Trinity International University

Josiah Larson was named the ninth head coach of the Trinity International University men’s soccer team in November of 2017. 

In his first season leading the Trojans, Larson piloted the squad to a 4-10-2 record. While the team didn’t get the results they were seeking, they were extremely competitive and could have ended up with a significantly better record, as six of their 10 losses were by a single goal. On the other hand, the team did show flashes of brilliance, emerging victorious in three consecutive mid-season fixtures while going undefeated for four straight.

Larson’s Trojans took a massive step forward in 2019, improving to 6-9-3 in a highlight-filled season. The squad posted a positive goal difference for the year while keeping four clean sheets and will have their campaign remembered by a series of riveting matches, including a thrilling extra-time draw against conference rival Saint Ambrose at homecoming and a 4-1 senior day triumph over Andrews University. The season marked significant progress for Larson’s team, as it was the first time the Trojans cleared the five-win barrier since 2016.

The pandemic’s ire dealt a significant blow to Coach Larson and his Trojans, pushing the 2020 season into the spring of 2021, but that didn’t stop Trinity from continuing to build on their efforts. Despite the lengthy wait to kick off the season, Larson kept his boys ready, as the Trojans claimed the victory in each of their first two matches of the season. The Trojans battled adversity all year, only managing to squeeze in two contests at their home ground of Schartner Field, but they still mounted an inspired effort, winning three conference fixtures for the first time since 2017. Adversity aside, the team posted a 4-9 overall record, and 3-9 conference record.

In 2021, the Trojans struggled as the squad was consistently out-dueled by their rivals en route to a 3-14 record despite getting on the score sheet in 11 of their final 14 contests. The Trojans did find their form late in the year however, and Larson’s squad showed their refusal to quit by conjuring up a late-season two-game win streak while outscoring their opponents 9-1. Despite the disappointment, Coach Larson managed to keep his streak of matching or improving the team’s conference win total every year in tact, as the Trojans again triumphed in a trio of conference battles.

2022 marked a breakthrough for Trojan men’s soccer as Larson’s squad powered their way to a 9-8-2 overall record and a 6-5-1 conference mark. The team’s impressive results were fueled by a six-match winning streak where the squad book-ended single-goal concessions around four consecutive clean sheets while outscoring their rivals 26-2 over the span. All told, Larson’s squad was firing on all cylinders all season long, boasting five five-goal scorers while keeping seven clean sheets. The remarkable effort propelled the Trojans into both the CCAC and NCCAA playoffs, giving Larson his first postseason action at the helm of Trinity. While the Trojans came up a bit short in their pursuit of a conference or national title they did manage a solid performance in an instant classic against Judson for the North Central Regional Championship, falling in penalties after a thrilling 110 minutes did nothing to separate the rival clubs. Throughout the season, sophomore goalkeepr Armin Mahmutovic earned CCAC Player of the Week twice, NCCAA Player of the Week, as well as NAIA National Player of the Week, only the second time a TIU men's soccer player has earned the latter recognition.

Under Larson, the Trojans have produced six NCCAA North-Central All-Region players as well as one CCAC All-Conference player. Larson's tenure has also produced 18 Scholar-Athletes at the NCCAA level, and seven at the NAIA level. Additionally, he's had two student-athletes named to the CSC All-District Team. In 2021, the Trojans were awarded the CCAC's Karl Boeck Champions of Character award. Voted on by the league's coaches, the award is given to the team in the CCAC that best portrays the ideals of good sportsmanship on the field of play. 2021 marks the ninth consecutive season that TIU has received this honor, and tenth time in the last 15 seasons. 

Prior to his selection as the Trojan's head coach, Larson spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant to both the men’s and women’s soccer programs at TIU, training, recruiting and working with the Trojan goalkeepers. In his time, Larson has coached three goalkeepers who have gone on to play professionally in the U.S. and Australia.  

While at TIU, Larson has also been a personal trainer for Sports Made Personal, located in Glenview, Ill. Larson worked with young athletes on speed, agility, and quickness, as well as soccer-specific skills. He has also worked as a speed, agility, and quickness trainer for various lacrosse, soccer and baseball clubs, and has worked with individual athletes in basketball, hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, football, baseball and soccer. Larson has worked as a trainer and coach for local soccer clubs, including F.C. United, Trevian, Pegasus, Lincolnshire and Glenview.

Larson is a 2009 graduate of Mars Hill College, where he was a history major and business minor. He was a four-year member of the Mars Hills men's soccer team earning honors as a goalkeeper and earning top ten rankings in NCAA Division II. In 2014, Larson earned his Master's Degree in Teaching at TIU.

Larson was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and raised in Falls Church, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C. He is currently living in Hoffman Estates, Illinois with his wife Karen (a TIU women's soccer alum) and their two daughters, Sadie and Leia.

The Larson File

* The 2020 season was played during the winter/spring of 2021 and shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic