Head Coach Lauren Johnson is in her second year at the helm of the Gustavus women’s soccer program entering the 2026-27 academic year. Johnson, a 2021 Gustavus graduate and four-year starter for the Gusties, returned to her alma mater on May 6, 2025 to take over the program.
In her first season, the Gusties bolstered a 7-6-5 record, including a 3-1-3 non-conference record and stayed undefeated through their first four games. On August 29th, Johnson started her tenure strong with a 4-0 win against UW-Superior, the largest margin of victory against the Yellowjackets across the three matchups between the two sides.
Senior Cambelle Waldspurger led the Gusties on the field under Coach Johnson’s guidance, earning MIAC All-Conference recognition, United Soccer Coaches All-Region recognition, and United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region recognition. Fellow senior Haillee Wilson was also named MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention and goalkeeper Katelyn Olson was named a MIAC Defensive Player of the Week. Johnson coached six players to CSC Academic All-District Honors, an award that recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom along with 18 being named MIAC Academic All-Conference.
As an assistant coach at UW-La Crosse, Johnson helped lead the Eagles to both the WIAC regular season and playoff championships with a 16-4-2 overall record and an appearance at the NCAA Championships. Johnson coached seven All-Conference honorees, four who earned All-Region, and two All-America selections, who were also CSC Academic All-Americans. Johnson also coached the 2024 WIAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
Prior to UW-La Crosse, Johnson was an assistant coach at Wartburg for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. During those two seasons, Johnson and the Knights achieved a 22-14-3 overall record and hosted a regional round of the 2022 NCAA tournament. She coached the program's first All-America First Team honoree in 2022 as well as four All-Region and nine All-Conference selections. Johnson has been a summer camp coach at Gustavus since 2018 and has high school and youth coaching experience at both East Ridge and Mahtomedi in addition to coaching the Mankato United WPSL team.
As a player at Gustavus, Johnson started in all 63 career games with six goals and six assists as a midfielder before the 2020 pandemic cut her collegiate career short. She earned MIAC All-Conference honorable mention in 2018 and 2019.
Johnson is the sixth coach in the 43-year history of the Gustavus women’s soccer program. Gustavus has an all-time record of 379-324-80 with six MIAC regular season titles, one playoff title, and seven NCAA tournament appearances.
