Cal Poly Pomona Athletics

Lance Thompson enters his third season in 2011 as head coach of the Cal Poly Pomona men's soccer team. He has led the program to an impressive turnaround through his first two campaigns, guiding the Broncos to back-to-back winning seasons in 2009 and 2010 for the first time in a decade.

CPP came close to reaching the 2010 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships, finishing 10-7-1 overall and 8-7-1 in conference action. The Broncos played particularly well against Cal State L.A., knocking off the Golden Eagles twice in one year for the first time since 1999. Those wins included a thrilling 1-0 victory on Sept. 24 at Kellogg Field in front of more than 800 fans.

The 2010 season also featured a tremendous showing from Luis Gonzalez, who became the second All-American in Broncos' men's soccer program history. The Long Beach, Calif., led the CCAA in points with 33 on 12 goals and nine assists.

It didn't take long for Thompson to prove he was the right man for the job when he accepted the head men's soccer position in Feb. 4, 2009. 

His debut season in 2009 resulted in the Broncos becoming only the fifth team in school history to record at least 10 wins in a season, going 10-8-1. The year included an upset win over defending NCAA champion Cal State Dominguez Hills with Tyler Reinhart tying the conference record and establishing a school-record four goals in the victory.

Prior to his arrival at CPP, Thompson spent two seasons as the Director of Soccer at Notre Dame de Namur, located in the Bay Area community of Belmont. He led the Argonauts to a 14-3-3 overall record and won the Pacific West Conference Championship. His team posted 12 shutouts and allowed just 0.62 goals against average in its 20 games. The Argos' gave Thompson his 100th career victory against Chaminade and established an NCAA Divison II record with three goals in a 2-minute, 10-second span. The Argos went 24-12-4 in his two seasons at the helm.

Thompson began his coaching career at NAIA Alliant International University in San Diego. He spent five seasons as head coach (1999-2003) where his teams earned an overall record of 57-32-3. His teams reached the NAIA playoffs twice and finished with top 25 seasons in 2001 (No. 25) and 2003 (No. 7).

He moved on to Holy Names University where he spent two seasons at the Oakland-based university (2004-2005). His 2004 squad earned an NAIA Tournament berth and his 2005 team finished second in the California Pacific Conference regular season. He also served as the university’s athletic director. His teams went 20-14-5.

He accepted an assistant men’s coaching position at NCAA Division II Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 2006. In his one season, MSU captured the Southwestern Soccer Conference regular season and tournament titles, finished with an 18-2-2 overall record and reached the NCAA round of 16.

In 11 years as a head coach he owns an overall record of 121-73-14. Thompson, a native of Bel Air, Md., is a 1995 graduate of Frostburg State University, located in Frostburg, Md. He and his wife Jennifer reside in Orange County. He is the father of three children: son Tyler and daughters Kailey and Kiana.