UC Riverside has named Nat Gonzalez as interim women's head coach

College Soccer News: UCR Names Nat Gonzalez Interim Head Coach for Women’s Soccer

UC Riverside Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brian Wickstrom announced today that Nat Gonzalez, current Highlanders men's assistant coach and former head coach of the men's program, will take over as interim head coach of the UCR Women's Soccer Team.

Gonzalez replaces Veronica O'Brien, who resigned earlier this week to take a position with the Highlanders in academic services.

"Nat obviously has tremendous coaching credentials with his work as an assistant and head coach at the highest levels of collegiate soccer on both the men's and women's side, and his time spent with the USA Women's National Team," said Wickstrom.

Coach Nat Gonzalez

"He also brings with him a familiarity of UC Riverside, after serving as our men's team's head coach for three seasons and playing a big role in our Big West Conference Tournament run this year. We're excited to have him lead the women's program through this transition period."

After winning just one match and scoring only three goals in 2010, the 2011 Women's Soccer Team finished one game out of a Big West Conference Tournament berth, scoring 21 goals and posting an 8-9-2 record overall.

"UC Riverside has always been a special place for me and my family," said Gonzalez, "and the women's soccer program has a tradition of success here that I'm excited to be a part of. I think the entire campus and community saw this year how energizing a successful soccer program can be, with our men's team advancing to the conference tournament and the women's team coming up one win shy of matching that. The future for women's soccer in the Inland Empire is bright, and I'm looking forward to doing my part in moving the program forward in the coming year."

Gonzalez first joined the Highlanders as the men's team's first Division I head coach prior to the 2001 campaign. UCR improved each season under his leadership, winning what was then a school-record seven matches in the 2003 season. He left the program prior to the 2004 campaign to become the associate head coach at USC for the women's team where he helped assemble the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2005. His 2006 squad ranked first in the Pac-10 and 15th nationally in fewest goals allowed.

In 2007, Gonzalez became the associate head coach for the women's program at San Diego State, where the team won the 2009 Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship. SDSU made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years that season, advancing to the second round of competition.

In 2010, Gonzalez was an assistant coach for the women's team at UCLA. He has also spent time as an assistant coach with the US Women's National Team U-18 and U-20 squads, while also serving as the director of goalkeeping for Legends FC and the technical director at the Temecula Valley Soccer Academy.

This fall, Gonzalez rejoined the UCR Men's Soccer Team as an assistant coach, working closely with the team's goalkeepers as the Highlanders won a school record nine matches and advanced to the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time in the history of the program. Gonzalez was also recently appointed as a coach for the U-15 Youth Women’s National Team.

Prior to joining the Highlanders in 2000, Gonzalez had assistant coaching stops at Cal Poly Pomona and the University of Washington. During his time in Seattle, Gonzalez helped the Huskies to consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) titles in 1998 and 1999. The team posted a 61-15-5 record over his five years.

Gonzalez, a four-year letter winner at UCLA from 1988-91 and a member of the 1990 National Championship Team, graduated in 1995 with a degree in psychology. He served as the UCLA women's team's goal keeping coach from 1994-95.

After finishing his college eligibility, he played professionally for six seasons, finishing his career in 1997 with the Seattle SeaDogs of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL).

Related Article: UCR Coach O'Brien Steps Down