SAN DIEGO – Lev Kirshner, who has served as the men's soccer head coach at San Diego State since 2000 and has been at the University since 1997, will not return as head coach SDSU director of athletics John David Wicker announced today.
San Diego State, which has appeared in nine NCAA men's soccer tournaments and finished as the 1987 NCAA runner-up, will immediately begin a national search for the next coach.
"I would like to thank Coach Lev Kirshner for his 23 years of service to San Diego State and his many contributions to our men's soccer program," Wicker said. "Lev and his staff have many accomplishments to celebrate, NCAA tournament appearances and outstanding academics among them. However, I believe our soccer program has the ability to achieve better results across the board and that a change in leadership is necessary at this time to maximize the potential of the program."
Kirshner, the longest tenured coach in program history, guided the Aztecs to a 142-179-57 record in his 20 seasons as the head coach. He led SDSU to three NCAA tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2016) and finished .500 or better on nine occasions. In addition, he ushered the soccer program's move from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Conference in 2005.
Among the 70 all-conference and 19 all-region players he coached was Tally Hall. A first-team All-American, Hall helped lead SDSU to an NCAA-best 87.9 percent shots-on-goal save percentage and the nation's second-best goal against average (0.54) in 2005. Hall was inducted into the Aztec Hall of Fame this past October.
In 2005, Kirshner and the Aztecs posted a 9-4-6 record, recording regular-season draws against both fifth-ranked St. John's and No. 12 UCLA. San Diego State opened the season with a nine-match unbeaten streak (7-0-2) and advanced to the NCAA tournament where it dropped a 2-0 decision at 14th-ranked UC Santa Barbara. The Aztecs ended the 2005 campaign ranked No. 22, marking the 11th time in school history San Diego State ended the season nationally ranked.
The following season, SDSU went unbeaten over its final five contests of the regular-season and recorded victories over fourth-ranked Washington and No. 6 California en route a 9-6-4 record. SDSU's season came to an end in a 2-1 loss at UCSB in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Aztecs returned to the postseason in 2016, compiling a 9-4-6 mark. San Diego State went unbeaten over its first six matches of the campaign (4-0-2), highlighted by a victory over top-ranked Akron to go with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked Washington later in the season. SDSU advanced to the NCAA tournament and battled UNLV to a 1-1 draw, with the Rebels advancing on penalty kicks.
In his final season with the Aztecs in 2019, Kirshner posted a 4-12-2 record and a 1-9-0 mark in Pac-12 play.
Kirshner came to SDSU prior to the 1997 season and spent three years as an assistant under long-time Aztec head coach Chuck Clegg.