Kyle Cussen Position: Head Coach Experience: 5th Year

Kyle Cussen is in his fifth year at the helm of the Tulsa women's soccer program. He was announced as the sixth head coach in school history on January 21, 2008.

The 2011 season helped solidify the fact that TU has made steady improvement each season under Cussen's direction. In 2011, the Hurricane recorded a 10-8-3 overall record and a 4-5-2 mark in Conference USA, marking the first time since 2000 that TU posted double-digit wins and had a winning record. Tulsa also advanced to the C-USA Championship for just the second time since joining the league in 2005. TU scored 29 goals, posted 11 shutouts, including five-straight, to set a new school record for both shutouts in a season and consecutive shutouts, and had three players named to the All-Conference USA teams. The Golden Hurricane also had 17 student-athletes names to the Tulsa and C-USA academic lists.

TU posted an 8-9-2 overall record and picked up three wins in Conference USA play in the 2010 campaign. The Hurricane scored 31 goals, 18 of which were scored by freshmen, and had a .495 shots-on-goal percentage. Freshman forward Claire Nicholson had a team-best 11 goals, while freshman midfielder Jordan O'Brien posted three goals and one assist. For her efforts, O'Brien was tabbed as the C-USA Freshman of the Year, while both Nicholson and O'Brien were selected to the All-Freshman Team and earned All-C-USA honors. Tulsa was also successful in the classroom, as 18 players were named to the Tulsa and C-USA academic lists.

In 2009, the Hurricane concluded the season with a 7-10-2 overall record, including five shutout victories, and a 4-7 mark in C-USA. TU scored 25 goals, four more than its opponents, and had a .490 shots-on-goal percentage. Four players earned all-C-USA accolades, the first for Tulsa since joining the league in 2005. The Hurricane was also successful in the classroom, with three players named to the C-USA All-Academic Team, two players picked to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team, and 14 student-athletes honored to the Tulsa and C-USA academic lists.

In his first year at Tulsa, Cussen took a team that posted a 3-14-2 mark and scored just seven goals in the previous year to an 8-9-3 record and 41 goals in 2008. He nearly tripled the amount of wins and his team scored almost six times as many goals. TU had seven shutouts on the season, and 17 student-athletes scored a goal, including 11 that scored multiple goals. Cussen's team was successful off the field as well, as 14 players earned C-USA academic honors.

Cussen was the head women's coach at Oral Roberts University from 1998-2007. He posted an overall record of 110-74-15 in his 10 seasons, while compiling an eight-year conference mark of 35-15-8.

During his ORU tenure, Cussen's teams won three regular season Mid-Continent Conference titles (2000, 2002 and 2004) and two Mid-Con Tournament crowns (1999, 2004), while appearing in the Mid-Con Tournament Championship game for six straight seasons (1999-2004). Cussen also led ORU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the program's 12-year history in 2004.

In his time at ORU, Cussen coached 46 all-conference performers, 22 Mid-Con all-tournament team selections and five Mid-Continent Player of the Year honorees. He had one player earn Mid-Con Newcomer of the Year honors and had two Mid-Con Tournament MVP selections. Cussen also had 64 student-athletes earn academic all-conference accolades during his tenure, while three of his players earned all-Central Region honors.

Cussen was named the Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year in 2002 after leading his team to the regular season championship, while going undefeated in league action.

An Oklahoma native, Cussen played collegiately at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla. He graduated from SNU in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Cussen then served as an assistant women's soccer coach for the SNU Redskins, helping to build a program in its early stages. While there, Cussen helped the team post an overall 51-9-1 record and qualify for the NAIA Regional all three years, including an NAIA Final Four berth in 1995.

Cussen spent time playing professionally for the Oklahoma City Slickers and the Tulsa Roughnecks. In 1999, he earned a master's degree in education at ORU.

He and his wife, Misti, have two daughters; Cassie Grace and Caia Faith.