Florida State head coach Mark Krikorian took over the Seminole women's soccer program in 2005 and has proven to the nation that FSU soccer will be a national title contender on an annual basis. In his first three years in Tallahassee, Krikorian guided the Seminoles to three straight College Cup appearances and the school's first appearance in the national championship game in 2007. He has registered at least 16 wins in each of his first six seasons while finishing no lower than second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the nation's premier soccer conference. In 2009, Krikorian led the Seminoles to a share of the ACC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history after wrapping up the regular season with a 7-2-1 league mark. Krikorian followed that with another 7-2-1 record and a second place finish in the ACC in 2010.
Not only has Krikorian accomplished things that had never been done at Florida State, but he has also achieved what has yet to be accomplished by head coaches on the national level. Since the NCAA expanded to 64 teams in 2001, Krikorian is the first coach to take over a program and lead that team to three consecutive College Cups. He is also the first coach to advance through 13 rounds of the NCAA Tournament in his first three seasons at a school and is the first FSU coach to ever lead the program to a spot in the national finals. In six years, Krikorian has led the Seminoles to a 21-6-1 mark in NCAA Tournament play while claiming an overall winning percentage of .767.
The 2010 season marked the 10th straight year Krikorian led a team to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament and the seventh time he guided a Division I squad to the quarterfinals. He took Hartford to the NCAA Tournament from 1997-2000 including trips to the quarterfinals and two appearances in the round of 16. He has also guided FSU to a berth in the quarterfinals in each of his first six seasons. Krikorian has a lifetime winning percentage of .716 (26-10-1) in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament and also captured two Division II National Championships with Franklin Pierce. FSU's run to the 2007 national title game against Southern California represented Krikorian's third all-time appearance in an NCAA soccer championship game.
In six seasons as FSU's field general, Krikorian's players have been honored more than 100 times at the conference, regional and national levels including 14 All-ACC first team selections, which is the second most in the league since 2005. In 2010, Florida State set a pair of school records as seven players were named to the All-ACC teams, the most of any school, and seven on the ACC All-Academic team. In 2009 Krikorian was honored as Coach of the Year in the ACC for the second time in his career. Becky Edwards became the Seminoles' first two-time, first-team Scholar All-American from the NSCAA and at the same time earned the distinction of becoming FSU's first Academic All-American at the national level.
Four student-athletes received All-America accolades from the NSCAA in 2008 for the first time in school history. Tiffany McCarty became the first Seminole to earn ACC Freshman of the Year honors, while a school record seven student-athletes earned All-ACC recognition including three first team All-ACC honorees which tied a school mark.
Florida State was at it again in 2007 as three athletes were honored at the national level for their outstanding season. Mami Yamaguchi became the most decorated soccer player to come out of Tallahassee claiming the MAC Hermann Trophy, presented to the top female player in NCAA Division I soccer. After rewriting the Seminole single-season record books and finishing the season as the national leader in points (66), Yamaguchi added NSCAA Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year to her list of accolades while becoming FSU's first consensus first team All-American. Amanda DaCosta and Sanna Talonen were named National Freshman of the Year by Soccer Buzz and Soccer America, respectively, the first recipients of such an award in the 14-year history of the program. In all, six players have been named semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy under his watch, while six players have been named finalists for national player of the year recognition.
The Seminoles have flourished both offensively and defensively under Krikorian's guidance. In 2005, Florida State finished with a +43 goal differential, 11 points better than the previous school record, en route to establishing single-season records for goals (65) and points (188). Those records were shattered two years later as the 2007 squad became the highest scoring team in school history. The Seminoles tallied 233 points on 81 goals and 71 assists, good for a +55 goal differential. FSU went on to set school records for points per game (8.63), goals per game (3.00), assists per game (2.63) and shots on goal (202). The offensive production also made ACC history marking the first time that a school other than North Carolina led the league in every major offensive category. The offense was at it again in 2008 as the Seminoles finished the year with 194 points on 64 goals and 66 assists good for eighth in the nation in scoring offense averaging 2.78 goals per contest. The Garnet and Gold finished the season establishing school records for assists per game (2.87), shots attempted (471), shots per game (20.48) and shots on goal (228). In 2009, scoring was once again at a premium as the Seminoles reached the 200-point plateau for just the second time in school history finishing the season with 204 points on 67 goals and 70 assists. Florida State led the ACC in points, goals, goals per game (2.68) and assists per game (2.80), while ranking eighth nationally in scoring offense. The points, goals and assists recorded by the Seminoles all sit as the second most in school history. To show just how potent the Seminole offense has been under Krikorian, the four highest scoring seasons at Florida State have all come under his watch.
