Felipe Restrepo enters his 19th year as Chico State’s head men’s soccer coach in 2026. The second-winningest coach in program history, Restrepo owns a 170-95-55 record at Chico State and has helped maintain the Wildcats’ standing as one of the West Region’s most tradition-rich programs.
Since taking over the program in 2008, Restrepo has guided the Wildcats to three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division crowns, one NCAA West Region title, 16 CCAA Tournament appearances and five NCAA Championship Tournament berths. Under his direction, Chico State has continued to build on a program history that includes four NCAA Final Four appearances, 15 NCAA regional appearances, three CCAA championships and one CCAA Tournament title.
Under Restrepo’s tutelage, several Chico State men’s soccer players have earned individual recognition, registering more than 75 postseason conference awards, more than 40 All-West Region selections and 14 All-America honors. Restrepo himself was named the CCAA Coach of the Year in 2008 and the United Soccer Coaches’ 2013 West Region Coach of the Year.
Restrepo’s Chico State teams have developed a reputation for being extremely difficult to beat at home, compiling an 83-36-18 mark—an impressive .672 winning percentage—at University Soccer Stadium.
The 2025 season saw Restrepo guide a young Wildcats squad to a 5-7-4 overall record and a 3-4-3 mark in CCAA play. Chico State finished seventh in the conference standings and remained in the postseason race deep into the final weeks of the season, finishing just four points out of a CCAA Tournament berth. Dane Peterson and Michael Gray earned All-CCAA Honorable Mention, while Weston Joyner was named CCAA Defensive Player of the Week and later earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors.
The 2024 season was filled with success, as Restrepo guided the Wildcats to an 11-3-5 record and another CCAA Tournament appearance. Emanuel Padilla claimed the CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Chico State men’s soccer student-athlete to receive a conference award in back-to-back seasons. Padilla, Miles Rice and Preston Moll all earned All-CCAA honors, while Rice went on to receive United Soccer Coaches First Team All-America recognition after leading the Wildcats with 13 goals.
In 2023, Restrepo coached the Wildcats to an 11-2-7 record and a CCAA Tournament berth—the program’s seventh straight conference postseason appearance—while finishing fourth in the conference standings. Chico State boasted one of the best defenses in the nation, allowing just 0.64 goals per match and earning an NCAA Championship Tournament berth for the first time since 2018. The Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NCAA Super Region 4 Tournament before falling 2-1 in overtime at Colorado State Pueblo. Emanuel Padilla was named CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year, while Padilla, Adrian Fontanelli and Preston Moll all earned All-West Region honors, with Padilla and Moll earning All-America recognition from the United Soccer Coaches.
Restrepo led the Wildcats to a 7-5-8 record during the 2022 season, garnering a CCAA Tournament berth—the program’s sixth straight postseason appearance—with a fifth-place conference finish. Junior midfielder Adrian Fontanelli earned Second Team All-CCAA honors, while Luis Albarran, Miles Rice and Trevor Fritz each received All-CCAA Honorable Mention.
After being sidelined for the entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Restrepo’s 2021 Wildcats squad recorded a 6-12-0 record and a sixth-place conference finish, putting Chico State in the CCAA Tournament.
The 2019 Wildcats posted a 12-5-0 record, the seventh time Restrepo had guided Chico State to double-digit wins in a season, a fifth-place CCAA finish, and a berth in the conference tournament. Chico State boasted one of the top defensive teams in Division II men’s soccer, ranking 10th in the nation in goals against average by holding opponents to just 0.70 goals per contest.
Restrepo led the Wildcats to a 13-6-1 record in 2018 and a third-place CCAA finish. Chico State, ranked seventh in the West Region, earned berths to both the CCAA and NCAA Championship Tournaments. The Wildcats allowed just 11 goals on the season and ranked sixth in the nation in goals against average at 0.53. Senior Damion Lewis was named the CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year, while Eddie Zecena earned the conference’s Freshman of the Year award.
Restrepo steered the ’Cats to a 10-6-2 record in 2017, reaching postseason play with a fourth-place conference finish. On September 20, 2017, Restrepo posted his 100th career victory as Chico State head coach in the Wildcats’ 2-0 win over Stanislaus State.
A five-match winning streak helped the Restrepo-led Wildcats to an 8-6-3 finish in 2016, placing fourth in the CCAA and earning another postseason berth.
