12th Season
Cal State Dominguez Hills ‘93
Record at USF (entering 2022 season): 80-82-60 (.496) -- 11 seasons
NCAA Division I Record: 224-135-56 (.608) – 23 seasons
Overall College Head Coaching Record (all levels): 343-196-82 (.618) – 28 seasons
HONORS & AWARDS
- 2015 NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year
- 1998 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
- 1997 NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year
- 1996 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
2023 marks Jim Millinder’s 13th season at the helm of the University of San Francisco women’s soccer program. The 2023 season is Millinder's 29th as a collegiate head coach, with previous stops at El Camino College, Loyola Marymount and USC. In eight seasons on the Hilltop, he has transformed the Dons into a competitive force in the West Coast Conference, one of the top women's soccer conferences in the nation.
The Dons finished the 2022 season with a winning record for the first time since the 2019 season. The senior day victory against St. Mary's marked a spectacular finish to the season with a 8-5-6 overall record. With Millinder at the helm, two players were honored with All-WCC selections along with All-WCC Academic First Team, and 11 others received All-WCC Academic honorable mentions. During the season, two players were honored with WCC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. Prior to the regular season, one player was named to the All-WCC Preseason team. The Dons played in an exhibition match against the Chinese National Team on August 10th.
Returning to the normal calendar in the fall of 2021, the Dons made a statement to wrap off non-conference play with a 2-0 shutout victory over Santa Clara on the Hilltop. Led by the strong play of freshman Marissa Vasquez and senior goal keeper Molly Eby, USF was able to finish the season with a 7-9-2 overall record with conference victories over LMU, Pacific and San Diego.
Navigating the uncertainty that came with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Millinder had his Dons ready to compete during the shortened conference-only slate that USF played in the 2021 spring to make up for the cancelation of matches in the fall. USF went on to post a 4-4-2 record with their first five matches all played away from Negoesco Stadium.
Heading into the 2019 season, the Dons were able to get out of the gates hot winning four of their first fives matches in non-conference action which included wins over San Diego State, Illinois and UC Riverside. USF was able to carry that early momentum into conference play as the picked up a pair of early road victories including against Saint Mary's as well as prevailing in overtime over Pacific.
In 2018, Millinder guided the Dons to an 11-7-2 overall record, it marked just the ninth time in program history that the Dons have won 10 or more games. He also led USF to a 4-3-2 record in the WCC which is just the third winning record in conference play for USF, the second in his tenure.
Millinder recruited and developed USF's first four-time All-WCC honoree since 2001 in midfielder Jessica Nakae, who wrapped up her standout career in 2016.
En route to being named NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year, Millinder’s 2015 campaign with the Dons set a new bar as the best season in program history. Millinder helped guide the Dons to their first winning season since 2004, a program-best 13-4-3 record and a second-place finish (tied with Loyola Marymount) in the conference standings, another program-best.
USF’s historic 2015 season was punctuated by two of the biggest wins in USF women’s soccer history – a 2-1 home victory over No. 5 BYU – the highest-ranked opponent the Dons have ever defeated – and a 1-0 road win over No. 19 Santa Clara – the first time USF had ever defeated the Broncos in 31 previous tries.
Altogether, Millinder’s 2015 squad helped match or surpass nine different team records – among them, most conference wins (7), best overall winning percentage (.725), most road wins (7), and tied for most shutouts in a season (10).
One member of Millinder’s first full recruiting class at USF, Ali Schaffer, became the first USF women’s soccer player to take home a major individual conference award after being named 2015 WCC co-Defender of the Year. Altogether, Millinder’s 2015 squad boasted six All-WCC performers - matching the most ever for the Dons (2006) - and three NSCAA All-West Region honorees in goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel (1st team), midfielder Jessica Nakae (2nd team) and Schaffer (3rd team).
Millinder also helped develop Nakae into the Dons’ first two-time All-WCC first-teamer since 1992-1993 (Shellie Silva). Meanwhile, Schiffel concluded her illustrious career in 2015 with a first-team All-WCC nod, marking the first time since 1992 (Shellie Silva & Laila Danielson) that two Dons earned first-team honors. Schiffel became the Dons’ single season and career leader in a number of goalkeeping categories, including career wins (29) and career shutouts (23), among others.
