Western Ontario Athletics

LONDON, Ont. - Martin Painter (BA ’98, LLB ’02, BEd ’07), a member of the Western Mustangs 1999 men’s national championship soccer team, has been named the new head coach of the Mustangs women’s soccer program. He returns to Western after spending five seasons as head coach of the Fanshawe College women’s program (2007-11). In addition, he has served as head coach of the USL Premier Development League’s FC London for the past three seasons and will continue in that role.

“We are thrilled to have Martin re-join the Mustang family,” said Director of Athletics Thérèse Quigley. “His leadership, experience and passion for the game are exactly what we were looking for to guide our program moving forward.”

In 2009, Painter led Fanshawe to an Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) title and runner-up finish at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship. That runner-up finish was the best national placing ever for a women’s soccer team from the OCAA. The 2011 season saw Painter named OCAA Coach of the Year as he led the Falcons to bronze medal at the OCAA Championship.

Painter’s success on the pitch carried over to his tenure at the helm of FC London where he guided his team to a record of 19-3-10 in 2010 and was a nominee for Premier Development League (PDL) Coach of the Year after leading his team to the playoffs in back-to-back years (2009, 2010).

"I am very excited and honoured to become the head coach for the Western Mustangs women's soccer team,” said Painter. “I was fortunate enough to spend four years playing for the Mustangs and to return as a coach is a fantastic opportunity. We have eight months to prepare for the 2012 season and that work will start immediately. We are determined to build the profile of the Western women's soccer team to be a leader and catalyst for the development of soccer in the community."

In his roles with both Fanshawe and FC London, Painter showed a knack for recruiting, much of which can be traced to his experience coaching at the elite youth level. Since 2004 he has served as the head coach of the North London Soccer Club, an organization developed to prepare players to compete at the university and collegiate levels.

As a player on Western’s men’s team (1997, 1999, 2000, 2004), Painter won three Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships competed in a pair of national championship tournaments. In addition to his national championship in 1999, he was part of the Mustangs team that earned a bronze medal in 2004 and was named to the CIS National Championship All-Tournament Team. In 2000, he earned OUA all-conference accolades.

Painter replaces Dave Peak, who stepped down after guiding the Mustangs for six seasons.