Head Coach Matt Edwards Steps Down after Five Seasons, Back-to-Back SCIAC Men’s Soccer Titles

CLAREMONT, Calif. – After five seasons, Matt Edwards has stepped down as the head coach of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer to pursue other opportunities, Director of Athletics Erica Perkins Jasper announced today.  

CMS men's soccer is coming off an impressive two-year run, which saw the Stags combine for a 31-6-3 record and back-to-back SCIAC regular season titles. This year, CMS earned a 16-4-2 record and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 1985, earning a regional title with 2-0 wins over Texas Lutheran and Trinity (Texas). Last year, the Stags had the top-ranked defense in the nation, allowing only four goals in 18 games for an 0.22 goals against average.

Perkins Jasper said Edwards' "knowledge of the sport and ability to draw out the best in his players are outstanding. We are thankful to Matt for the job he has done at CMS, and the example of hard work he set for all of us. We wish him and his family the best as he moves forward in his career."

This past fall, the Stags won both the regular season and postseason SCIAC titles for the first time since the league began the postseason tournament in 2006. The postseason championship resulted in the 18th all-time NCAA bid for the Stags, while the Round of 16 appearance was the fourth in program history. The Stags previously advanced that far three years in a row from 1983-85, including reaching the national championship game in 1983 before falling to UNC Greensboro to end as runner-up. 

Edwards and his staff earned the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year honor in 2018, and followed that up with the United Soccer Coaches West Region Division III Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2019. His overall five-year record at the helm for CMS was 52-32-9, bouncing back from an injury-plagued 4-11-1 season in 2017 to finish in first in the SCIAC standings two years in a row. The jump from four wins in 2017 to 15 wins in 2018 was the second-best improvement in the entire nation, behind only Wesley College (three wins to 16).

A search for a new head coach will begin immediately. Edwards' replacement will be well-poised to continue the program's success: nine members of the starting 11 return next year.