Chris Chamides, who has vast experience in both Major League Soccer (MLS) and NCAA soccer, returns for his 18
th season as the head coach of the men’s soccer program at Cal State LA. Chamides led the Golden Eagles to the best season in program history in 2019, guiding them to the national championship game after winning conference and Super 4 Region titles along the way.
In addition to the unprecedented 2019 season at Cal State LA, Chamides has now accumulated 10 years of MLS experience and is currently a first-team scout for the newest MLS franchise in Los Angeles, LAFC. At LAFC, Chamides works with the front office and coaching staff to help evaluate players for the MLS roster. In this role, Chamides attends coaches meetings, team meetings and training sessions. LAFC is led by head coach Bob Bradley and includes such notable players as Carlos Vela (Mexico), Diego Rossi (Uruguay), Eduard Atuesta (Columbia), Adama Diomande (Norway).
Chamides led the Golden Eagles to a 19-1-3 overall record and set a new program standard for winning percentage (.891) last season. Cal State LA went undefeated while winning yet another California Collegiate Athletic Association championship and then won three straight NCAA playoff games at home to advance to the national finals for the first time since 1981.
The Golden Eagles were the only team in the nation to carry an undefeated record to the Final Four and Cal State LA, the top-seed, blanked No. 4 seed Indianapolis in the national semi-finals, 3-0, before falling to Charleston (W.V.) in the championship match, 2-0.
Cal State LA finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches rankings, matching the program's highest-ever finish.
The Golden Eagles were near the top of the nation in several statistical categories in 2019. Cal State LA was No. 2 in shutout percentage (.652), No. 2 in goals against average (.418), No. 3 in fewest fouls per game (8.22) and No. 4 in save percentage (.853).
In addition, goalkeeper Alexander Brems became the first player in program history to be named the national Player of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches and the CCAA Male Athlete of the Year, an award that spans all the men’s sports in the conference. He set a new program record with 28 shutouts over his two years at Cal State LA.
Chamides was named the CCAA Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a national ranking for the 13
th straight season and achieving a national top-10 ranking for the 11
th time in the past 14 years. Chamides has now earned nine Coach of the Year awards in his 17 years at Cal State LA.
He was also able to add to some truly sensational achievements. The Golden Eagles recorded 10 wins or more for a ninth straight season and for the 13
th time in the last 14 years. They are now 48-9-9 over the past three championship seasons with a Super Region title, a conference regular-season title and two CCAA Tournament titles during that span. Over the past two years, Cal State LA is a remarkable 34-4-6 overall and 19-1-3 in conference play.
Cal State LA has made eight trips to the NCAA Tournament in the past nine years.
Chamides has turned around a program that had seven straight losing seasons before he arrived in 2003. He has led the Golden Eagles to a 214-88-50 overall record and became the program’s all-time wins leader in 2011. Chamides earned his 200
th victory on Sept. 21, 2019 when the Golden Eagles recorded a thrilling 3-2 double-overtime win over Biola.
Over the past 14 years, Cal State LA is 189-62-45. He has guided the Golden Eagles into the NCAA West Region or NCAA Super Region championship match six times during that span, winning championships in 2011, 2014 and 2019. Chamides also led the team to No. 1 national rankings during the 2009 and 2010 seasons and to conference titles in 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Cal State LA has collected 87 All-CCAA, 51 All-West Region and 18 All-America awards during Chamides’ tenure. That total includes five CCAA Player of the Year awards, two CCAA Freshman of the Year awards, four CCAA Newcomer of the Year awards and the first two CCAA Championship Scholar Awards that was established by the conference in 2017. Cal State LA has also earned the first five CoSIDA Academic All-America awards in the program’s history in the past six years, including two in 2014.
Over the past nine seasons, the Golden Eagles are 125-32-33 overall and an incredible 79-19-19 in conference play with nine CCAA Tournament and eight NCAA Tournament appearances. The program has qualified for the conference tournament in 13 of the past 14 years.
Chamides came to Cal State LA after achieving great success in MLS. He served as the Senior Director of Soccer for the San Jose Earthquakes from 2000-02. While in the role, Chamides was directly involved in all soccer-related facets, including roster development. He helped build a San Jose squad that won the 2001 MLS Cup one year after having the league’s worst record. The roster included high-profile players such as Landon Donovan, Jeff Agoos, Dwayne DeRosario and Jimmy Conrad.
