Women’s Soccer’s Sandoval’s Key to Success: Failure

After seven years of coaching at Northern Michigan University, Jon Sandoval was appointed head coach of Loyola women’s soccer Dec. 20, 2024.

Sandoval was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2023 and 2024 and led Northern Michigan to three consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in 2022, 2023 and 2024, where they exited the first round each year. He boasts a 62-20-15 record and .716 winning percentage over his five years in Marquette, Mich..

Sandoval’s draw to Loyola goes back to visiting campus during his days playing at Western Illinois University, where he was impressed with the city feel of the campus. After his interview for the head coach position, he said he knew Loyola was where he wanted to be.

“I remember telling my now bosses, being like, ‘Listen, if you offer me this job, I’m packing up tomorrow,’” Sandoval said. “‘I’m either taking this job or staying at Northern Michigan.’”

When the team learned about their new head coach, they knew he was going to bring intensity. They said they were excited to see what he would do at Loyola. 

“Obviously there were a lot of unknowns,” said third-year forward and midfielder Zoe Hevey. “I think we knew that he was going to step in and give us what we needed, and maybe what we lacked in the past.”

Once Sandoval was appointed head coach, it was on to searching to fill out his staff. Sandoval knew he wanted one of his assistants from Northern Michigan to make the trip to Chicago. He said Natalie Stampfly embodied the right personality and temperament to make a great coach.

Stampfly was a five-year letter winner at Northern Michigan and was coached by Sandoval for three years. After graduating, she moved down to Milledgeville, Ga., where she was a graduate assistant at Georgia College and State University while earning her master’s degree in health and human development. 

Stampfly’s loyalty as a former player returned her to Northern Michigan as an assistant coach, but the idea of being closer to her family in Stevensville, Mich. brought her down to Chicago Jan. 13.

“My family’s from around here,” Stampfly said. “So being close to home for the first time in eight years was really nice, and I was really excited to see what Division I had to offer.”

Next on the coaching slate was Brady Moody, a former assistant coach at the University of Tulsa and the Air Force Academy. Sandoval admitted to Moody being his first “blind-hire,” but he came highly recommended. 

“This guy is an absolute junkie when it comes to soccer,” Sandoval said. “He continues to find ways to grow and develop his own coaching toolbox.”

Moody, a Naperville, Ill. native, said he has a soft spot for Loyola. His father received his master’s degree at Loyola, and the first college soccer game he attended was at Loyola. Moody was impressed by Sandoval’s tenure at Northern Michigan, and said it was a “no-brainer” to join his staff as goalkeeper coach Jan. 27.

He regularly jokes with the team about how he only played eight games his entire college career at the University of Tulsa, but Moody also believes it helps him out with coaching. 

“That gives me a really good opportunity to obviously connect and help out,” Moody said. 

“You know, the girls that are playing, but also the girls that maybe aren’t getting minutes yet in their career.” 

The final addition to the Loyola coaching staff was Sean Palacios March 3. Palacios played at Western Illinois University, and he and Sandoval knew each other from the recruiting scene. Sandoval said Palacios is one the best on-field coaches and has a great deal of reach within the soccer community, serving as the Senior Girls Director at Chicago FC United Soccer Club. 

“He knows every single player, he knows every single club coach, and so to have someone come in right away and have all those connections was a no-brainer,” Sandoval said. 

Along with three new coaches, the Ramblers gained five freshmen and five transfers, three of which came down from Northern Michigan — second-year goalkeeper Sally Patton and fourth-year forwards Angelina Perritano and Molly Pistorius. 

Perritano, after three years at Northern Michigan, wanted to finish her last year with Sandoval as her coach. 

“I got in the portal and asked if I could come over here, and he said yes,” Perritano said. “I think it’s the best decision I’ve made.” 

Sandoval said his approach to coaching is simple — to learn from failures. He reflected on the challenges and great moments of the past nine months at Loyola. 

“There’s been some tough moments, there’s been moments of growth, there’s moments of setbacks,” Sandoval said. “But that’s basically just describing life, right?”

After a successful five seasons at Northern Michigan, Sandoval said he knows there isn’t a secret to success. He believes in the value of failure and learning lessons, stemming from his own failures as a first-time collegiate head coach at Northern Michigan. 

“It’s being consistent,” Sandoval said. “Be consistent with what you say. Be consistent with your organization. Be consistent with your work rate. It’s the same thing I tell our team — if you guys want to be successful, I’ll give you the key ingredients. They’re not a secret for anyone.”

Alongside his goals of a winning season, Sandoval wants to focus on mentoring leadership in the upperclassmen. He believes if a coach initiates off-field events, versus an older player, the bond doesn’t have the same effect. Sandoval wants his players to lead the charge and believes the upperclassmen have been eager to do so. 

Hevey said the family aspect Sandoval has created has made a large impact on the team.

“Whenever we have someone new, it feels like they’ve been here since the beginning,” Hevey said. “I think we created a big family from the get-go, and that’s something we pride ourselves on.”

For the rest of the year, the team is taking it day by day, game by game, according to Perritano. She said the team plays based on their core values, and it’s what is going to make the team successful. 

In the years to come, Hevey said there are several returning starters and a deep bench, so “it’s gonna keep the ball rolling.” 

After a win at home against Fordham Sept. 21, the Ramblers are 6-1-2, and ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10.