Women's Soccer Head Coach Resume

YEAR

SCHOOL

RECORD

1999

William Jewell

2-15-1

2000

William Jewell

15-6

2001

William Jewell

18-2

2002

William Jewell

11-4-2

2003

William Jewell

21-1-1

2004

William Jewell

17-4-1

2005

William Jewell

16-4

2006

William Jewell

14-4-2

2007

William Jewell

16-3

2008

William Jewell

10-5-2

2009

William Jewell

12-6-1

2010

William Jewell

16-3-2

2011

Kansas City

8-8-4

2012

Kansas City

6-9-4

2013

Kansas City

12-9-1

2014

Kansas City

13-5-3

2015

Kansas City

14-6-1

2016

Kansas City

8-10-4

2017

Kansas City

12-7-1

2018

Kansas City

16-5

2019

Kansas City

13-4-4

2020

GCU

8-9-1

2021

GCU

16-4-2

2022

GCU

11-7-2

2023

GCU

14-5-4

Overall (25 seasons): 319-145-43 (.672)

William Jewell (12 seasons): 168-57-12 (.734)

Kansas City (9 seasons): 102-63-22 (.604)

GCU (3 seasons): 49-25-9 (.645)

* 2020 season was played in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19

Regular-Season Champions

2001, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021

Conference Tournament Champions

2021, 2023

NCAA Tournament Appearances

2021, 2023

Conference Coach of the Year

2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021

bold denotes at GCU

View GCU Women's Soccer coaching records.

Chris Cissell is in his fourth season as the GCU women's soccer head coach for the 2023 season after being named to the position on Dec. 23, 2019.

Cissell has done nothing but win in his time as a Lope, collecting 49 wins and four straight WAC Tournament appearances. The 49 wins by the Lopes since 2020, Cissell's first year, are more than the program win total from 2014-19.

The GCU offensive numbers have also been off the charts as the first four seasons under Cissell are the four highest scoring seasons in the program’s Division I era. Under Cissell the GCU soccer program has scored 195 goals with 199 assists since 2020, which is more scoring than the program saw from their first season in Division I in 2014 to 2019.

In conference play, Cissell has guided the Lopes to a 25-10-7 (.679) mark during his tenure that includes four straight appearances in the WAC Tournament, including the program's first No. 1 overall seed in 2021.

In just his second season, Cissell guided the team to a program-record 16 wins that included the first WAC regular-season and tournament championships. The Lopes defeated Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament championship 3-0 to advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. Cissell was named WAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and fourth overall. Under Cissell's leadership, the Lopes earned 11 All-WAC awards, a program record, and swept the WAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year awards with forward Marleen Schimmer and defender Hannah Edwards, respectively.

Schimmer, who transferred to GCU after Cissell was hired, became the Lopes' first professionally drafted player as she was taken ninth overall in the 2021 National Women's Soccer League Draft by expansion team San Diego Wave FC.

In 2023, Cissell guided the Lopes to a second WAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Lopes won the conference tournament as a No. 4 seed, winning three straight matches including an upset over No. 1 seed Utah Valley to punch their ticket to the national tournament. Under Cissell's coaching senior forward Gianna Gourley was named WAC Offensive Player of the Year finishing with top-three scoring marks in the country while breaking her own GCU single season scoring records. Six Lopes earned All-WAC awards including three on the first team.

The 2022 season was another successful campaign, as Cissell guided the Lopes to a second straight double-digit winning season and a third straight appearance in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. Junior forward Gianna Gourley, who transferred to GCU in 2021 to join Cissell's program, broke out with 18 goals and 42 points. Both marks were program records and ranked in the top 10 nationally. Five other Lopes earned All-WAC awards, and Gourley was the first Lope to be named an Academic All-American.

In his first year with the Lopes, Cissell earned his third WAC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Lopes to a dramatic midseason turnaround. GCU was 1-7 before finishing the year with a 7-2-1 mark over the last 10 games in the 2020 season that was delayed to spring 2021. The Lopes earned the WAC Tournament's No. 3 seed, the highest seed in program history. The Lopes also set offensive records in goals and assists and had five players earn All-WAC honors.

Cissell came to GCU after nine seasons at Kansas City, where he claimed 102 victories, three WAC regular-season titles and two WAC Coach of the Year honors.

Cissell's Kansas City teams posted three first-place finishes, two second-place finishes, a third-place finish and a fourth-place finish in seven WAC seasons. Kansas City was a member of the Summit League for Cissell's first two seasons, when he improved the Roos from a last-place finish prior to his arrival to a third-place finish in his first season. The seven-spot improvement earned him the 2012 Summit League Coach of the Year nod.

In the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Cissell's Roos went 14-1 in conference play en route to back-to-back WAC regular-season championships. In a 2018 season when the Roos set a program record for wins with a 16-5 record, Cissell led Kansas City to impressive wins over the likes of Kansas State and Iowa State. The Roos made their program debut in the Pacific Region rankings and climbed as high as eighth. He finished his Kansas City career with a record of 102-63-22 (.604).

