Men's Soccer
- Title :
- Associate Head Coach
- E-Mail:
- sean.hughes@marquette.edu
- Phone:
- 288-6628
- Experience :
- Fifth Season
- Alma Mater:
- Cardinal Stritch, 2011
Sean Hughes completed his fifth season with the Golden Eagles coaching staff in 2020-21.He was promoted to associate head coach in 2020 and also leads the team's recruiting efforts. He previously served stints at Division II institutions Maryville University and Quincy University before coming to MU.
Hughes has helped the Golden Eagles reach the BIG EAST tournament in each of the past three years, including making it to the conference championship game in 2018. He also helped lead the Golden Eagles to their first NCAA tournament since 2013 in 2020-21 as they made the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. He's been crucial to the development of three MLS SuperDraft picks in the past three years and coached 13 All-BIG EAST players in that same time frame. He also recruited and developed forward Lukas Sunesson, who earned United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-America honors and was the school's first ever MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist (best player in collegiate soccer) in 2020-21.
In a spring season that will forever be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Coach Hughes helped direct the lads through a trying season to achieve miraculous results. Despite having to replace four of the top six scorers and two MLS SuperDraft picks from the year prior, Hughes anchored the recruiting efforts to bring in a 13-player class that instantly helped MU retool to become one of the top teams in the country.
Three players in the class, Beto Soto, Zyan Andrade and Chandler Hallwood, all earned All-BIG EAST honors in their first seasons in the Blue & Gold. Soto started in 12 of 13 games, scoring three goals and earning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors, just the second Golden Eagle ever to do so. Andrade spearheaded the midfield position for MU after transferring from the University of San Francisco. He scored two game-winning goals and dished out two assists on his way to Third Team All-BIG EAST honors. Hallwood, another Third Team All-BIG EAST honoree, had a spectacular season after transferring in from Gannon University (Pa.). He went 7-2-2 on the year, setting school records for fewest goals allowed in a season (8) and lowest GAA (0.65). His .862 save percentage ranks No. 2 for a season in MU laurels.
With a mix of new recruits and returning talent, the Golden Eagles thrived through adversity in the 2020-21 spring season, going 8-3-2 (5-1-1 BIG EAST) and taking home the BIG EAST Midwest Division title by two games.
The Golden Eagles won their first three games by the score of 1-0, all with golden goals in overtime. One of these wins came against Saint Louis, a win that marked MU's first over the Billikens since 2002. MU went on to win five of its seven BIG EAST contests and a program-record six overtime games. The Golden Eagles were ranked in both the United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer rankings for the final eight weeks of the season, reaching as high as 12th in the country.
Their historic season came with several postseason accolades, including All-BIG EAST honors for strikers Lukas Sunesson and Beto Soto, midfielder Zyan Andrade, defender Alex Mirsberger and goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood. Sunesson, one of the top strikers in the BIG EAST and nationally, was named First Team All-BIG EAST, a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American and became the school's first ever MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, an award that goes to the best player in college soccer.
After making the BIG EAST tournament for the third season in a row, the Golden Eagles were selected to their first NCAA tournament since 2013. MU was paired with No. 4 Loyola Marymount, the West Coast Conference champions who came in with an unblemished record. After a 0-0 tie in regulation and two overtimes, the Golden Eagles emerged victoriously in penalty kicks, defeating the Lions, 3-1. MU advanced to their second Sweet 16 in school history and first since 2013 and battled the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers. An A.J. Franklin goal in the 44th minute put MU up 1-0 and it kept the lead all the way into the 71st minute. The Hoosiers tallied two goals in the final 19 minutes of game action to take down MU to end the historic season.
In 2019, two of the players Hughest played a key role in developing, Patrick Seagrist (New York Red Bulls; 10th pick, first round) and Luka Prpa (Houston Dynamo; 34th pick, second round) were taken in the first two rounds of the MLS SuperDraft, marking the first time in program history that MU had two picks in the first two rounds. Seagrist became the programs highest-ever draft pick at 10th overall. Senior forward Josh Coan also signed a professional contract with FC Tucson of USL League One.
The 2016 season was one of growth and revival as MU's top-10 rated recruiting class showed flashes of brilliance and bits of struggle. As many as eight freshmen and newcomers saw the pitch and the team went 5-7-4 overall with a 2-5-2 mark in BIG EAST play. As a team, the Golden Eagles scored 26 goals, their most since 2013 when they last reached the NCAA tournament.
Luka Prpa, who finished one point shy of becoming the league's leading scorer in his debut season, totaled 26 points on 10 goals and six assists and was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and an NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team selection. Senior John Pothast earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors and Bennett's squad is due to return all but two key members in what shapes up to be a promising 2017 season.
In Hughes' only season as the head coach in 2015, he took the Maryville men’s soccer program to new heights with a single-season record for wins at the Division II level and the most shutouts in a season in program history.
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In the three seasons prior as full-time assistant at Quincy, Hughes helped the program to a combined record of 48-9-8 with two Great Lakes Valley Conference championships and an NCAA Final Four appearance. In his final season with Quincy in 2014, the team finished with a 21-2-2 overall record and the No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA top-25 poll.Â
During his time at Quincy, Hughes coached four All-Americans, two Academic All-Americans, two GLVC Freshmen of the Year, two GLVC Defensive Players of the Year, one GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, the GLVC Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year and more than 20 all-conference players.
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The Blackburn, England native enjoyed a standout career in his home country where he played for the youth teams for Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic, Preston North End and Bury FC. He played in the prestigious FA Youth Cup for Bury FC in 2003 and represented the Great Britain Catholic Schoolboys U-16 squad in Spain.
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Hughes traveled to the United States and began his collegiate playing career at Northeastern State (Okla.) University. He led the Riverhawks in goals and points in each of his two seasons before transferring to Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, where he started in every game from 2009-10.
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After graduating from Cardinal Stritch, Hughes played one season for Whitsunday Miners FC in the Australian Soccer League second division. He helped the 2011 team record its highest finish in the league standings. The next season, Hughes played for Crewesadors FC futsal team in the UEFA English Regional North League in 2012.
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Hughes earned his bachelor of arts degree in sports management from Cardinal Stritch in 2010 and completed his MBA from Quincy in May 2014.
He and his wife, Danielle, have two children, son George and daughter Grace, and currently reside in Glendale.
