Derrek Falor Position: Head Coach Experience: Fifth Year Alma Mater: Western Washington, 1992

Entering his fifth season and sixth year as head coach of the Viking women's soccer program, Derrek Falor believes that CSU has turned the corner and is prepared to make a big jump this season.

That excitement is predicated on a 2007 campaign that saw the Vikings set a school record for wins with a 5-14-1 mark. CSU also set program firsts by finishing out of the cellar in the Horizon League and by winning a match in the league championship.

Falor is excited that CSU is finally showing the fruits of his labor over the last four years, especially after seeing a significant advancement in 2007 after making only gradually improvements during his first three seasons. He doesn't mince any words when talking about goals for 2008.

"This program has advanced to the point where we just can't accept another small improvement on the field this year," he said. "Not with this group and not with the type of talent that we have.

"I will be disappointed if we don't finish at .500 or better and jump up into the middle of the Horizon League standings. The combination of an outstanding group of senior leaders along with the best consecutive recruiting classes in program history makes me feel confident about attaining our goals this year.

When he was hired in February of 2003, he was charged with developing the program from scratch. He implemented an 18-month plan that culminated in 2004 when the Vikings began the inaugural season of women's soccer at CSU.

A sports psychology major in college, Falor knew that the success of the team during the first several seasons wouldn't be based on wins and losses, but by how well the program was set up for success in the future. Playing with a roster that has been dominated by underclassmen - CSU had just two seniors during the first three seasons - Falor knew that he needed to look to gradual improvement for the Viking roster over the course of the seasons.

After going winless in the first two seasons, the Vikings won three matches in 2006 and pushed the win total to five last year. More importantly, CSU continued to show improvement in just about every phase of the game, turning what had once been lopsided losses into hotly contests battles.

The improvement is very easy to chart. After allowing 95 goals in 2004, the Vikings lowered it to 68 in 2005, 54 in 2006 and 51 last year, a 46-percent decrease from the inaugural season. At the other end of the field, the Vikings have increased their scoring total from four in 2004 to 23 last year while improving shots by almost 50-percent.

More importantly, CSU returns eight starters and 14 letterwinners this season, affording Falor with the kind of depth and experience that he imagined when he first started the program.

The passion that Falor displays for coaching has been evident in the process that he has used in developing the Viking program, following a step-by-step plan to address all the necessary growth aspects of the program.

After coming to CSU, Falor focused the majority of his energy on recruiting, searching Northeast Ohio and the surrounding area for players that he felt fit into his vision of the program. He accomplished just that, signing an inaugural class of 12 players in February of 2004 who he felt would be the cornerstone of the program for years to come.

In fact, seven of those initial dozen signees will have completed their eligibility this fall. Heather Clapacs, Shayna Back, Amber Rasmussen and Samantha Casey graduated last fall while Jennifer Wieand, Abbie Kakias and Maggie Pugliese, each of whom redshirted a season because of injury, are the lone seniors this fall.

A two-year starter on the men's soccer squad at Shoreline College in Seattle, Wash. (1987-88), Falor transferred to Western Washington in 1989, earning a bachelor's degree in exercise science and sports psychology in 1992.

Falor remained at Western Washington, serving as a graduate assistant coach for both the men's and women's soccer teams for two years (1993-94) while he earning his master's in sports psychology in 1995.

Falor received his first collegiate head coaching position in 1995 when he was promoted to women's head coach at Western Washington. He compiled a 56-47-10 mark in six seasons, the second highest win total by a head coach in school history. He helped the Vikings to top three conference finishes each year.

Falor moved to DePaul in 2001 where he assisted in all facets of coaching, including recruiting, travel management, technical and tactical player development, mental skills training, and fundraising.

Falor helped the Blue Demons turn around a struggling program. DePaul won just three matches prior to his arrival but improved to six in 2001 and 10 in 2002.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Falor married the former Camille Anne Beatty in 1992. The couple has two sons, Mason (5) and Elliot (2). They reside in Lakewood.