Defensively, Krikorian's teams have been just as good registering sub-1.00 goals against average in each of his six seasons for the first time in school history. During that span, the Seminole defense has posted a 0.79 goals against average yielding just over 20 goals a season. Goals have certainly been hard to come by for opponents since Krikorian's arrival as the Seminoles have posted a shutout in just under half of their total games he has coached - 74 shutouts in 149 games (49.6%). In 2008, FSU set the school record for the fewest goals allowed (15) and the lowest goals against average in a season, while tying the record for shutouts with 14, a mark previously set in 2006. In 2010, the Seminoles led the ACC in shutouts with 13 to extend the school's streak of reaching double-digit shutouts to six. The defense has been equally impressive in the postseason recording consecutive seasons of at least three shutouts, a school record, in 2007 and 2008. The previous school record for postseason shutouts was two set in 2006. Prior to Krikorian coming to Tallahassee, the most shutouts recorded in a season were nine set twice in 2003 and 2004.
His first year on the job was nothing short of magnificent leading the Seminoles to their first 20-win season and second College Cup in 2005. In his second year at the helm, the Seminoles continued their dominance reaching the College Cup for the third time in the program's 12th year. The 2008 season was no different as he directed the Seminoles to an 8-1-1 record in the ACC, their highest winning percentage (.850) in league play in school history, and to just three losses all year, the fewest recorded since the program's inception in 1995. In all six seasons, Krikorian has earned at least three NCAA Tournament wins and reached the tournament quarterfinals, a feat that had only occurred once in program history. It shouldn't be surprising when examining Krikorian's past. He won two National Championships following undefeated seasons at Franklin Pierce. He then built Hartford into a national power before coming to FSU. Krikorian has never posted a winning percentage below .700 at any of his collegiate head coaching positions. With that kind of success it is easy to see why he is one of the most successful coaches of all-time. Krikorian currently ranks 24th on the all-time list for winningest coaches across all divisions and is the fifth winningest active head coach in Division I. The Seminole coach is one of only two members of that top 20 list that coached in two divisions of the NCAA.
After what Krikorian has done in six seasons at Florida State, it would be hard not to argue that he is one of the best coaches in Division I. What the Seminole head coach is doing when it comes to consecutive victories is unprecedented in FSU soccer history. Krikorian's teams have the two best win streaks to open a season at seven (2005) and six (2006) games. In 2005, he led FSU to nine and seven-game streaks, while matching the seven-game win streak in 2008. With a 6-0 start in 2006, and a six game winning streak in 2010, the five longest win streaks in school history have all come under Krikorian's guidance. Six seasons ago, he became just the second coach in ACC history to lead his team to seven consecutive wins in conference play. He tied the mark in 2008 with a string of seven straight wins against league opponents. The Seminole boss led FSU to a school record 24-game home unbeaten streak (22-0-2), a feat covering three seasons. In 2008, the streaks continued as the Seminoles set school records for all-time unbeaten streaks (13) and road unbeaten streaks (12). Krikorian's impact at FSU was immediate. In his first 30 games, Krikorian posted a .850 winning percentage, 300 percentage points better than any previous coach. With a 2-1 victory over Stetson in 2006, he became the fastest FSU coach to earn 30 wins, reaching it in just 38 matches. He also established a new record three seasons ago when his 2006 squad had just one loss after 15 matches. No previous FSU team had ever played more than 10 games without suffering multiple losses. In 2010, Krikorian reached yet another mileston claiming victory number 100 as Seminole head coach with a dramatic 1-0 overtime victory over Wake Forest in Tallahassee.