Cissell was responsible for recruiting outstanding talent to Kansas City. In seven WAC seasons, the Roos had the conference's goals leader four times. The Roos claimed the WAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and featured the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

Prior to his arrival at Kansas City, Cissell coached at his alma mater, Division II William Jewell, for 12 years. He took the reins of the women's program in 1999 before adding the men's program to his duties in 2002. The women's team went 168-57-12 (.734) in his 12 seasons while the men posted a mark of 114-49-10 (.688) in nine seasons and Cissell was named the National Coach of the Year in 2006. He was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame in 2015.

Overall, Cissell owns a 430-193-53 career combined record in men's and women's soccer in 34 seasons at a .675 win percentage.

As a player at William Jewell, Cissell was a four-year starter and the team MVP in his final three seasons. The team captain earned first-team all-conference recognition as a junior and a senior, and was conference player of the year as a senior. 

Cissell and his wife, Heather, who teaches kindergarten, have been married for 27 years. They have four children, who share his passion for soccer. Their oldest son, Mitchell, works for Missouri Youth Soccer Association as Director of Communication. His younger sons, Trevor and Zach, played college soccer. Their youngest daughter, Sophie, plays soccer at Northwest Missouri State.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"Chris has built UMKC into an excellent program and is leaving that program in a very strong place. He is an excellent coach and a man of integrity. It is a great hire for GCU from both an athletics and character perspective."

JOHN WALKER, NEBRASKA HEAD COACH

"We have competed against Chris' teams for several years now. They are always well coached, organized and tough to compete against. Chris does a great job recruiting quality players to his program and knows how to get his players to compete at the highest level. I look forward to seeing him help Grand Canyon progress their program to the next level."

MARK FRANCIS, KANSAS HEAD COACH

"Chris is an outstanding hire for GCU. He is a coach of high character who has a great soccer mind and is a tireless recruiter. He has done a tremendous job at UMKC, and I look forward to watching him grow the program at GCU."

KAREN HOPPA, AUBURN HEAD COACH

"Chris is a tremendous hire for Grand Canyon. He is an excellent teacher of the game who is passionate about providing his players a first-class experience. His program has been the model of consistency in how they play, in both style, competitiveness and results. He is also a man of high character who is a great leader. I'm very excited to watch his teams develop a strong foundation in the years to come with good success."

DAVID DILANNI, IOWA HEAD COACH

"GCU just knocked it out of the park with their hire of Chris Cissell. He is an educator at heart and has the emotional, psychological and physical welfare of his student-athletes as his highest priority. He is one of the best recruiters in the industry and is a tactician of the highest order. I can't wait to see all the success that GCU women's soccer will have with Chris at the helm. So happy for Chris and his family. You got a great one, Lope Nation!"

TIM HALL, SIUE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND FORMER UMKC ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

"As long as I have known Coach Cissell, he has been a big-time student of the game, always looking for an edge while never forgetting that it is all about relationships, both with his players as well as other coaches."

JOHN PASCARELLA, OKC ENERGY (USL) HEAD COACH

"Chris is one of the best coaches in women's D1 college soccer. He won championships by playing an exciting, attacking brand of soccer and did it with student-athletes who excelled in the classroom and community. We will miss Chris here in KC, and GCU is getting a real gem of a person and coach."

RICK BENBEN, KANSAS CITY FORMER MEN'S HEAD COACH

"Congratulations to Grand Canyon University on a great hire. Coach Cissell is a fantastic person whose love and passion for the game is infectious. Players love playing and competing for him."

CURT ONALFO, NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (MLS) TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

"Coach Cissell is so passionate about soccer and family and merges the two together masterfully. He meant and gave so much to soccer in Kansas City for over 25 years and will no doubt do the same in his new position."

ROB THOMSON, SPORTING KC (MLS) CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

"GCU has hired an outstanding coach and mentor. The passion and enthusiasm that Chris has for the game is infectious. He brings a high level of detail that drives high standards and allows individuals to thrive. Along with these skills, he has the unique ability to connect with players and create phenomenal team spirit. I am looking forward to following the journey and wish Chris and everyone success, both on and off the soccer field."

GARY CURNEEN, CHICAGO RED STARS (NWSL) ASSISTANT COACH

"Chris Cissell is not only a great coach but also a great leader."

MIKE SORBER, LAFC (MLS) ASSISTANT COACH

"Coach Chris Cissell is an excellent talent evaluator and leader who manages talent in a team-focus environment. Grand Canyon has themselves one of the best."

JEFFERSON ROBLEE, FORMER WILLIAM JEWELL HEAD COACH

"Coach Cissell brings a family environment to the team and success to the field. He is a great coach and person. Grand Canyon is getting an outstanding leader for its program."

LINCOLN ROBLEE, BENEDICTINE COLLEGE HEAD COACH