Western
Connecticut State University
Head Women's Soccer Coach - Joe Mingachos
Joe Mingachos was named the new
Women’s Soccer Coach and Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation and Club
Sports at Western Connecticut State University in July of 1997. This past
fall, he relinquished his duties as Assistant AD and became the school's
full-time head coach.
Mingachos, a first-ballot WCSU Hall of Fame inductee in
1999, has an impressive .796 winning percentage (149-33-14) which is tops among
all active coaches at WestConn. At the start of the 2003 season, his winning
percentage was ranked fourth among all Division III active women’s soccer
coaches. He captured his 100th win, a 1-0 overtime victory over Stevens Tech on
October 31, 2002, in only his 124th game.
This past fall, WestConn returned to the NCAA
Tournament, advancing to the second round. It earned an at-large bid to
the "Big Show" after finishing in second place in the Little East Conference.
The Colonials went 15-3-2 overall and 5-0-2 in the highly competitive Little
East Conference.
In 2004, he led the Colonials to a 18-5-2 overall
record and their seventh post-season tournament, and won the ECAC New England
Championship.
In 2003, the Colonials finished 13-6-4 and thier sixth
post-season tournament, the ECACs, in seven years as head coach.
A year earlier, Mingachos won 17 games for the fifth
time in his six years at the helm of the Colonials.
In 2001, WestConn won a program-record 20 games.
Mingachos led the Colonials to a 20-3 overall record, their fifth Little East
Conference title and to the finals of the NCAA Division III New England
Regionals.
Western Connecticut finished ranked 12th in the final 2001 National Soccer
Coaches Association of American Coaches Poll.
In 2000, Mingachos guided Western to a 17-4-1 overall
record and its fourth-straight post-season appearance. The Colonials captured
their fourth Little East Conference crown, were invited to their third NCAA
Tournament over the past four seasons and advanced to the second round for the
first time in school history.
In 1999, he led his Colonials to a 17-1-2 overall mark
and their third-straight post-season tournament. The Colonials appeared in their
second NCAA Tournament and were ranked as high as sixth in the country
nationally midway through the season.
In 1998, Western Connecticut was ranked number one for
the Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Region Tournament.
In his first season at the helm, the Colonials
registered the program's best record at 17-3-1, won their first-ever Little East
Conference Championship, were ranked as high as fifth in the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III Women’s Soccer Poll. They
were ranked first in the Metro Region nearly every week and made their
first-ever NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championships appearance.
He was named NSCAA Metro Region Coach of the Year in
1997.
Prior to being named Head Women’s Coach, Mingachos had
been the Head Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach under Wayne Mones for six seasons
from 1991 to 1996.
He also coached the Danbury Girl’s Premier U-16 Team in
1995 and 1996. Mingachos has been the Director of the Mentoring Program for the
Danbury Police Athletic League and the Southwest District Premier Training
Director in 1996 and 1997.
Mingachos was an All-American sweeper for Western
Connecticut during his senior soccer campaign in 1989. That season, the
Colonials finished with a 16-4-2 record and made their first of five-straight
NCAA Tournament appearances.
During his collegiate career, he was named to the All
New England, All New England Intercollegiate Soccer League, and All
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All Star teams.
In 1995, Mingachos, a Danbury, CT native, played
professionally for the Connecticut Wolves.
He and his wife Maria have a son Ryan and daughter
Kayla and reside in Danbury.
Mingachos Through the Years:
1997 17-3-1 NCAAs- Little
East Conference Champions
1998 15-4-2 ECACs- Little East
Conference Champions
1999 17-1-2 NCAAs- Little East
Conference Champions
2000 17-4-1 NCAAs- Little East
Conference Champions
2001 20-3-0 NCAAs- Little East
Conference Champions New England Region Runners Up
2002 17-4-0
2003 13-6-4 ECACs
2004 18-5-2 ECAC New England
Champions
2005 15-3-2 NCAAs
Career 149-33-14 Eight post-season appearances