Restrepo oversaw a 7-6-4 record in 2015, and his 2014 Wildcat squad sported an 8-6-3 overall mark, losing just once in its final five matches. Chico State allowed opponents only 14 goals on the season and ranked 17th in the nation in goals against average.
Restrepo led the Wildcats to a 14-4-3 record in 2013 and a third-place finish in the ultra-competitive CCAA South Division. Chico State, ranked 10th in the nation in goals against average, surged to the postseason by putting together a 10-match unbeaten streak and won its opening round NCAA Championship Tournament match with a 1-0 blanking of regional rival Seattle Pacific.
Restrepo’s 2013 Wildcats featured a trio of All-Americans. Seniors Tyson Crim, Octavio Guzman and Jake Ward all earned First Team All-CCAA and All-West Region honors, with Crim named Third Team All-America by the United Soccer Coaches. Guzman and Ward each received Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention.
In 2012, Restrepo guided the Wildcats to a 9-3-6 record and the program’s third consecutive CCAA North Division title. The ’Cats went nearly two months without losing, boasting a 13-match unbeaten streak that matched the second-longest run in program history.
Restrepo steered the Wildcats to a 13-4-4 record in 2011, capturing the CCAA North Division crown and earning the West Region’s No. 2 ranking. The ’Cats reached the finals of the CCAA Tournament and made their second straight NCAA Championship Tournament appearance.
In 2010, Chico State started the season by winning eight of its first nine matches to fuel a 15-7-0 overall record and an 11-5 conference mark, good for the first North Division crown of the Restrepo era. In the NCAA Championship Tournament, the Wildcats reached the national quarterfinals, capturing the West Region title by knocking off 17th-ranked Sonoma State and No. 7 Grand Canyon. Chico State finished the 2010 season ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll.
Taking over the Chico State men’s soccer program in 2008, Restrepo and the Wildcats made an immediate splash, winning six of seven matches to open the season and finish with a 13-5-1 record, racking up the most wins by a Chico State men’s soccer squad since 2003. The ’Cats placed second in the CCAA North Division and were ranked No. 5 in the NCAA West Region, earning the program’s first postseason appearance in five years. Restrepo’s 2009 squad posted an 8-8-4 record and finished third in the CCAA North Division.
Restrepo is the seventh men’s soccer head coach in Chico State history and just the third since 1976. Prior to assuming the Wildcats’ top spot, Restrepo spent seven seasons as the head assistant coach at UC Davis under Chico State alumnus Dwayne Shaffer, helping lead the Aggies to a 70-49-15 record during a time when the school was making the challenging transition to Division I competition. The Aggies ranked among the nation’s top 10 scoring teams in 2007, posting a 12-5-3 record to earn an NCAA Championship Tournament berth in the program’s first season as a Division I postseason-eligible program.
Restrepo’s first two seasons at UC Davis were the school’s final two years as a member of Chico State’s current conference, the CCAA. Over those two seasons, Restrepo helped lead the Aggies to a 26-12-2 record, including an 18-9-1 mark in CCAA play and a pair of top-five regional rankings.
Before arriving at UC Davis, Restrepo spent three years as an assistant coach at Cal State Monterey Bay. During his tenure, the Otters made two conference tournament appearances and earned a berth in the conference title game.
Restrepo was the head coach of Monterey’s York High School varsity boys soccer team from 1998–2000 and earned Mountain Trail Athletic League Coach of the Year honors in 2000. He also served as the head coach for a number of club teams in Davis and led the under-17 Davis Legacy Gunners boys team to the state final in 2007.
As a midfielder for UC Davis, Restrepo was a four-year letter winner, starting 52 of his final 55 games for the Aggies, and during his junior year was a Second Team All-Northern California Athletic Conference selection. Restrepo has also been a member of the state and regional Olympic Development Program teams, and in 1999, he attended the U.S. Soccer Festival with the U-23 Region IV ODP team.
Restrepo received his bachelor’s degree in human development at UC Davis in 1998, and a master’s degree in multicultural education at Cal State Monterey Bay in 2001. Restrepo earned his doctorate in social organization and educational policy through UC Davis in 2014.
Restrepo and his wife, Mandi, have a son, Diego, and a daughter, Eliana.
