On November 3rd of 2021, with 17 losses in 17 games played, the LMU women's soccer team hit the road for their second-to-last game of the year. In what was already a demoralizing year for the program, the Lions looked for positivity anywhere they could find it. Just keeping the game close would be a win for the Lions in 2021, regardless of what the final outcome was. Their opponent? Reigning national champions and historic powerhouse Santa Clara.
 
There would be no Cinderella story that day. Santa Clara won 6-0, and the Lions never found an answer. It was one more hard result in a season full of them. Just six years after a Sweet Sixteen run in 2015, LMU finished 2021 with a winless 0-19 record, the worst in program history. It was a long way from where the program had once been.

Flashforward five years to the present day, LMU and Santa Clara are set to face off in November again. But this time, the circumstances look a little different. 
Santa Clara will make the trip down to Sullivan Field. Why? Because the Lions earned hosting privileges of the inaugural WCC Tournament when they won a share of the 2026 regular season title and clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference. Five years after their worst season in program history, the Lions lifted the WCC regular season trophy for the first time ever on November 7th after a 1-0 win over San Francisco at Sullivan Field. 

But how did this turnaround happen? There's an easy place to start.

Culture Change
On December 21st of 2021, LMU announced the hiring of Chris Chamides as the seventh head coach in program history. Chamides arrived from Cal State LA, where he spent 18 years as the head men's soccer coach and a decade leading the women's program, which he left as its all-time winningest coach. When he took over the men's team in 2003, it was coming off seven straight losing seasons. Weeks before arriving on the bluff, he led that same team to the 2021 NCAA Division II national championship, the first in program history. LMU, fresh off a winless season, had now added a national championship-winning head coach.

In his first career game at the helm of LMU's women's soccer program, Chamides led the team to a scoreless draw at UC Irvine, ending a 26-game losing streak for the Lions. The turnaround was steady from the start. Chamides' Lions won three games in 2022, doubled that to six in 2023, and then jumped to 11 in 2024, including a 3-0 road win over No. 13 Pepperdine. That season earned him the WCC Coach of the Year award, the first for an LMU coach since Michelle Myers in the historic 2015 season. Two years later, he has done it again. On November 10th, the WCC announced that Chamides is the 2026 Coach of the Year for a second time. 

But Coach Chamides would be the first to say it: this year's team is far more than just him or the result of his coaching. 

Against All Odds
LMU was picked to finish sixth in the WCC preseason poll, a placement that would have ended their season by November. Then the actual season started, and it got worse. The Lions opened 0-4, losing all four games by a single goal, and after eight non-conference games, they were 1-5-2. But they didn't lose hope; they went to work. 

WCC play started and the Lions were more motivated than ever. Through their first seven conference games, they went undefeated. Suddenly, the forgotten about Lions stood atop the WCC standings, with everyone chasing them. After their first loss in WCC play to Portland, LMU entered the final day of the regular season in a three-way tie for first. They controlled their destiny. Beat San Francsico and clinch the first WCC regular season title in school history. They did just that. The packed Sullivan bleachers went wild. Families swarmed the pitch. Chamides was showered in Gatorade. A day that will never be forgotten in LMU history.

The Lions did it the hard way and, in the least likely way imaginable. LMU scored 13 goals all season and never scored more than once in a game. All seven of their wins were 1-0, and every game they played was decided by one goal or ended in a draw. They were outshot 265-162 on the regular season and won 1-0 at Pepperdine on a single shot on goal. The Lions' 0.76 goals per game ranks 310th out of 346 teams in NCAA Division One. Saint Peter's sits one spot ahead of them with 0.78 goals per game. The Peacocks finished the year with two wins and 15 losses. What LMU has accomplished with the stats they have is entirely unheard of, but it can be explained.

JJ Hoover is the Lions' senior goalkeeper. A four-year starter, Hoover has given everything to this program and will go down as one of the greatest goalies in school history. Her season this year was one for the record books. On November 10th, the WCC announced Hoover as the co-goalkeeper of the year and a member of the All-WCC First Team. In 17 games, playing every minute for the Lions between the posts, Hoover allowed just 12 goals and recorded 88 saves with nine shutouts. Her .880 save percentage ranks 7th in the entire nation. 

LMU wouldn't be where they are without Hoover, but the same thing can be said about so many other players pivotal to the team's success. Cameron Bourne led the team in points with 14 on six goals and two assists. When star midfielder Alaina Lee was ruled out for the year with injury, freshmen Elise Bolanos and Mia York held it down in the midfield. Hoover's heroics wouldn't have been possible without the rock-solid backline of Emma Gustad Myklebust, Ane Joergensen, Sydney Schuler, and Hailee Takao.

The 2026 Lions are a collective unit that loves each other and battles for one another day after day, in practices, in games, and off the field. This is a team that has defied odds, statistics, and predictions all year long. There is something between the goalposts that can't be measured and no stat will ever do justice. The heart of a champion, and the hunger to compete. This team has built their identity on that.

The Lions will host No. 4 seed Santa Clara in the tournament's first semifinal on November 11th at 3 p.m. The memory of the 2021 blowout in Santa Clara still lingers for the LMU faithful, fueling the current Lions. They'll take the field as a pride in this one, because their pride is on the line.

No. 2 seed Pepperdine will face No. 3 seed Seattle directly after on Sullivan Field at 6pm. The winners will square off in the championship at Sullivan Field on Saturday, November 14th, at 3pm.

Five years ago, nobody could have imagined this. Not the trophy, not the semifinal, not a tournament that didn't even exist yet. Today, all of it is on the bluff. This Lions  team spent a season proving everyone wrong, and now it gets to do it in front of us. So come to Sullivan Field at 3 p.m. Bring your voice and leave it there. Spend 90 minutes being as loud as you can for the Lions, and see just how far this special team can go. You'll want to say you were there.

Ticket Information 

• Semifinal and Championship tickets are on sale now for $15. Buy Now 
• *One ticket is valid for both semifinal matches. 
• Group tickets for 10 or more are available for $10 per ticket. Buy Now 
• Students with a valid student ID from a WCC school participating in the championship will receive free admission. 
• The first 100 LMU faculty and staff on Wednesday and Saturday receive complimentary admission with a valid OneCard at the Ticket Office tent.

For additional information or questions, visit LMULions.com/tickets or call the LMU Ticket Office at (310) 338-4537, or email the Ticket Office. 

LMU Women's Soccer 2026 Conference Championship Merchandise 
Celebrate the Lions' 2026 Conference Championship and shop exclusive championship gear.