A talented coach who was a big reason for the Golden Eagles’ continued success in 2022, Erick Lemus returns for his second season as an assistant coach on the Cal State LA men’s soccer coaching staff.

In his first season with the program, Cal State LA recorded a 15-2-3 overall record and won its second straight California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament title. The Golden Eagles finished second in the CCAA with a 7-1-3 conference record and hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA playoffs as the Super Region 4’s No. 1 seed. Lemus was a valued assistant for first-year head coach Michael Erush.

A talented coach with an impressive resume of success, Lemus joined Cal State LA from the University of Illinois, Springfield, where he was an assistant coach for two seasons.

Lemus helped Illinois Springfield to its best season in program history in 2021. The Prairie Stars qualified for the Great Lakes Valley Conference both years he was there and had a goals against average of just 1.10 and the team recorded its first-ever postseason win, its first-ever appearance in the conference championship game, its first-ever NCAA playoff appearance and its first-ever NCAA playoff win. The program also picked up its first All-Region and All-America awards.

In his first season with the program, Lemus helped UIS go 4-4-3 during its shortened 2021 spring campaign. UIS had one of the top defenses in the nation, allowing just seven goals in 11 games. It reached the GLVC postseason tournament, and had one player named to the all-conference squad.

Before he coached at Illinois Springfield, Lemus was an assistant coach at Marymount University in 2019. He helped that team go 12-7-1 and reach the conference tournament championship game. The Mariners ranked in the upper half of the league by allowing 1.74 goals per game, and goalie Ramon Garcia was named second-team all-conference.

Before Marymount, Lemus was an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s soccer teams at the University of Hawaii at Hilo from 2015-18. In 2018, he helped the women’s squad accomplish the best record in program history at 10-4-2, and a second-place finish in the Pacific West Conference. He helped the team record the second-best goals against average in program history with a 0.60 mark.

On the men’s side, Lemus helped the team set a program record for saves. In his four seasons coaching at Hawaii Hilo, his goalies earned five Women’s PacWest Defender of the Week awards and three Men’s PacWest Defender of the Week honors.

Other coaching stops included being the head coach at Mary Star of the Sea and Waiakea high schools, and a club coach for Hawaii Rush and FRAM Soccer Club. He was also a coach at SASA Spirits and Central Illinois United, and a coach for the Impact Goalkeeper Academy.

Lemus played for one season at Franklin Pierce before transferring to Hawaii Hilo. In 2014, he recorded a 1.41 goals against average and had 24 saves in 12 matches. In high school, he played at Junipero Serra in Gardena and was named the league’s MVP goalkeeper after leading the team to two league titles.

Lemus is certified with a US Soccer “C” License, and is currently working on the “B” license. He attended the International Goalkeeper Coaches Conference in Los Angeles in December 2019.