Jan. 29, 2010
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's soccer head coach Mike Friesen has signed a three-year contract, SDSU interim director of athletics Don Oberhelman announced on Friday. The deal will keep the head coach on Montezuma Mesa through the 2012 campaign.
"Coach Friesen has done a masterful job in leading this program, and I know even better things are yet to come for women's soccer on The Mesa," Oberhelman said. "Coming off a conference championship season and a coach of the year award, we felt like this was the appropriate step to make sure Mike Friesen remains with the Aztecs for many seasons to come."
Friesen is fresh off his sixth season at San Diego State and his third and most successful as head coach. In 2009, the Aztecs enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history as they won their first Mountain West Conference tournament title and earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.
"I am grateful for the confidence San Diego State has shown in me," Friesen said. "Although I understand that it will be even more difficult to accomplish what we did this year, I am excited about the direction our program is heading and feel that we have built a solid foundation that will produce many great seasons in the years to come."
The 2009 MWC Coach of the Year guided the Scarlet and Black to a 15-4-5 record (5-0-2 MWC), including a 16-game unbeaten run which took them into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 15 wins were the program's most since 1999 and the NCAA appearance was the school's first since that same season. The first-round NCAA victory over San Diego, meanwhile, was SDSU's first postseason win since 1998.
Friesen helped three players earn 2009 NSCAA All-Pacific Region accolades, while four Aztecs were named to the all-conference team, including Cat Walker who was tabbed the MWC Offensive Player of the Year. In his three years as head coach, Friesen has produced 10 all-conference selections, four all-region picks and one All-American to his credit.
San Diego State ended the regular season ranked No. 16 in the Soccer America poll and received votes in the final NSCAA (No. 33) and Soccer Times (No. 37) polls.
Friesen will enter the 2010 campaign, the first season of his new deal, with a career mark of 30-22-11 (11-6-4 MWC).