June 2, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's soccer coach Mike Giuliano announced the hiring of his two assistant coaches: Mike Friesen and Andrea Alfiler. Friesen spent the last five years working with the UC Santa Barbara women's program, while Alfiler coached at nearby Point Loma Nazarene last year, helping the Sea Lions to their best season in school history.
Upon arriving in Santa Barbara, Friesen helped turn the Gaucho program around going from a 7-29-2 mark the two seasons prior to his arrival, scoring 27 goals, to a 24-11-6 mark in 2002-03, tallying 105 scores. Friesen also was integral in signing and developing three straight offensive Big West Conference offensive players of the year in Jennifer Borcich in 2001 and 2003 and Krystal Sandza in 2002. Friesen's responsibilities with the Gauchos included coaching the team's offense, recruiting, community outreach and academics.
Friesen has had a great deal of experience coaching at a variety of levels. Before his time at UCSB, he guided the under-19 Santa Rosa United Aftershocks to the 1999 girls' California State Cup championship. In 1997, he directed Ursuline High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., to the CIF North Coast Section championship game.
As a student-athlete, Friesen played two years at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego before transferring to Sonoma State, where he was a member of a NCAA Division II quarterfinalist squad in 1993. Friesen was the second-leading scorer in the Northern California Athletic Conference as a senior.
Friesen completed his degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in biomechanics in 1996 before continuing his soccer playing career with the North Bay Breakers of the USISL, reaching the regional finals in the team's final year of existence. For the next several season, he played for Juventus in the California Premier Soccer Alliance before signing with the Greek Americans Soccer Club, based in San Francisco, which won two U.S. Open Cup championships in the 1990s.
Friesen and his wife Jamie, who has coached the Santa Barbara City College women's basketball team the past two seasons, have a son, Cole Jayme.
Alfiler was an assistant coach at Point Loma Nazarene in 2003, helping the squad earn a 14-3-2 and No. 20 ranking in the final NAIA poll, the best season in school history. Previously, she played professionally with the WUSA's San Diego Spirit in 2003 and the Philadelphia Charge in 2002. She is currently a member of the Rochester Reign, who play in the Women's Premier Soccer League.
As a student-athlete at Azusa Pacific University, Alfiler was named the 2001 NAIA player of the year and Golden State Athletic Conference MVP. She is a three-time all-conference, all-regional and All-American selection and earned NAIA all-tournament honors in each of her last three seasons. She also helped lead the 1998 squad to the program's lone national championship and a 24-0-1 mark and the 1999 and 2001 teams to NAIA semifinal appearances. Alfiler played one year with the APU basketball team and graduated with honors with a degree in physical education.
The two join first-year Aztec head coach Mike Giuliano to comprise the 2004 SDSU women's soccer coaching staff. The team's first game will be Aug. 27 at Oregon State with the first home contest to be played at the SDSU Sports Deck on Sept. 3 versus Davidson.