In addition to the team’s on-field success, Millinder’s program also boasts seven first-team WCC All-Academic recipients during his tenure, with Jessica Nakae (3.86 GPA) and Amanda Whittle (3.83) representing the Dons in both 2015 and 2016.
Under Millinder, the Dons also have kept a steady presence on the international scene and sent multiple players onto the professional ranks. Most recently, goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel (Avaldsnes IL - Norway), forward Alex Alugas (UMF Sindri - Iceland) and defenders Halle Bissin (Apollon F.C. - Cyprus) and Sydnie Telson (UMF Sindri - Iceland) have found pro opportunities overseas following their USF careers.
Meanwhile, defender Leticia Torres (2012-15) competed with the Chilean National Team during World Cup qualifying in 2014, while Schiffel was a fixture in the United States' U-18, U-20 and U-23 national team camps. Likewise, midfielder Camille Wilson (2014-present) has played in three international tournaments with the Philippine national team and Telson won gold with Team USA in the 2015 European Maccabi Games held in Berlin.
Millinder came to the Hilltop with a wealth of experience and success after stops at the University of Southern California (1996-2006), Loyola Marymount (1994-1995) and El Camino College (1978-1993), where he compiled a collective head coaching record of 253-114-48. Prior to his appointment at USF, Millinder spent four seasons as head coach with the South Bay Force club team.
In his 11 seasons at USC, Millinder led the Women of Troy to a record of 136-70-21 (.645) and eight NCAA Tournament appearances. He also guided the team to a school-record 16 wins in 1997 and is USC’s all-time leader in wins. USC went 14-7-1 en route to earning a share of the 1998 Pac-10 title and making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Millinder earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors in 1996 and 1998.
One season after his departure in 2006, USC won the NCAA championship with a core of players he recruited, including 2008 Honda Award Finalist Kristin Olsen and 2005 Gatorade National Prep Player of the Year Amy Rodriguez - a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and U.S. women’s national team member.
During his 11-year tenure at USC, Millinder helped to produce six All-Americans, nine NSCAA All-West Region selections and numerous All-Pac-10 honorees. This impressive list included three freshman of the year winners, 38 All-Pac-10 selections (14 first-team) and 52 Pac-10 All-Academic recipients.
Prior to taking over USC, Millinder spent two seasons at LMU where he led the Lions to three wins over Top 20 teams (including No. 8 Santa Clara in 1994).
Success soon followed wherever Millinder went. In his four seasons (1990-93) as the women’s head coach at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., his team claimed a state junior college championship, was runner-up to another, and reached the semifinals in his other two seasons. He finished with a 66-8-16 record coaching the women.
Millinder also took over as the men’s soccer coach at El Camino (1992-93) and in those two seasons the team claimed the 1992 state championship and made the playoffs in his final season. He went 43-9-17 as the men’s head coach.
From 1978 to 1989, Millinder spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach for El Camino’s men’s and women’s programs and they combined to win six state titles in that time. He also served as the interim head coach of the men’s team when they claimed the 1987 state championship.
Millinder also served as the head coach of the 1992 U.S. Amateur Championship Ajax women’s club team and 1993 U.S. Amateur titlist Cal-South men’s state senior team. Among his other coaching positions were with the Cal-South under-16 girls Olympic Development team and the Amateur Athletic Foundation. Millinder was also an ambassador to the U.S. soccer team at the 1994 World Cup.
Millinder played professionally for eight years and competed against soccer legends such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Johann Cruyff. He played midfielder in the North American Soccer League for the New York Cosmos (1978), Los Angeles Aztecs (1979), Tulsa Roughnecks (1980), and Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1981-82). From 1983 to 1985, Millinder played for the Oklahoma City Slickers in the American Soccer League, where he was a two-time All-Star, and for the Los Angeles Lazers in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Millinder earned his A.A. degree from El Camino in 1991, followed by his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1993. He was a star in soccer and football at North Torrance High School and earned junior college All-American honors while at El Camino in 1977.
Jim and his wife Carol have two sons, Austin and Jacob.
