Email coach
Kevin Fickes
Kevin Fickes completed his 14th season as head women's soccer coach and 24th overall at Colorado School of Mines in 2023.
A five-time United Soccer Coaches Region Coach of the Year and four-time RMAC Coach of the Year, Fickes is the program’s all-time leader in wins, carrying an overall record of 224-41-38 (.802), a winning percentage that ranks third among all active coaches in NCAA Division II. Fickes' record includes a 138-18-16 (.845) mark in RMAC play, 14-8-8 in the NCAA tournament and 27 wins and 13 ties against teams in the USC Top 25. Under his guidance, the Orediggers have won six RMAC regular-season titles and an unparalleled nine RMAC Tournament trophies while making 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2014 Final Four berth.
Through his 12 seasons, Fickes has overseen 26 All-American selections, 15 Academic All-Americans, 76 all-conference honorees, 30 RMAC major award winners and one Capital One Division II Academic All-American of the Year.
The 2023 season saw Mines post a mark of 15-4-3 and 9-1-2 in the RMAC, finishing second in the regular season standings and runners up in the RMAC Tournament before making the program's 15th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Reese McDermott swept both the RMAC Player and Academic Player of the Year awards, transfer Natalie Rouse was named Defensive Player of the Year and Bella Campos took home Freshman of the Year honors. Campos led the RMAC in scoring with 16 goals and set a new Mines record for goals in a season by a freshman. McDermott posted 11 goals and a career-high eight assists while Rouse scored six times from her center back spot and headlined a defense that recorded 15 shutouts for the second consecutive season and held teams to just 7.3 shots and 0.55 goals per game and allowing just 12 goals all season.
The 2022 season culminated in a record of 18-2-3 and 10-0-2 in RMAC play and was highlighted by the Orediggers sweeping the RMAC regular season and tournament championships with a run to the national quarterfinals that included a win over #1 Dallas Baptist for the South Central Region championship. Jordan Barnhart was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Year while Afton Rasco was named RMAC Freshman of the Year. Mines boasted one of the best defenses in the country once again, allowing just 0.74 goals and 9.7 shots per match while outscoring teams 57-17 behind 15 goals from First Team All-RMAC and All-American Reese McDermott. Katie Koehler, headliner of that defense, was named an Academic All-American while Fickes was named RMAC Coach of the Year and the Mines staff was named Region Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches.
The 2021 season saw the Orediggers go 13-5-4 and 9-2-1 in the RMAC, finishing third in the standings and making a run to the RMAC Tournament semifinals before making the team's 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Reese McDermott was named RMAC Freshman of the Year while Sierra Roth took home Goalkeeper of the Year honors, leading the league in GAA (0.56), save percentage (.822), and shutouts (8) with 82 saves. Roth was also named an Academic All-American
The 2020 season, played in the spring of 2021 due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, saw Mines go 7-0-3 and 4-0-1 in RMAC play to claim the division title and make a semifinal appearance in the RMAC Tournament.
The 2019 season saw Mines capture the RMAC Tournament title by defeating #1 UCCS on the road to highlight a 19-2-2 overall record. The Orediggers were led by all-American and RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Giselle Sawaged, who helped Mines notch an impressive 0.48 GAA and 7.3 shots-per-game pace. Mines ranked as high as #7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll during the year
In 2018, Fickes guided Mines to a perfect 13-0-0 RMAC season as the Orediggers went 19-1-2 overall. Led by the program's signature stifling defense, Mines captured the RMAC double for the fifth time under Fickes and advanced to their 12th consecutive NCAA tournament. Emily Townsend became the third different Oredigger in five years to earn RMAC Defensive Player of the Year honors while she and goalkeeper Shannon Mooney earned All-America awards.