Krikorian hasn't just produced wins; he has secured big wins as well. In the first 10 years and 206 games of FSU soccer history, the Seminoles recorded seven wins over top 10 teams. In 149 games under Krikorian, Florida State has recorded 16 top 10 victories including five in 2009. In addition to the win streaks, wins over top teams and trips to the College Cup, Krikorian led FSU to its highest ranking ever in all four college soccer polls including the first No. 1 ranking in school history. After downing Portland 2-1 to kickoff the 2006 season, the Seminoles jumped to the top spot in the nation in the Soccer America top 25 poll, a spot they held for four consecutive weeks. Following its run to the national championship game in 2007, the Seminoles finished the season ranked as high as number two in a pair of national polls.
In Krikorian's first year at the helm of the Seminole program, FSU established new records for overall wins, winning percentage, fewest losses, most ACC wins, the best ACC winning percentage and longest win streak both in and out of the conference. Krikorian's 2005 squad was the first in school history to reach 20 wins and they matched the highest finish ever by an FSU team in ACC play as they tied for second. He led Florida State to a school-record seven wins over NSCAA top 25 teams and for the first time in program history, FSU spent a month ranked among the nation's top 10 teams in every soccer poll.
Krikorian took a Seminole team that was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and led them to the College Cup the very next season. He is just the sixth coach in the history of DI women's soccer to lead his team to the national semifinals in his first season at a school. FSU is now one of six schools who have gone to the College Cup under the direction of two different coaches.
For his efforts, Krikorian was honored both regionally and nationally in his first season. He was named the first ACC Coach of the Year in Seminole soccer history, the 2005 Soccer America National Coach of the Year, the 2005 Soccer Buzz National Coach of the Year, Soccer Buzz's Southeast Region Coach of the Year and the NSCAA's South Region Coach of the Year.
On top of his impressive resume in coaching the top talent at the collegiate level, Krikorian has worked with the world's best players during his stops as the head coach of the U-19 National Team and his three years with the Philadelphia Charge. Florida State's head coach has coached soccer greats from all over the world including U.S. National team stars Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett, Heather Mitts and Lorie Fair, English National team player Kelly Smith, French National Marinette Pinchon and Brazilian National Team players Sissi and Katia.
Florida State players haven't only been recognized for their success on the field, but in the classroom as well. Over the last six years, Florida State has earned regional/district academic awards 38 times. Katrin Schmidt and Kirsten van de Ven were named first team Scholar All-Americans by the NSCAA, marking the first distinction of its kind at FSU. Becky Edwards followed suit in 2008 earning a spot as a first team Scholar All-American. In 2009, Edwards was named a third team Academic All-American by CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine. Additionally, FSU soccer players have been named to the ACC All-Academic Team 30 times including a school record seven in 2010 and six in 2007 and 2009. During the 2009-10 school year, 15 student-athletes made the Dean's List while one earned President's List honors achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA. The Seminoles finished the 2009-10 academic year with a team GPA over 3.0.
The FSU coach has been at the helm of a college team for a total of 17 seasons now and he has recorded 18+ wins nine times in that span. The 2005 season bettered his first year coaching at Franklin Pierce and Hartford for wins, fewest losses and highest winning percentage.
The 2008 season got off to a fabulous start as Soccer Buzz awarded Florida State with the nation's top recruiting class - the first of its kind in the program's 16-year history. The publication ranked six freshmen in the top 40 with five receiving PARADE All-American honors. The ranking is a year removed from the 2007 class that Soccer Buzz rated second nationally and first in the Southeast Region.
U.S. U-19 NATIONAL TEAM Prior to taking over the Seminole soccer program, Krikorian came to Florida State fresh off leading the United States U-19 National Team to the bronze medal, while winning the FIFA Fair Play Award at the 2004 U-19 Women's World Cup. As the head coach for the U.S. U-19 National Team, Krikorian was responsible for all technical aspects of the program as the team prepared for the second-ever U-19 FIFA World Championship.
His U-19 squad cruised through Group C play finishing undefeated beating South Korea, Russia and European Champion Spain. They were the only team to win all three group matches in the tournament, as the U.S. outscored its opponents 8-1. Krikorian then led the U.S. past Australia in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual World Champion Germany in the tournament semifinals. The team responded by beating Brazil 3-0 to secure the bronze medal. The win kept the U.S.'s streak alive as the only country to secure a top-three finish in all nine FIFA World Championships for women.
