Two years ago, Joe Mallia came west from Loyola (Md.), which led to five consecutive MAAC women's titles as head coach, to become the women's assistant at UCLA.

Now, Mallia is moving to nearby Loyola Marymount to become the head coach of one of the rising women's programs.

UCLA made consecutive appearances in the NCAA College Cup during Mallia's two seasons with the Bruins. He compiled a 71-49-9 record in seven years at Loyola (Md.). Mallia was named Old Dominion's Male Athlete of the Year in 1991 and later played indoor soccer for six years.

Mallia is replacing Gregg Murphy, who left the program in May. Murphy served as head coach of the Lions for 11 seasons. LMU advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2006, finishing the season with a 10-3-6 record. The Lions return eight starters, six of their top seven scorers from a year ago, as well as WCC Defensive Player of the Year Joslyn Slovek.