Chamides also served as an assistant coach in MLS for Chivas USA for four seasons and the team reached the playoffs in all four of those seasons. In 2006, he worked under MLS Coach of the Year Bob Bradley. Coach Bradley has also coached the US National Team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Swansea of the English Premier League and is the current head coach of LAFC. He also worked for three years with former Chivas USA Head Coach Preki. In his time with Chivas USA, the roster included Claudio Suarez, Ramon Ramirez, Paco Palencia, Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Ante Razov and Brad Guzan.
Chamides was also the head coach of Cal State LA’s women’s soccer program from 2003-12 and, as with the men, is the program’s all-time leader in wins with a 103-69-25 mark in 10 seasons. He turned around a program that had not produced a winning record before his arrival and built the Golden Eagles into one of the top programs in the nation. The Golden Eagles were a sensational 52-17-12 over his last four years and finished the season ranked in the national top-15 three times. He led the Golden Eagles to winning records in eight of his last nine seasons with a 99-55-25 mark over that stretch.
Cal State LA’s women’s program collected 43 All-CCAA, 21 All-West Region, four All-America, three CCAA Player of the Year and one West Region Player of the Year awards during his tenure. The Golden Eagles also had two players earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors after his arrival.
Prior to his years in Major League Soccer, Chamides was the head men’s and women’s soccer coach at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla. from 1997-99. The Flagler women’s team improved from 2-15 before his arrival to 12-7 in 1998. The men’s squad was ranked as high as 17
th in the country and four Flagler players earned All-America honors during his tenure. During that time span, Chamides was also a coach in the Florida Olympic Development Program and was hired as the head coach of the USL’s expansion Jacksonville Jade in 1999.
In 1995, Chamides got his first collegiate coaching job when he was hired as an assistant for the University of Massachusetts - Amherst’s women’s soccer program. During his two years in Amherst, his teams were ranked as high as No. 6 in the country, won two Atlantic-10 Conference titles, made two consecutive “Sweet 16” appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament and compiled a 30-9-3 record.
His first head coaching job came in 1993 when he worked with both the junior varsity and varsity boys soccer teams at his alma mater, Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. That same year, he was also tabbed by former LA Galaxy and USA National Team Coach Bruce Arena to serve as a staff coach at the University of Virginia’s summer soccer camps. In 1994, he also revived the S.C. Gjoa U-16 boys club team in Brooklyn, leading the squad to the State Cup.
Chamides played in college for NCAA Division I Lafayette College from 1988-92. He was a team captain as a senior. Lafayette posted a winning record in each of his four seasons and had an overall mark of 43-32-5.
He owns an “A” license from the U.S. Soccer Federation and has an Advanced National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Chamides earned a Masters of Science degree in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts.
Chamides and his wife, Nancy, were married during the summer of 2005 and have two sons, Ryan and Andrew.
Chris Chamides At A Glance
| Year |
Overall Record |
CCAA Record |
Highlights |
| 2019 |
19-1-3 |
10-0-1 |
National runner-up, No. 2 national ranking,
Super Region 4 championship, CCAA Championship, CCAA Coach of the Year |
| 2018 |
15-3-3 |
9-1-2 |
2nd straight CCAA Tournament Championship; NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2017 |
14-5-3 |
6-4-2 |
CCAA Tournament Championship; NCAA Qualifier |
| 2016 |
10-6-3 |
7-5 |
CCAA Semi-finals |
| 2015 |
12-5-3 |
8-3-1 |
NCAA Qualifier |
| 2014 |
15-4-2 |
9-2 |
NCAA West Region Championship |
| 2013 |
14-2-5 |
10-1-5 |
CCAA Championship; NCAA No. 1 seed |
| 2012 |
11-4-5 |
10-2-3 |
CCAA South Division title; NCAA qualifier |
| 2011 |
15-2-6 |
10-1-5 |
CCAA Coach of the Year; No. 8 National Ranking; NCAA West Region title; CCAA Championship |
| 2010 |
9-7-1 |
8-7-1 |
No. 1 national ranking during season |
| 2009 |
18-4-1 |
13-2-1 |
CCAA Coach of the Year; No. 1 national ranking during season, No. 7 at end; NCAA qualifier |
| 2008 |
13-5-4 |
9-3-2 |
Ranked 14th in nation in final poll; NCAA qualifier |
| 2007 |
11-6-4 |
9-3-2 |
First back-to-back winning seasons |
| 2006 |
13-8-2 |
10-6-0 |
NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year; First NCAA berth since 1994 and first win since 1992; First winning season since 1996 |
| 2005 |
9-9 |
6-8 |
CCAA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year |
| 2004 |
9-9-1 |
7-6-1 |
CCAA Coach of the Year |
| 2003 |
7-8-4 |
4-6-4 |
|
| Totals |
214-88-50 |
145-60-30 |
|
