[SOCCER AMERICA AWARDS] Amanda Cromwell, who led UCLA to its first national championship in her first season with theBruins, Soccer America’s 2013 Women’s Coach of the Year.
Cromwell, who had previously coached at UCF, wasn’t hired until mid-April after B.J. Snowjoined U.S. Soccer, which meant she had little time to work with the team in the offseason.
In its ninth trip to the Women’s College Cup, UCLA beat top-ranked Florida State, 1-0, inovertime and completed a run that included a 1-0 overtime win on the road over defending champion North Carolina in the quarterfinals and a shootout win over Virginia in the semifinals.
Perhaps the sweetest win came in the round of 16 as UCLA, which had been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Stanford three of the last four seasons, turned the tables on the Cardinal with a 2-0win. The loss ended Stanford’s bid for a sixth consecutive appearance in the Women’s College Cup.
With 10 of 11 starters and U.S. U-20 LaurenKaskie and New Zealand international Rosie White off the bench all returning in 2014, Cromwell has the Bruins well positioned to contend for anothertitle.
SOCCER AMERICA WOMEN’S COACHES OF THE YEAR
2001 — Jerry Smith (Santa Clara)
2002 — Stephanie Erickson, Paul Sapsford(Stanford)
2003 — Patrick Baker (Florida State)
2004 — Dan Tobias (Arizona)
2005 — Mark Krikorian (Florida State)
2006 — Anson Dorrance (North Carolina)
2007 — AliKhosroshahin (USC)
2008 — Paul Ratcliffe (Stanford)
2009 — Randy Waldrum (Notre Dame)
2010 — Brian Pensky (Maryland)
2011 — Robbie Church (Duke)
2012 — Erica Walsh(Penn State)
2013 — Amanda Cromwell (UCLA)