HEAD COACH DAVIE CARMICHAEL

Davie Carmichael, a native of Scotland with NAIA roots and a track record of success at multiple levels, was tapped to become the second head coach in Southern Oregon University men's soccer history on April 10, 2018.

In five seasons with the team, he’s already led the Raiders into uncharted territory while making them the most consistent contender in the Cascade Conference. SOU has gone 62-17-7 combined under Carmichael, including a 43-9-4 mark in Cascade Conference play. In 2018, he was named the CCC Coach of the Year.

That year, the Raiders captured the CCC regular-season championship with an 11-0-2 record and secured their first-ever NAIA National Tournament win – a 1-0 overtime decision over UC Merced at Raider Stadium. Before falling in the Round of 16, they had an NAIA-best unbeaten streak of 20 games, during which they trailed for a total of 13 minutes. In just the team’s fourth season of existence, they finished at No. 13 in the NAIA coaches’ poll. SOU registered 15 shutouts and produced the CCC defensive player of the year in Michael Miller, who repeated the honor a year later.

SOU never finished lower than fourth place under Carmichael and recorded 13-plus wins in each of his four full seasons (excluding the spring 2021 campaign shortened by COVID-19). In conference play, the Raiders have outscored opponents 141-39.

Sixteen different Raiders have earned spots on the All-CCC team during Carmichael's tenure. He's also produced the only honorable mention NAIA All-Americans in team history, Alan Gaytan and Adrian Villegas.

Since his arrival, the Raiders have been recognized as an NAIA Scholar Team (3.0 GPA or better) every season and totaled 29 NAIA Scholar Athletes. 

Prior to his arrival in Ashland, Carmichael was assistant for one season at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and previously made stops as an assistant and head coach at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) and Lake Erie College (Mich.).

In 2017 at Cal Poly, Carmichael served under Steve Sampson, the former head coach of the United State Men’s National Team, and helped the Mustangs to the longest winning streak in team history and a record of 7-10-1. He came after two years as an assistant at Buffalo, another NCAA Division I program. He was named Buffalo’s head coach in January 2017, but three months later the school announced it would immediately drop men’s soccer along with three other sports.

In 2015, his first season at Buffalo, the Bulls went 8-7-4 for their first winning record in seven seasons. They improved to 12-4-3 in 2016, notching their highest win total in 11 years, and reached the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game for the second year in a row after nearly setting a program record for shutouts (10) and receiving votes in the NCAA Top 25 poll for three weeks. The team earned an NSCAA Academic Team Award both seasons, and in 2015 boasted the highest combined GPA in the conference.

At each of his last two stops, Carmichael guided players who are currently members of the Portland Timbers organization: Buffalo’s Russell Cicerone, and Cal Poly’s Christian Enriquez.

Carmichael’s first head collegiate gig was at an NCAA Div. II, Lake Erie College (Ohio) – a team he lifted from a 1-16-1 record the year before he took over to 11-5-2 (the top mark in program history) in 2014, his fourth and final season on the job. His run ended with coach-of-the-year recognition in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the team’s first-ever NSCAA Midwest Regional ranking at No. 6. In total, he went 33-34-7 with the Storm and produced 11 all-conference performers. In 2014, the team featured nine academic all-conference selections.

Prior to his coaching career, Carmichael was a member of Scotland’s U-18 Men’s National Team in 2001 and the Greenock Morton Football Club from 2000-02. He first attended Northwood University (Mich.), where he was an All-GLIAC and All-Midwest Region first-team performer in 2004. He later transferred to a then-NAIA program, Notre Dame College (Ohio) – leading his team to an appearance in the NAIA semifinals in 2005, and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2007. In 2011, he attained a master’s degree in education from Lake Erie.