The 2017 season was another outstanding one for Mines as the Orediggers went 17-4-1 and advanced to the NCAA Third Round. The Orediggers beat three teams in national top 25 during the season and had a heart-stopping postseason run that included back-to-back overtime wins against Midwestern State and Dallas Baptist. Mines also earned its first-ever RMAC Academic Player of the Year - Jennifer Kendall - during the season, and saw Emily Garnier become a three-time all-American and three-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Mines' 2016 team was one of the best in program history, setting a record for wins (20) as they advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. Mines won the NCAA South Central regional title, rising as high as #3 in the NSCAA poll as the Orediggers won their fourth consecutive RMAC double. Fickes and his assistants were named the NSCAA South Central Regional Staff of the Year for their work as the Orediggers went 20-3-1 overall.
The 2015 team continued the legacy of outstanding soccer in Golden by earning the RMAC championship double and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Despite season-ending injuries to a number of key players, a young Oredigger squad earned the RMAC regular-season crown and won the tournament on their home field. Mines remained ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 for much of the season, finishing at #23.
The 2014 squad achieved the most successful season in the team’s 10-year history at 16-2-6 and 11-1-2 in the RMAC, repeating as the conference regular season champions and winning an unprecedented fourth straight RMAC Tournament. The Orediggers became the first varsity athletic program in school history to reach the NCAA Division II national semifinals. Mines fell 1-0 to No. 8 Rollins in the round of four in Louisville, Kentucky in early December. Mines, ranked #4 in the final coaches association top-25, was twice recognized as a Division II statistical team champion, pacing the country in both save percentage (.923) and shutout percentage (.750). The women established RMAC records in goals against (7), GAA (.274) and shutouts (18), and program-bests in consecutive shutouts (8) and consecutive shutout minutes (769:41).
Mines clinched the RMAC regular season for the first time in 2013 with an unblemished 14-0 record, and became the initial side to win three straight tournament championships, defeating Regis and No. 24 Fort Lewis in the postseason in November.
The Orediggers held No. 2 in the NSCAA poll for three weeks, eventually settling at No. 16 with a 19-1-1 record.
In 2012, he guided Mines to the RMAC Tournament title and Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Championships for the second straight season. The RMAC regular season runners-up and South Central Regional champs ended the year No. 7 in the NSCAA Top-25 Coaches Poll at 18-4-2 (10-3-1 RMAC) and on a 14-game unbeaten streak.
Mines ranked fifth in Division II in goals against average (0.489), sixth in shutouts and goals allowed (12), 10th in save percentage (0.876) and 17th in scoring offense (2.46 goals/game), and also paced the RMAC for the second year in a row in goals (59), points (166) and assists (48).
Fickes led the women to a 17-2-4 record in 2011, including 10-2-2 in the conference and the program’s first RMAC Tournament title. Ranked No. 5 in the last NSCAA poll and inside the top-25 for nine consecutive weeks, the Orediggers closed on a nine-game unbeaten streak, advancing to the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Mines blanked two-time defending national champion and No. 1 Grand Valley State for the first time in 50 games in the Elite Eight, eventually succumbing on penalty kicks, 4-2.
In his first season, Fickes directed the team to its third straight NCAA postseason and fourth consecutive RMAC Tournament, finishing fourth in the conference at 9-4-1 and 11-6-4 overall.
After assisting with the men’s program from 1998 to 2006, he served as assistant coach for both the men's and women's teams at Mines in 2009.
Since 1998, Fickes has coached with the Real Colorado Soccer Club where he currently serves as a Staff and Academy instructor as well as Assistant Director of Competition. He steered the U15 girls to top-four at the 2009 Red Bull Nationals and the Academy boys to fourth place in back-to-back seasons.
A North Carolina native and letterwinner at UNC Charlotte under former Colorado School of Mines men's head coach, Frank Kohlenstein, Fickes helped the 49ers to the No. 2 national ranking and the program’s first NCAA tournament bids in 1991 and 1992.
Following his four-year collegiate career (1989-92), he played three seasons in the professional ranks, making one-year stops with the Richmond Kickers, Raleigh Flyers and Wilmington Hammerheads. Fickes received his bachelor’s degree in English from UNC-Charlotte in 1993.
He and his wife, Kim, reside in Golden with their daughter, Molly.
show more