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Pacifica girls soccer coach Mike Sutton, who guided the Mariners to the playoffs in all 11 of his seasons, has resigned and accepted the post as the girls soccer coach at St. Joseph in Lakewood, he said.
Sutton will also teach at St. Joseph.
“(I) couldn’t pass up the offer to have the stability (and) the benefits of a full-time job,” said Sutton, who worked as a substitute teacher at Pacifica.
In 11 seasons at the helm at Pacifica, Sutton compiled a record of 150-66-32. The Mariners won seven league titles in that stretch.
In 2018, Sutton highlighted his tenure by leading Pacifica to a CIF-SS Division 3 runner-up finish to Flintridge Prep. The Mariners also finished as the CIF Southern California Regional runner-up to Harvard-Harvard in 2021 in Division I.
This past season, Pacifica went 7-9-2 and lost in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs. St. Joseph finished 15-2-2 and fell to Corona del Mar 5-2 in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs.
Sutton is the second veteran Orange County girls soccer coach to change schools in the offseason.
In April, Sean Melendez departed Rosary after 16 seasons to take the helm at Aliso Niguel. He guided the Royals to 10 playoff appearances and the Pacific Coast League title this past season.
“In my eyes, it’s one of the biggest programs in OC,” he said of Aliso Niguel.
Please send girls soccer news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com
