Record at School: 68-16-18 (.755)
Jessica Mueller enters her sixth season as head coach of the Carleton women’s soccer program in 2026. She has led the resurgence of the Knights' program, including three consecutive trips to the NCAA Championships (2023, 2024, and 2025), back-to-back-to-back undefeated MIAC regular-season titles in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and a MIAC Playoff Championship in 2025.
After a stint as interim head coach, Muller was appointed head coach in December 2021 and has guided the Knights to unprecedented success, posting 13+ win seasons each of the next four years.
She was voted MIAC Coach of the Year by her peers in both 2022 and 2023. In the first of those seasons, the Knights owned a 13-2-3 (.806) ledger and earned their first MIAC regular-season crown in more than a decade. She then guided the Knights to a 16-3-2 (.810) overall record in 2023, then the second-highest win total in program history. The 2023 season included a second consecutive MIAC undefeated slate and a return to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2010. Carleton fell 3-2 to eventual national champion California Lutheran University, but was the only squad to score multiple goals against the Royals during the national tournament.
The Knights went 14-2-7 during the 2024 campaign, captured their third straight MIAC title, and went back to the NCAA Championships, where they advanced to the second round before falling at No. 2 Loras College in a shootout.
The 2025 season stands as one of the most successful campaigns in Carleton history. Mueller guided the Knights to an 18-3-3 overall record, tying the program record for victories in a single season. After clinching the MIAC Playoffs Championship with back-to-back shutouts, Carleton secured an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships, the program’s third consecutive trip to the national tournament. The Knights knocked off ranked opponents John Carroll University, Lake Forrest College, and Swarthmore College to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in nearly two decades. Following the season, Mueller and her staff were honored as the United Soccer Coaches Region IX Coaching Staff of the Year.
During Mueller’s time as head coach, Carleton has produced three All-Americans — including defender Piper Dean (2023, 2024), midfielder Cate Patterson (2024), and goalkeeper Avery Trapp (2025) — alongside 13 total All-Region selections, and 24 All-MIAC honorees. Knights have been voted conference players of the year three times — once on offense, twice on defense — in addition to one MIAC Rookie of the Year.
Renowned for their suffocating defensive discipline and offensive execution, her squads consistently rank among national leaders in goals-against average and clean sheets, including 16 shutouts and a 0.493 GAA during the 2025 season, ranking fifth and 20th, respectively, in NCAA Division III.
Carleton Women’s Soccer accomplishments during Mueller’s tenure (68-16-18, 38-7-10 MIAC)
- 3 NCAA Championships appearances (2023, 2024, 2025), including Elite Eight in 2025
- 3 undefeated MIAC regular-season titles (2022, 2023, 2024)
- 1 MIAC Playoff Championship (2025)
- 4 MIAC Playoff berths
- 4 All-America Awards
- 13 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Awards
- 24 All-MIAC Awards
- 3 MIAC Player of the Year Awards (1 offense, 2 defense)
- 1 MIAC Rookie of the Year
- Top 20 United Soccer Coaches National Ranking (No. 16 in final 2025 ranking, No. 16 in preseason 2026 ranking)
- United Soccer Coaches Region IX Coaching Staff of the Year (2025)
- 2 MIAC Coach of the Year Awards (2022, 2023)
Mueller’s squads continue the program’s run of excellence in the classroom. The Knights have earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award 25 times since 2001.
This is Mueller's third stint with the women's soccer program at Carleton, having previously served as an assistant coach from 2009-11 and again from 2013-16.
She previously served as the head coach for the Minnesota Thunder Academy 09's, which played on the ECNL circuit. A fixture on the local club soccer scene, Mueller has also coached the U17 Girls squad at Tonka Fusion Elite, a nationally ranked Premier I club team that won the Minnesota State Cup championship in 2019 and qualified for US Club Nationals in 2019 & 2020. She possesses both a USC/NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and a USSF National "C" Coaching License.
Mueller served as head coach of the varsity girls' soccer program at Eden Prairie (Minn.). High School from 2016-20. She was technical director and team coach for the Eden Prairie Soccer Club from 2011-18 and spent the 2012 season on the coaching staff at St. Paul (Minn.) Academy.
Mueller, a 2002 graduate of Kalamazoo College (Mich.), holds a bachelor's degree in English. As a student-athlete, she was a two-time team captain and earned MIAA All-Conference honors twice while helping the team to two MIAA conference titles and two NCAA tournament appearances.
