From STAFF REPORTS

AMERICUS – Georgia Southwestern State University athletic director, Mike Leeder, has recently hired Harold Munoz to be the school’s next head women’s soccer coach. Munoz comes to Georgia Southwestern from Mercer University, where he was an assistant coach on the women’s soccer staff the past two seasons under former GSW head coach, Tony Economopoulos (2009-11).
“We are very excited that Harold has accepted our offer to become the next head women’s soccer coach at Georgia Southwestern,” Leeder said. “He was our number-one choice. We targeted him early in the process and we look forward to supporting him as he works to increase the competitive success of our program.”
In his two years with the Bears, Munoz helped Mercer to a 23-14-6 record and consecutive appearances in the Southern Conference (SoCon) Tournament Championship game.
“I would like to thank Coach Leeder and the search committee for this great opportunity,” Munoz said. “I am very excited to get started.”
In 2014, Mercer won the SoCon Tournament in its first year in the league and advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament for just the second time in program history. The Bears tallied a 14-6-2 record, winning the most games in a single-season in the program’s 30-year history. Mercer also ended that season with the highest RPI in program’s history. The Bears finished the season ranked number nine in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Southeast Region poll; the first time in history that Mercer finished a season in the rankings. Mercer also earned its 13th straight NSCAA Team Academic Award that year.
Before joining the staff at Mercer, Munoz served as the head men’s soccer coach for six seasons at Division II member, Eastern New Mexico University. He compiled a 66-42-20 overall record at Eastern New Mexico while leading the Greyhounds to a Lone Star Conference Championship in 2011. Under Munoz, the Greyhounds set single-season school records for most wins (11), fewest goals allowed (17), and most shutouts (5).
“Harold’s previous success as a head coach at the Division II level and his proven ability to maximize a program’s resources make him an ideal fit to improve our competitive success in the challenging Peach Belt Conference,” Leeder said.
Prior to his stint at Eastern New Mexico, Munoz was the head women’s soccer coach at NAIA member, Midland University, for the 2007 campaign. The Warriors went 13-2-4 in Munoz’s only season at Midland and earned a runner-up finish in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championship.
Munoz played collegiate soccer at William Woods University from 1998-2002, where he was a First Team All-American Midwest Conference selection. He went on to obtain a Master’s of Science in Physical Education while serving as a graduate assistant coach at Eastern New Mexico.
A Bogotá, Colombia native, Munoz also played semi-professionally in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (North York Astros) and the Premier Development League (Sioux Falls Spitfire). Munoz currently holds a Premier Diploma as well as a Goalkeeping “Level I” diploma from the NSCAA.
Munoz and his wife, Natalie, have two sons, Nolan and Harry.