Coaches

Ian Wilson

Ian Wilson is currently in his sixth season as the Carthage College head women's soccer coach in 2023-24 and has a record of 22-36-10 during his time at Carthage.


Wilson arrived at Carthage following a six-year stint as the assistant women's soccer coach at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he primarily oversaw goalkeepers. Technical and tactical instruction, camp coordination, community outreach, video analysis, travel coordination, and on-campus visits also fell under Wilson's watch at Illinois Wesleyan.


The Titans accumulated an 89-32-10 overall record under Wilson's assistance, which resulted in two College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships, one CCIW tournament title and five NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship appearances. Wilson helped the Titans reach the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship semifinals.


Prior to Illinois Wesleyan, Wilson had a three-year stay from 2009 to 2011 as the assistant women's soccer coach at Normal Community High School where he was responsible for the goalkeepers. Wilson got his collegiate coaching start at Luther College in 2005-06, where he was the assistant men's and women's soccer coach. He also served as head coach of the American International Sports Team in 2015, leading them to a second-place finish at the United World Games. Wilson also serves as a staff coach with the Illinois Fire Juniors, a post he's held since 2008.


Wilson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in political science and history. He received a master's degree in student development and administration, also from Wisconsin-La Crosse, in 2005.

Kiera Coleman

Paul Leese

Paul Leese was hired as the fourth head men's soccer coach at Carthage College in February of 2022. He came to campus with nearly 20 years of collegiate coaching experience at the NCAA Division I and II level.


In his first season as the head coach, Leese lead the Firebirds to an overall record of 8-7-5 (.525), ending the season with a record of 4-1-3 (.688) in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.


Leese took over the helm of the Carthage men’s soccer program after a year as an assistant coach with New Mexico United. Previously, he was the head coach of the men’s soccer team at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley from 2014 to 2020, where he helped establish a nationally-ranked program, won five consecutive NSCAA/USC Team Academic Awards, and was named the 2018 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.


Prior to his time at the head of the UTRGV team, he was the head coach of Coker College for five seasons. His time with Coker included four conference championships, two conference coach of the year honors, a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and a national ranking as high as No. 5 in 2011. He entered the collegiate coaching ranks as an assistant coach, with stops at Coastal Carolina, Furman, and Elon.


Outside of coaching Leese was a five-year faculty member in the Coker Business Administration Department, and taught upper-level leadership awareness courses. Leese graduated from Furman University with a degree in business administration in 2001, where he led the men’s soccer team as a senior in 1999 to a program-best record of 21-2-1 and an elite eight NCAA tournament appearance. He went on to play professionally for the Greenville Lions and Greensboro Dynamo of the USL. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Elon University in 2003.


Leese came to Kenosha with his wife Janeane, and two sons Aiden and Keiran.

Cale Brown

Cale Brown is in his second year as a Carthage College assistant men’s soccer coach in 2021-2022, after a playing career for the program between 2011 and 2014 at midfielder and defender. Brown's primary responsibilities include speed, agility, and soccer specific movements.


Brown was a member of the 2011 CCIW Championship Men's soccer teams, was an All-CCIW track and field student-athlete, and was a national qualifier in the 4x400-meter relay in 2013. As a coach, Brown was a part of the 2019 WIAA Track & Field State Championship team at Muskego high school. A Naperville, Ill. native, Brown graduated from Carthage in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, and graduated in 2021 with a master's of education with a concentration in leadership. Brown is also a full-time assistant coach for track and field teams at Carthage.