St. Joe’s men’s soccer named Tim Mulqueen ’88 the new head coach in December 2024 after finishing their season 4-12-1.
Mulqueen, who was a goalkeeper during his time as a Hawk, has more than three decades of coaching experience. Before returning to St. Joe’s, he was recently the inaugural head coach of Memphis 901 FC, a USL Championship team that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 2019-2024 before relocating to Santa Barbara, California. Mulqueen was also an assistant coach for the 2008 United States Men’s Olympic Soccer team in Beijing.
Mulqueen said his experience around high-performing coaches and athletes in a professional setting has helped prepare him to coach at a collegiate level.
“I’ve tried to take the lessons of accountability, discipline and structure that are successful at the highest levels and apply it to our team here, and the boys have been great,” Mulqueen said.
Mulqueen’s experience as a student-athlete at St. Joe’s has also helped him put himself in his players shoes.
“Having gone here, I know what a St. Joe’s student is responsible for in the classroom and athletically,” Mulqueen said. “There really hasn’t been a learning curve in that area for me, having gone through this as a student-athlete here.”
The team tied 1-1 with Lehigh University and beat Villanova University 2-1 in their first two exhibition games of the spring. Junior midfielder Luke Johnson has been on the team since his first year and said the team “had to take a good look in the mirror and see where [they] wanted to go” after the end of the fall 2024 season.
Johnson said the addition of Mulqueen and his vision was clear in the effort and talent the team showed on the field during these two games.
“It’s really been great,” Johnson said. “The hard work from the guys, it’s truly something to see.”
Tim Lazorko ’16, who was named the team’s assistant coach in 2024, said Mulqueen’s professional experience has already made a difference in the team’s culture.
“The guys, in everything they do throughout the day, they’re taking a professional approach to it,” Lazorko said. “I think [Mulqueen] has really pushed that on them, whether they want to be pro soccer players or whether they want to be professionals in the real world of businesses or doctors or whatever they may be.”
The team hasn’t been close to a record of .500 since 2018, when the team ended with a record of .528. Mulqueen said, at the bare minimum, he hopes to get back to that in the fall 2025 season. Beyond that, he wants to make the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
“There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, and I don’t want to put unnecessary expectations on the team,” Mulqueen said. “What I hope for is that we compete very hard every day and that we represent St. Joe’s to the best of our ability.”
Johnson has a positive attitude going into next season and said he believes the team will make the A-10 Tournament.
“I think the culture and the talent that we’re going to bring to the field next year is going to be something this program has never seen before,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a real kick-start to Saint Joseph’s men’s soccer and what the years in front of us can really bring.”