The team not only left Thailand with bronze medals but they also were awarded the FIFA Fair Play Trophy. Individually, U.S. midfielder Angie Woznuk received the Silver Ball as the tournament's second Most Outstanding Player and the Bronze Shoe as the tournament's third-leading scorer. Overall, Krikorian's squad outscored the competition 13-4 in the World Championships.
Krikorian's work with the national program continued at the 2011 FIFA World Cup as he served as an advanced scout for the United States Women's National Team. He was one of four scouts that provided expert analysis for Team USA and head coach Pia Sundhage. Krikorian scouted eight teams, in eight games covering six different cities in Germany. He was on hand in Berlin for the opening game featuring Germany and Canada and in the stands for the U.S.A.'s amazing comeback in the quarterfinals against Brazil.
WUSA As the head coach of the Philadelphia Charge from 2000-2003, Krikorian had another opportunity to coach the top players in the world and he once again proved he could develop talent and guide players to great heights. Not only did he coach 2002 WUSA MVP and Offensive MVP Pichon, but he also tutored the league's top keeper in Melissa Moore, who led the league with a 1.00 GAA. He coached the Charge to two playoff berths in his three seasons and was named the league's coach of the year in 2002. Krikorian drafted and coached 10 WUSA All-Stars in just three years on the Charge bench.
In his first season with Philadelphia, Krikorian posted 11 wins in leading the Charge into the playoffs. The team finished the season ranked third in the regular season standings. The next year the Charge once again won 11 games and finished second in the standings, which was an amazing accomplishment considering Krikorian's top player was lost for the season when Kelly Smith went down with an injury. His squad still finished the regular season 11-4-6.
UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD Krikorian had achieved an equal measure of success on the college level before jumping to the WUSA. He coached the University of Hartford for five seasons from 1996-2000 leading the squad to an Elite Eight and two Sweet Sixteen appearances during his four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. He recruited five National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Americans, three academic All-Americans and his squads received the NSCAA Team Academic Award on four occasions. Overall, Krikorian's teams averaged 15 wins per season as he posted a 75-30-3 overall record while winning three conference championships. Three of his squads finished the year ranked in the NSCAA's top 15 and they were awarded the NSCAA Team Academic Award for four straight seasons.
Krikorian wasted little time in turning Hartford into a national power. After a 4-14 first season, Krikorian's Hawks won at least 17 and never lost more than five games, while advancing to the NCAA Tournament in each of his next four seasons.
Hartford immediately improved to 19-2-1 in just the second season under Krikorian including a win over national power Connecticut. Hartford also won just the second NCAA Tournament game in school history that year. In 1998, the success continued as the Hawks posted a 17-5 record while advancing to the Sweet 16. That year Krikorian led Hartford to wins over Texas A&M and Harvard in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 1999, only his third year at the helm of the Hawk program, Krikorian put together the best soccer season in school history. Hartford finished the regular season 15-4-2 and as conference champions for the third straight year. That regular season success was tame compared to the team's magical run through the NCAA Tournament. After opening with a home win over Princeton, Krikorian traveled to Gainesville to take on the defending National Champions. His Hawks dethroned the Gators on the road and then did the same thing a week later to Virginia in a 3-2 triple overtime win. The victory moved the Hawks into the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
In his final season at Hartford, Krikorian put together his most impressive regular season as his Hawks went 17-2. They defeated both Virginia and Florida again. The win over Florida was a decisive 3-0 victory. Krikorian also led the Hawks to the school's first-ever victory over Dartmouth in the seventh meeting between the programs.
FRANKLIN PIERCE COLLEGE Krikorian came to Hartford after spending six years as the head coach at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, NH (1990-1996) where he built one of the most dominant soccer programs in the college game. His teams won two National Championships, both during undefeated seasons, and appeared in two other final fours. His squad's had a remarkable 39-game winning streak and his 1995 National Championship team was 20-0. Krikorian's teams compiled a 93-19-3 record in six seasons. He recruited three National Players of the Year, eight All-Americans, five academic All-Americans and four national scoring champions. His team at Franklin Pierce also garnered the NSCAA Team Academic Award.
