Dr. Mike Giuliano enters his third year at San Diego State after being named head coach of the Aztecs[apos] women[apos]s soccer program on March 30, 2004.
The San Jose, Calif., native, one of the most decorated soccer coaches in NAIA history at Westmont College (1993-2003), continued his success in his second season on The Mesa in 2005.
Despite a top-notch schedule which saw SDSU play seven 2005 NCAA tournament teams, Guiliano guided the Aztecs to an 11-9-2 overall record.
What is even more impressive is that SDSU boasted the youngest team in the Mountain West Conference with over 78 percent of the squad being either a freshman, sophomore or first-year transfer. The underclassmen and transfers would go on to score 24 of the Aztecs[apos] 28 goals in 2005. In addition, sophomore transfer Cat Burson and freshman Christi Yount combined to play every minute in goal for SDSU.
Giuliano improved the Aztecs[apos] win total from eight in 2004 to 11 in the 2005 campaign. SDSU[apos]s record, however, was deceiving. Of the Aztecs[apos] nine losses last season, six came with opponents scoring the game-winner in the last eight minutes of play. Four of SDSU[apos]s losses also came in overtime and more than 63 percent (14-of-22) of its games in 2005 were decided by a goal or less.
Under Giuliano[apos]s tutelage, SDSU received numerous conference and national honors. In fact, five Aztecs have been named all-league in Giuliano[apos]s two years at the helm.
Last year, Alexis Solovij earned first-team all-MWC honors after being named the 2004 MWC Defensive Player of the Year. Erika Sutton joined Solovij as an all-league selection in 2005, garnering second-team accolades. Sutton become the first SDSU player since 2000 (Kim Castellanos) to be named all-conference as a freshman.
Giuliano also coached defender Noelle Jouglet and goalkeeper Sophia Perez to first-team honors in 2004, while Amanda Swiader received second-team recognition.
In addition, five Aztecs have been named MWC players of the week over Giuliano[apos]s two years and three players - Noelle Jouglet (Soccer America Team of the Week), and Solovij and Jen Klunder (SoccerBuzz National Elite Team of the Week) - were nationally recognized.
Giuliano[apos]s accomplishments have not only come on the field, but in the classroom as well as a school-record 11 student-athletes were named to the 2005 MWC all-academic team.
Fan support also increased since Giuliano[apos]s arrival. Over his two years, the average attendance at women[apos]s soccer games on the SDSU Sports Deck has risen 141 percent.
In June, Soccer Buzz recognized Giuliano[apos]s second recruiting class as the 30th best in the nation, a year after earning the 19th spot. Both rankings were tops in the MWC.
In his first season on The Mesa, SDSU finished 8-7-6 in 2004 and tied for second in the Mountain West Conference with a 3-0-2 record. It was the Aztecs[apos] best finish in conference play since the 1999 season and the eight wins were the most by a SDSU first-year head coach.
The Aztecs went 5-1-3 over its final nine games of the season and advanced all the way to the MWC championship game, falling just one shootout goal short of a trip to its first NCAA tournament since 1999.
Much of the success in 2004 can be directed at Giuliano[apos]s pressure style defense, aimed at forcing opposing offenses into making mistakes. In 21 games, SDSU allowed just 18 goals, the program[apos]s fewest since the 1990 squad allowed 12 goals in 13 games.
The Aztec defense tallied nine shutouts, second most in school history, and during a stretch of five-plus games from Oct. 3-30, went 595:44 without allowing a goal.
[quote]I honestly believe that this is one of the best coaching positions in Division I,[quote] Giuliano said. [quote]You take a world-class university with big-time support for its athletic programs, put it smack dab in the middle of America[apos]s most beautiful city, and then you surround it with the best girls[apos] high school soccer in the nation, and you have every ingredient for a perennial national soccer power.[quote]
Prior to his arrival at SDSU, Giuliano developed Westmont College into a NAIA powerhouse, producing a 194-42-15 record in 11 seasons and winning four NAIA national titles in five years. Westmont went 61-6 over his final three years and won three consecutive national titles. On four occasions, he was named both the adidas National Collegiate Coach of the Year and the NAIA National Collegiate Coach of the Year. He is the also the first coach at any collegiate level to win the adidas award three consecutive years.
In his final five seasons at the NAIA level, Giuliano led Westmont to a 97-11-7 record and did not lose in his final 59 regulation matches. During the same five-year span, Westmont went 17-0-1 in the NAIA national tournament.
In addition to leaving Westmont as the all-time leader in wins, he ranks third all-time in the NAIA for career wins (194) and winning percentage (80.3).
During Giuliano[apos]s tenure at Westmont, the school produced three NAIA National Players of the Year, 30 All-Americans and 16 scholar-athletes. He also helped coach 55 all-Golden State Athletic Conference selections, including three GSAC Players of the Year.
In addition to the NAIA national titles in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003, Giuliano led Westmont to the NAIA final four in 1994 and 1997. Westmont ended the 1996 season ranked No. 1 as well, and made nine NAIA national tournament appearances, including one in each of his final eight seasons.
Besides being named adidas and NAIA national collegiate coach of the year four times, Giuliano earned five awards from the GSAC and four from the far west region of the NAIA.
Prior to coaching at Westmont, Giuliano started the women[apos]s soccer program at Santa Barbara City College, posting a 3-4-1 mark in its first year. He also spent five years coaching the men[apos]s soccer team at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., winning one district coach-of-the-year honor.
Giuliano played college soccer at Tennessee Temple University and went on to earn a bachelor[apos]s degree in communications in 1981. He recieved his master[apos]s degree in education in 1987 at Trinity International and earned a PhD in communications from Northwestern University in 1993. He had been a professor in Westmont[apos]s communications studies department since 1992 before coming to SDSU.
Giuliano and his wife, Barbara, reside in San Diego with their threechildren: Joshua (16), Justin (13) and Linnae (11).