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 6, 2009 and enters his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. 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.
During his second season with the `Dogs, Zwaschka led the program to its second Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament title in three years. The Bulldogs 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 (1-0) in penalty kicks (3-1).
Zwaschka guided the Bulldogs to the program's fourth appearance to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to University of Central Florida, 2-1. Nicole Duff and Kaitlyn Revel earned All-WAC honors, with a total of four student-athletes earning league honors under Zwaschka. In 2010, the Bulldogs also had 11 earn Academic All-WAC honors. A total of 23 have earned academic honors in the past two seasons.
In 2010, the Bulldogs also made history as Katie Lee became the first ever women's soccer player at Fresno State to be named an Academic All-American. Lee was also named the 2010 WAC tournament most valuable player.
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.
He has also helped train and develop players for the international stage. This includes Iceland National Team veteran, Katrin Omarsdottir, as well as US Women's National Team forward, Alex Morgan. The youngest member of the 2011 US Women's US National Team, Morgan scored the game-winning goal over Italy in the FIFA Women's World Cup Playoff. In Chile in 2008, she received the Silver Ball and the Bronze Shoe tournament awards after scoring the game-winning goal for the US in the FIFA U20 World Cup tournament championship match.
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. Zwaschka also coached National Team hopefuls in current U23 and U20 players, Katie Oakes and Megan Jesolva. After a breakout freshman year, Lauren Lindstrom is looking to join the list of Bulldogs who have represented the US after being invited to the U20 National Team Camp in 2011.
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, 10th in 11 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.
Before Cal, Zwaschka was an assistant coach at Texas Tech from 2005-07. In 2006, he helped the Red Raiders build 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, he 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.
He 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 two sons, Lochan (8) and Jagozar (4), and a daughter, Bria (7). They reside in Clovis, California.
