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Charlie Ward will enter his 3rd season as Millikin University's Head Men's Soccer Coach in the fall of 2026. He joined the program in December 2023.
In two seasons, Ward has collected a record of 16-15-3, going 6-8-2 in CCIW play. He is the third winningest coach in program history, and has coached five All-CCIW selections, one CCIW Defensive Player of the Year, and one United Soccer Coaches All-Region honoree.
In 2025, the Big Blue collected a record of 6-10-1, with a 2-5-1 spot in the CCIW. Bryce Davis and Landon Welch were each named to the All-CCIW second team.
In 2024, Ward became the first coach in Big Blue men's soccer history to record a 10-win season in their first year leading the program. Millikin posted a 10-5-2 record, with a 4-3-1 mark in CCIW conference play. He helped lead the Big Blue to their first CCIW Tournament appearance since 2002, as the fourth seed in the tournament. Nacho Diaz, Maichael McFarlane, and Alexander Wozniak were named as All-CCIW selections. Diaz was a repeat CCIW Defensive Player of the Year winner, and a repeat United Soccer Coaches All-Region honoree.
Prior to Millikin, Ward spent the 2023 season as an assistant at the University of Illinois-Springfield. The squad posted a 13-1-7 record, making the NCAA Division II Tournament. Ward coached Andrea Scapolo, who was named the Goalkeeper of the Year by the Midwest Region's sports information directors, the first one from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The UIS staff was named the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in the Midwest by the United Soccer Coaches.
Before UIS, Ward served a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at Upper Iowa, after serving as the Director of Coach Development at Rochester City from 2019-2021. He began his coaching career with the Brazilian Soccer School in 2013 before joining Arsenal FC as an Academy and Development Center Coach.
Ward graduated from Southampton Solent University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in football (soccer) studies, where he also saw time as the goalkeeping coach for AFC Fawley. He went on to earn his Master's in Business Administration from Upper Iowa University in 2022. He currently holds the English FA Level 2 coaching license along with other talent identification certifications. Ward also worked as a Director of Coach Education for Rochester City (2020-2021).
A native of Gillingham, England, Charlie resides in Springfield with his wife Megan and son Bohdan.
