Costa Nicolaou, Head Coach of both teams, has ambitions of leading the Tigers to the NCAA National play-offs in the years ahead. He has assembled a vastly experienced staff who bring rich coaching and playing backgrounds, as well as an infectious and genuine love for the game, to the soccer program. Since he took over at Occidental College in 1992, both programs have shown steady improvement, rising to compete with and hold their own against the best. Occidental College is located in the northeast section of Los Angeles, in the community of Eagle Rock, only a few miles from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The school is situated fifteen minutes from downtown LA, less than an hour from the beaches and within two hours of local mountains, resorts and ski areas.
Occidental players enjoy one of the premier training facilities in the area.
Located on a campus hillside with a view of the San Gabriel Mountains and overlooking the LA Basin, the soccer field has hosted numerous local and foreign teams who have enjoyed the secluded training ground. The MLS s Los Angeles Galaxy has used Occidental as a home training ground, while teams such as the New York Metro Stars, New England Revolution, Dallas Burn, America Cali of Colombia, Independiente of Guatamala and Olympia of Honduras, have all been visitors. Indeed, the US National Teams Program has Occidental College on its short-list of training facilities when staging International games at the Rose Bowl.