The Fresno State women's soccer team said goodbye to its seniors and distributed team awards during the 2012 banquet.
Brian Zwaschka became the fourth Fresno State Women's Soccer head coach on April 6th, 2009 and enters his fourth season at the helm of the Bulldog program. He brings a wealth of soccer experience and knowledge to the program after spending the last six years as an assistant coach at Cal, Texas Tech and his alma mater Grand View University.
In Zwaschka's third year at the helm, the Bulldogs were able to finish the year undefeated at home which extended the home unbeaten streak to ten. He led the team to a second consecutive WAC Championship game, where they fell in a 1-0 heartbreaker to Utah State. The 'Dogs finished the season 11-5-5 and 4-1-2 in conference play.
Under Zwaschka, the players brought in multiple accolades on the year. Seven Bulldogs were named to the WAC All-Tournament team, six were received All-WAC honors and six different players were named WAC Player of the Week on seven different occasions throughout the season. Kendall VanDine led the team on the academic front by being named a CoSIDA Academic All-American. This was the second year in a row that a Bulldog received this honor. Kayla Kret joined VanDine on the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII first team and five 'Dogs earned Academic All-WAC honors.
During his second season with the Dogs, Zwaschka led the program to its second WAC Tournament title in three years. The Bulldog finished the season 9-9-5 and 3-3-2 in conference play. The 'Dogs won the 2010 conference crown in dramatic fashion as they claimed the title after beating San Jose State in penalty kicks.
Zwaschka guided the Bulldogs to the programs fourth appearance to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to UCF 2-1. Nicole Duff and Kaitlyn Revel earned All-WAC honors with a total of four Bulldogs earning league honors under Zwaschka. In 2010, the Bulldogs also had 11 (plus freshmen) earn Academic All-WAC honors. A total of 23 (+2010 freshmen) have earned academic honors in the past two seasons.
In Zwaschka's reign, the Bulldog made history in 2010 as Katie Lee became the first ever women's soccer player at Fresno State to be named Academic All-American. Lee was also named the 2010 WAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
In his first season as the Bulldogs head coach, Fresno State went 6-13 and 4-4 in Western Athletic Conference play. Zwaschka earned his first Bulldog victory on Sept. 13, 2009 against CSU Bakersfield and his first WAC win was against recent soccer powerhouse Hawai'i on Oct. 4, 2009.
Under Zwaschka, Kendall VanDine, Molly Nizzoli and Vanessa Gonzalez earned Second-Team All-WAC honors at the end of the 2009 season. Off the field, 12 Bulldogs earned Academic All-WAC honors for having a 3.0 GPA or higher, which is the most the `Dogs have had since 2005.
Zwaschka and the Bulldogs advanced to the 2009 WAC Tournament in Boise, Idaho and faced Boise State in the first round. It was the fifth-consecutive year that Fresno State competed in the tournament.
Prior to Fresno State, Zwaschka was an assistant for two years at Cal where his primary responsibilities were to oversee the program's performance-related tasks, including player development, fitness and wellness, nutrition, recovery, video, scouting, equipment and facilities. He also shared heavily in planning and conducting team and individual training, prospect evaluations and other recruiting duties.
In 2008, Zwaschka helped coach the Golden Bears to their fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance, and the tenth in eleven seasons. In his first season at Cal, the team posted a 15-5-1 record, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and earned a No. 11 national ranking.
Over the last three years, Zwaschka has helped train and develop players for the international stage. This includes Iceland National Team veteran, Katrin Omarsdottir, as well as US Women's Full National Team forward, Alex Morgan.
Zwaschka also coached National Team hopefuls in current U23 and U20 players, Katie Oakes and Megan Jesolva. In Chile in 2008, Morgan went on to score the winning goal in the FIFA U20 World Cup tournament championship match, additionally receiving the Silver Ball and the Bronze Shoe tournament awards.
Also under the tutelage of Zwaschka, current Bulldog standout, Vanessa Gonzales, was named to the Region IV U20 Team in 2009 which helps put her on the radar for future National selection events.
Before Cal, Zwaschka was an assistant coach at Texas Tech from 2005-07. In 2006, he helped the Red Raiders build formidably to be voted the third most improved NCAA Division 1 Women's Soccer team in the nation.
Prior to his move to Texas, Zwaschka was an assistant at Grand View University, a NAIA program in Des Moines, Iowa. In two seasons on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Zwaschka helped the Vikings to the national tournament for the second time in program history, a No. 11 national ranking for the first time in program history, and two conference championships. Before working at Grand View, Zwaschka was an assistant coach at Dowling High School in Des Moines, Iowa. Under his guidance, Dowling claimed the 2000 conference title.
Zwaschka also boasts successful club head coaching experience with the Iowa United Soccer Club and the Waukee Soccer Club. He led his Iowa United boys team to a state championship in 1998 and the Waukee boys team to a gold medal at the Iowa Games in 1995.
Currently, Zwaschka is also an assistant coach with the Cal North Olympic Development Program 93 Girls team and is a staff coach for the Region IV Olympic Development Program which both involve preparation and selection of girls with aspirations to advance to the Girls' and Women's National Teams.
Zwaschka has extensive soccer playing experience as he played for Grand View from 1990-92, earning NAIA All-American and District 15 Player of the Year honors. After playing collegiately, his professional playing career spanned six years including time with the USL's Des Moines Menace and the Connecticut Wolves, formerly of the A-League level.
In addition to the domestic game, Zwaschka gained four years of significant experience abroad, playing a season each in Scotland and England, and two seasons in France.
Coach Zwaschka's passion for learning the game has led to his love for collecting and developing unique training methods in on-field team, group, and individual training, as well as soccer-specific physical development methods.
Zwaschka holds coaching certifications domestically with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and is a member of both coaching organizations. He has also earned international coaching certification from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
Zwaschka and his wife, Sara, have three sons, Lochan (7), Jagozar (3) and Toban (1) and a daughter, Bria (6). They reside in Clovis, California.
