Pepperdine Hires Cal Lutheran’s Kuntz as Women’s Soccer Coach

MALIBU — George Kuntz, coach of the Cal Lutheran men’s and women’s soccer teams, has been selected to coach the newly formed Pepperdine women’s soccer team next season.

Kuntz, who started the Cal Lutheran women’s soccer program four years ago and led the Regals to the NCAA Division III playoffs the last two seasons, will attempt to engineer the same success for the Division I Waves.

“It was a career thing,” Kuntz said of the move. “It’s not about anybody at Cal Lutheran. It’s about my wife and my family and my family’s future.”

Kuntz was hired as the Cal Lutheran men’s soccer coach in 1988 and guided the Kingsmen to a 60-27-10 record, including a 15-5-2 mark last year--its best record--and NCAA Division III playoff berths the last two seasons. He started the women’s program in 1989 and had a 51-24-1 record in four seasons. Last season the Regals were 17-4.

Kuntz, who will pursue his doctoral degree in education at Pepperdine, said starting from scratch at a Division I school will be difficult.

“There’s going to be so much hard work,” Kuntz said. “You can’t have high expectations. I may go flat on my face the first year--maybe the first five years.”