to their second national championship in four years as they beat Rutgers in the semifinals and BYU in the finals in a dramatic penalty shootout.
As soon as Krikorian became head coach in 2005, he established consistency of winning and never looked back. The Seminoles have been title contenders ever since his appointment and now have the third-most college cup appearances in NCAA history behind UNC and Notre Dame. To further prove their dominance, Florida State was the only school between 2005-2015 to finish in the nation’s top-10 each year. Better yet, the Seminoles have finished with 16 or more wins in 13 of his 15 years as head coach. If that is not an impressive enough statistic, his overall career win percentage at Florida State in 15 years is .789,, which excludes this past year. A consistent coach like Krikorian is hard to come by.
Along the way, Krikorian has produced some of the nation’s top talent in Mami Yamaguchi and Jaelin Howell. Both women are MAC Hermann Trophy winners, an award given to the top female athlete in Division I soccer. In addition to this prestigious award, Krikorian has coached 350 All-ACC first-team selections and 34 US Coaches All-American honorees. Many of these women have gone on to play professionally in the NWSL and in Europe, including Dayna Castellanos who currently plays for Atletico Madrid.
Krikorian had stints as head coach for the Philadelphia Charge and the US women’s U-19 national team in the early 2000s before his position at Florida State. In Philadelphia, although not as successful as he would have hoped, Krikorian worked closely alongside many national team stars, including Brandi Chastain. Chastain converted the winning penalty kick for team USA in the 1999 World Cup. In Krikorian’s lone year in 2004 as the USWNT U-19 coach, he led the team to a bronze medal finish at the Women’s World Cup in Thailand.
The Seminoles accomplishments throughout the years that Krikorian has been able to achieve underline the coaching recognitions he has obtained in his career. A five-time ACC coach of the year as well as the 2014 Soccer America and NSCAA national coach of the year.
It is safe to say that the Seminoles women’s soccer program is in safe hands for many years to come with such an accredited coach. FSU has a deep and talented roster, many of whom will return next season, as only three seniors departed. Krikorian and the Lady ‘Noles will look to defend their title come fall of 2022.
Photo: Credit: BVM Sports/Florida State Athletics