Before Krikorian arrived at Franklin Pierce, the school had an all-time record of 21-36-4 in five seasons winning just under 38% of their games. After he arrived on campus, the Ravens have had just one losing season in 14 years and have won five National Championships. Since Krikorian became the head coach and rejuvenated the program, Franklin Pierce has won almost 89% of their matches. Krikorian built the foundation for the Franklin Pierce dynasty in just six years on the job.
In 1990, his first year in New Hampshire, Krikorian went 10-6-2. The school's 10 victories were just four shy of tying the program's total from its first five years of existence. Two seasons later the Raven's were 20-1 and finished in the NCAA semifinals. After a 16-3 season in 1993 and another NCAA semifinal, Krikorian completed his reclamation of Franklin Pierce by going a perfect 19-0 and winning the school's first-ever NCAA women's soccer championship. What did Krikorian then do for an encore? In 1995 he repeated as National Champions, this time with a record of 20-0.
After departing for Hartford after the 1995 season, the Ravens went on to capture two more National Championships and five in a six-year span. Franklin Pierce and North Carolina are still the only two schools in the history of NCAA soccer to win four consecutive NCAA Championships.
HONORS & AWARDS Krikorian's two national coach of the year awards in 2005 continued an impressive trend in which the Seminole boss has been honored at every stop of his career. He was named WUSA Coach of the Year in 2002 and received numerous honors and awards throughout his coaching career prior to moving to the professional ranks. He was named the NSCAA's Northeast Division I Coach of the Year in 1997, the NSCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995, the NSCAA Division II Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995 and was a two-time New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1995. In 1990 and 1993 he was named the Division II New England Coach of the Year as well.
He added his second ACC Coach of the Year award in 2009 after leading the Seminoles to a share of the ACC regular season title and the top seed in the league tournament for the first time in school history. The Seminole field general led the Garnet and Gold to a 14-3-1 regular season record including a mark of 7-2-1 in the ACC. His Seminoles finished the season 9-3-0 against ranked opponents.
Krikorian was a standout player at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. from 1981-1983. He was a two-time captain and team MVP. In 1983, he was a New England Indoor Soccer League (NEISL) All-Star and a first team All-New England selection.
PERSONAL Krikorian graduated with a degree in history from St. Anselm College and he earned his master's degree in education from Keene (NH) State College in 1994. Krikorian also served as an assistant men's coach at the University of Maine at Farmington and was a Social Studies teacher at Mt. Abram High School in Maine and Raymond High School in New Hampshire. Krikorian was born in Malden, Mass. on March 28, 1960. He is married to the former Linda Mastrogiovanni. They have two children Alexandra (10) and Michael (8).
KRIKORIAN YEAR-BY-YEAR
1990
Franklin Pierce
10-6-2
1991
Franklin Pierce
8-9-1
1992
Franklin Pierce
20-1-0
1993
Franklin Pierce
16-3-0
1994
Franklin Pierce
19-0-0*
1995
Franklin Pierce
20-0-0*
93-19-3 (.809)
1996
Hartford
4-14-0
1997
Hartford
19-2-1
1998
Hartford
17-5-0
1999
Hartford
18-5-2
2000
Hartford
17-4-0
75-30-3 (.708)
2001
Philadelphia Charge
11-5-6
2002
Philadelphia Charge
11-3-8
2003
Philadelphia Charge
5-11-5
27-19-19 (.546)
2005
Florida State
20-4-1
2006
Florida State
18-4-4
2007
Florida State
18-6-3
2008
Florida State
17-3-3
2009
Florida State
19-5-1
2010
Florida State
16-6-1
108-28-13 (.768)
CAREER RECORD
303-96-38 (.737)
CAREER COLLEGIATE RECORD
276-77-19 (.767)
* = National Champions
CAREER HIGHS Most Wins - 20 (1992, 1995, 2005) Best Record - 20-0-0 (1995) NCAA Finish - Nat'l Champs (1994, 1995) Conference Finish - Champions (1994, 1997, 1998, 1999) Conference Finish - ACC Regular Season Champs (2009)
