Evan Fiffles took over as the Lewis University head men’s soccer coach in 1992. Since his arrival, his Flyers have winning records in 28 out of 31 seasons, eight top 25 finishes, nine NCAA Tournament appearances, six Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Championships, nine regular season GLVC Championships or co-Championships, five trips to the NCAA Division II ‘Sweet 16’ and three berths in the NCAA Division II semifinals. In all, Fiffles has totaled the most victories in school history (367) and owns a winning percentage of .652, which also is a school-record.
Simply put, Fiffles has built a winning tradition on the Romeoville campus and the Flyers often find themselves among the nation’s best soccer teams.
Since the turn of the 21
st century, Fiffles has guided the Flyers to their only three NCAA Division II National Semifinal berths in school history, with the most recent one coming in 2023.
In 2023, Lewis went into the tournament as the 10th seed and went all the way to the Final Four. On its way to the semifinal, Lewis defeated host and No. 2 seed Illinois-Springfield then went to Indianapolis for the Sweet 16 and defeated the Greyhounds then defeated Maryville in the Elite 8.
In 2009, That season was highlighted by a 4-1 win over Charleston (W. Va.) in the ‘Elite Eight’ at the Lewis Soccer Field in front of over 1,000 fans. Prior to that victory, Fiffles last led Lewis to the ‘Final Four’ in 2000, as the Flyers finished that campaign ranked fourth overall in the nation.
In 2010, Lewis won its first GLVC regular-season championship since 2002 and earned a 2-0 road victory over then No. 4 and eventual National Champion Northern Kentucky.
Numbers wise, Fiffles’ best campaign came during the 2001 season, as the Flyers went 20-1-1, tops in school-history, and found themselves ranked No. 1 in the nation on two separate occasions.
11 Flyers have earned All-America honors playing for Fiffles, including Joram Bogers (Third Team, '23), Zac Bond (Honorable Mention, ‘09); Cathal Brady (Third Team, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05); Joey DeFrancesco (Third Team, ‘08); Nestor Hernandez (Second Team, ‘08; Third Team, ‘07, ‘09); Cory Mastey (First Team, ‘08; Honorable Mention, ‘08); Alec Pickett (NSCAA Second Team, ’13; Daktronics Third Team, ’13); Justin Sanabria (Second Team, ‘04); Sean Seaberg (Second Team, ‘94); John Thompson (First Team, ‘99, ‘00, ‘01) and Serafin Vega (Third Team, ‘02).
Fiffles often has been lauded for his team’s accomplishments. He was named National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year and GLVC Coach of the Year in 2000, and he captured the GLVC Coach of the Year award in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1998.
Fiffles coached his 1996 team to an unprecedented 14-0 mark against conference teams (11-0 regular season, 3-0 GLVC Championship). The Flyers, whose 0.40 GAA that year was third best in Division II, posted 15 shutouts (including 10 straight) and allowed just one goal to a GLVC opponent.
Fiffles coached the Flyer women’s soccer team in 1989 and 1990 before guiding the 1991 Moline High School boys’ soccer team to a 17-2-4 record and a berth in the Illinois High School Association “Sweet 16.”
Fiffles, who holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” coaching license, earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Greenville (Ill.) College in 1982 and a master’s degree in education with sports administration emphasis at Eastern Illinois University in 1985.
The Oak Lawn native has coached at Richards High School, Sandburg High School and Moraine Valley Community College and has over 10 years of club experience with Sports Club/Chicago Magic, Arsenal and he saw his Chicago Magic squad win a State Cup Championship. Fiffles was an Illinois State Select coaching staff member for eight years and an Illinois ODP (Olympic Development Program) staff coach for 10 years.
Fiffles and his wife, Julie, reside in Homer Glen with 21-year-old daughter Lia and 17-year-old son Niko.
CAREER RECORD
| Fiffles' Record at Lewis |
| YEAR |
OVERALL
RECORD |
GLVC
STANDINGS |
| 1992 |
12-8-1 |
1st |
| 1993 |
12-5-4 |
2nd |
| 1994 |
15-6-1 |
2nd |
| 1995 |
10-9-2 |
1st |
| 1996 |
16-4-0 |
1st |
| 1997 |
12-6-2 |
3rd |
| 1998 |
11-5-4 |
1st |
| 1999 |
12-4-2 |
T-1st |
| 2000 |
17-5-1 |
T-1st |
| 2001 |
20-1-1 |
T-1st |
| 2002 |
14-7-0 |
1st |
| 2003 |
12-5-2 |
T-2nd |
| 2004 |
16-3-3 |
T-3rd |
| 2005 |
11-8-0 |
5th |
| 2006 |
12-6-1 |
5th |
| 2007 |
17-5-0 |
3rd |
| 2008 |
14-1-4 |
2nd |
| 2009 |
16-3-3 |
3rd |
| 2010 |
10-6-1 |
1st |
| 2011 |
9-8-1 |
T-5th |
| 2012 |
9-9-0 |
8th |
| 2013 |
13-3-5 |
3rd |
| 2014 |
11-5-3 |
4th |
| 2015 |
1-15-1 |
16th |
| 2016 |
6-11-0 |
13th |
| 2017 |
12-4-2 |
3rd |
| 2018 |
4-10-3 |
10th |
| 2019 |
9-7-2 |
10th |
| 2020 |
9-6-1 |
4th |
| 2021 |
12-5-3 |
4th |
| 2022 |
11-5-3 |
2nd |
| 2023 |
13-4-6 |
2nd |
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367-182-59 |
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