Men's Soccer | 12/02/22 | 12:54 PM
HELENA, Mont. – Carroll College Men's Soccer Coach Doug Mello has announced his retirement after nine seasons in Helena.
Mello was Carroll's first and only Men's Soccer Coach. He started the program in fall of 2014. Mello has accrued an Overall record of 64-71-10 in nine seasons at the helm, including four seasons at .500 or above.
Mello's Carroll teams qualified for the Cascade Collegiate Conference playoffs three times (2015, 2016, and 2018) and his squads reached the Cascade Collegiate Conference semifinals twice (2016 & 2018).
Under Mello's leadership, Javi Porras, from Las Alturas, Guatemala, was recognized by the United States Soccer Coaches Association as the National Scholar Player of the Year in the NAIA 2018
The United States Soccer Association has recognized the Men's Soccer team as an Academic Award winner for eight consecutive years, all of Mello's tenure. The Soccer team's 2021-22 GPA was 3.18.
"Coach Mello put Carroll Men's Soccer on the map, starting the program from scratch." Said Athletic Director Charlie Gross. "He recruited outstanding student-athletes who not only competed at a high level on the pitch but achieved excellence in the classroom and contributed to the cultural diversity on campus. I am very thankful to Doug for laying a solid foundation for men's soccer at Carroll College."
Mello is the only collegiate coach to have won over 400 men's matches and over 275 on the women's side. He finishes his career fourth all-time in NAIA Men's Soccer wins (494) and tied for ninth all-time in NAIA Women's Soccer wins (282). He finishes his career in eighth place all time on the United Soccer Coaches Men's coaches win record for victories.
Mello was hired as a head coach by Aquinas College at the age of 20, making him the youngest collegiate head coach in any sport.
Mello, whose career has spanned 45 years, has had the head job at six different programs. He was also the principal architect, starting both the men's and women's programs at Siena Heights University (Mich.) and Luther College (Iowa). At Luther, his squad set a D-III record for conference wins in a row at 42.
This past Fall, Mello was inducted into the Aquinas College (Mich.) Athletics Hall of Fame alongside his 1980 Men's Soccer Team, that was the first to win an NAIA state championship.
The induction was Mello's fourth Hall of Fame ceremony (three at Siena Heights and one at Aquinas).
"I've been blessed to ride this wave of coaching the beautiful game for 45 incredible years." Said Mello "To say I will miss being on the touch line, along with mentoring high-level student-athletes would be an understatement. My nine years of leading the charge at Carroll has been a unique pleasure. I like to say this Saints squad wins in spite of me! With a young and talented group returning next season, the sky is the limit for Carroll Soccer."
"Although I am retiring from Carroll, I'm not retiring from the game of soccer. The friendships cultivated with coaches, professors and staff along the way, most recently at Carroll, will always be with me. Lastly, to all my players, thank you for all the tremendous memories. Go Saints!"
Carroll will initiate a search process for the second Head Coach in program history immediately.
