Coaches

Mike Cannon

Cannon Key Stats:

569 – Number of matches Coach Cannon has been on the sidelines for the Bulldogs since 1993.

367 – Number of wins by Cannon’s teams in the 29 years as head coach. That ranks fifth among active Division II coaches and 41stamong all active NCAA Women’s Soccer Coaches.

227 – Number of games the Bulldogs have shutout an opponent.

170 – Number of all-conference selections in 22 years as a league sport. An average of 8.5 players per season.

82 – Number of all-region selections of Bulldogs since 1993.

69 – First team all-conference selections, with 21 straight years of at least one on the all-conference first team. The Bulldogs have had as high as seven first-team selections in both 2001 and 2003.

47 – Consecutive conference games without a loss from September 2002 until October 2005. It is tied for eighth for longest such streak in Division II history.

29 – Number of CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees.

28 – Consecutive number of seasons with at least a .500 winning percentage, which is the second longest active streak in Division II behind the 32 by UC San Diego and fourth longest overall.

18 – Average number of players the last five years to be named to the Academic All-GLVC team.

11 – Conference Championships (last 2018)

10 – Conference Coach of the Year Honors (last 2018)

8 – Goals allowed during the 2001 season that was the fewest allowed that season by a Division II team.

6 – Highest national ranking of the Bulldogs in the final coaches poll in two separate seasons (1997 and 2001).


First Match:

September 4, 1993 – 1-0 Loss at Drury


First Win:

September 6, 1993 – 3-0 Win at Missouri S&T


100thWin:

September 30, 2001 – 3-0 Win at Northwest Missouri


200thWin:

August 29, 2008 – 1-0 Win vs. Quincy in St. Edwards, Texas


300thWin:

October 23, 2015 – 4-0 Win vs. Illinois Springfield


350th Win:

November 3, 2019 - 2-1 Win vs. Lindenwood


Mike Cannon has been a fixture on the sidelines for Truman Women’s Soccer since 1993. He has guided his Bulldog teams to 12 NCAA Division II tournament appearances and 11 conference regular season championships. He is among the active leaders in all of NCAA Women’s Soccer in victories with 367 and his teams have won nearly 80% of their conference games.


Cannon has had nine players earn All-America honors with Sara Murray and Jennifer Buscher earning the award on two separate occasions. Murray has been the only first team all-American to date and won the award in both 2003 and 2004. She is the program’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points and was also among six Truman players to earn the CoSIDA Academic All-America distinction, an award she received in both 2003 and 2004.


Cannon was named head coach in 1993 after serving one season as an assistant for the men’s team in 1992. He was a marking back and midfielder for the Bulldogs from 1988-91 and was the team’s most valuable player his senior season.


As a junior, he was selected as the Bulldogs’ most improved player for his contribution during a campaign in which the men’s team qualified for the Division II playoffs for the first time.


During the summers of 1996 and 1997, Cannon spent time on the pitch as a defender for the Des Moines Menace of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (now called the United Soccer League). He was selected to play in the USISL all-star game in ‘96 and served as team captain in ‘97. Cannon’s efforts helped lead the Menace to the regional playoffs both years.


He graduated in 1992 from Truman with a bachelor’s degree in English.


As head coach of the Bulldogs, Cannon has been named NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year twice (2001 & 2016), 10 times named conference Coach of the Year and has had 68 first-team all-conference selections in 21 years as a league sponsored sport.


The Bulldogs earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 after a 14-5-1 regular season campaign. At that time, that was a school record in victories with the Bulldogs winning seven of eight to get into the tournament field. They won their first round game against Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) 1-0 before bowing out a week later to West Virginia Wesleyan by the same 1-0 score.


The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association introduced women’s soccer as a league sport in 1999 and Truman was the dominate team from the get go. The Bulldogs claimed the first conference title with a 5-0 record and did not allow a goal against as they outscored league opponents 14-0.


Truman would go on to win the first seven MIAA titles going 66-4-6 during those seasons. The 2004 team would be the jewel among that group with a 19-1-2 mark, losing only in the regional finals to Nebraska-Omaha after a 21-match unbeaten streak. The Bulldogs would claim two more league titles in 2007 and 2009 before departing the conference after the 2012 season for the Great Lakes Valley Conference.


The Bulldogs contended for the league title in their first season (2013) in the GLVC but finished with a 10-2-3 league record. They did earn their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010 but was defeated by league member Rockhurst in the first round.


In 2015, the Bulldogs went 11-1-3 in conference and were the number two seed in the GLVC Tournament. After an opening round 2-1 win over Rockhurst, the Bulldogs advanced to their first championship match with a thrilling shootout victory over rival Quincy. The team garnered the tournament championship with a 2-0 victory over Missouri-St. Louis and received the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. They would win their opening match over Cedarville (Ohio) 1-0 but lost to conference regular season champ, Bellarmine 1-0 to be eliminated.


The Bulldogs were crowned the 2016 GLVC champions after posting a 15-2-4 overall record and 12-1-2 league mark. McKendree upset Truman in the league tournament when the Bearcats won in a shootout in the semifinals but exacted revenge the following weekend at the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over the Bearcats. The Bulldogs were knocked out of the tournament following a 2-0 loss to the eventual national champion, Grand Valley State.


In 2018, Truman earned one of three shares to their second GLVC regular season championship. The Bulldogs went 9-3-1 in conference action and 14-4-1 overall with Cannon earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors. The team outscored opponents 33-16 with 14 players finding the back of the net in goal. Two players (Laura Ney & Hannah Burke) earned all-region honors and Ney was named the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Women’s Soccer. The team earned All-Academic honors from the GLVC with a 3.41 GPA and 18 roster players were named Academic All-GLVC.