By Gregory Gammill |Staff Writer|
Women’s soccer team is filled with memories of good and bad times during the past 28 seasons.
Since the introduction of the team in 1988, they have been increasing their dominance with wins and tournament appearances showcasing their progress throughout the years.
The team’s first two seasons in ’88 were lead by Ralph Perez.
Perez made one of the best contributions to the Coyotes by leading them to an impressive 16-12-3 overall record.
The Coyotes would move on from Perez and hire Dave Widor in 1990 who led the women’s team for the next four seasons.
During Widor’s second season in 1991, the team would change from Division III to Division II and join the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
During the time Widor was coaching the women’s team, he put together a winning record of 41-31-5.
At the start of the 1994 season, Gretchen Zigante took over the Coyotes and made an immediate impact when the team started conference play.
In Zigante’s first season with the women’s team, she would record a 7-10-2 season.
Through the next several seasons she added to the Coyote’s win total with a 35-33-6 and in conference play, she added 17-13-2 contributing to the first winning record in school history in the CCAA.
The next head coach Mike Avery, who was only with the team for two seasons starting in 1998, posed a record of 16-22-2.
Christian Johnson then joined the Coyotes in 2000 and would make history with the team by making the first-ever appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) tournament, but his overall record was only 42-32-7 and in the CCAA posted a 26-24-6 and in the NCAA with a 0-1 record.
The next head coach, Noah Kooiman, who came in 2004, would have a difficult time repeating Johnson’s success with a record of only 14 wins and 37 losses.
After this low point in women’s soccer, the team decided to part ways with Kooiman and hire Diego Bocanegra in 2007.
Bocanegra was only with the school for two seasons and posted an overall record of 18-13-9.
Travis Clarke took over next in 2009 and led the Coyotes to the NCAA tournament multiple times during his reign.
Clarke’s record in the NCAA tournament is 1-1-1 while his overall record is 63-40-13 and 46-34-10 in CCAA play.
LeBaron Hollimon is our current head coach and is entering his second season with the Coyotes. His first season was in 2015.
Hollimon’s first season was spent as an interim head coach and would post an overall record of 5-10-3.
Throughout the last 28 years, the Coyote women’s team went to post an all-time record of 250-230-54 and make two NCAA tournament appearances.
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