Wachsman accepts position at Utah State University

He joins Heather Carins' staff at Utah State where the Aggies were 10-9-1 last season and finished 5-2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play, good enough for second place in the league. The Aggies won the 2008 regular season WAC title.

 

Wachsman coached seven seasons at Southern, ending his tenure as the winningest coach in Lions history and helping the team to its first-ever national ranking and appearance in an NCAA Division II Regional when the team went 11-4-5 in 2006 and finished in second place in the MIAA with a 9-2-3 mark.

 

That squad would face-off against 14^th ranked Washburn and tie the Lady Blues 1-1 after two overtimes in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament, but fell in penalty kicks. That season also saw the Lions garner two All-American performances from both Nikki Llewellyn and Jessica Buhman.

 

Wachsman led the Lions to three-straight 11-win seasons from 2005-2007. After an inaugural campaign of 3-13-4, he helped lead the fifth-best turnaround in Division II as the 2004 team went 10-8-2 to place third in the MIAA.

 

He recruited and coached one of the best players in Southern history in Llewellyn as she finished her career as the Lions' all-time leader in points (109) and goals (49).  She led the Lions in scoring for four- straight seasons, finishing in 2008 with 11 goals, including five game-winners during her senior campaign.

 

Wachsman also preached success in the classroom and his players didn't disappoint. The Lions this year finished with the highest team GPA in the Southern athletic department with a cumulative 3.554 average.  The team received the NSCAA Team Academic Award in past 6 years while maintaining an average GPA of 3.39 over seven years and also received the NSCAA Team Ethics five years including 2005 with zero yellow or red cards.

 

In all, Wachsman coached 37 All-Conference players, the MIAA Most Valuable Player (2005), MIAA Freshman of the Year (2005), one  NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) All-American, two  NSCAA Scholar Athlete All-Americans, one Daktronics All-American, had nine players named NSCAA All-Region, 61 players named to the MIAA Commissioners Academic Honor Roll, 19 MIAA Presidential Scholars, and three E.O.& Virginia Humphrey Award Winners (Missouri Southern highest honor for student-athletes).

 

A native of Steamboat Springs, Colo., Wachsman was a collegiate skier at Fort Lewis College where he was a two-time All-American and a three-time Academic All-American selection. After graduation in 2000, Wachsman worked as head men's and women's ski coach at his alma mater in 2001. He led the men's and women's teams to regional championships and took the women to their first-ever appearance at the national championships. He then went on to earn his master's degree at Northern Colorado where he was an assistant coach with the women's soccer team prior to his hiring at Southern.

 

"Leaving  MSSU is bittersweet," he said. "My wife and I have made this our home for seven years and have been grateful for the people in our lives.  There are so many people that I owe my thanks and my appreciation to at Missouri Southern!  I especially want to thank Sallie Beard for giving me the opportunity to become part of the MSSU family, and Kiley Cirillo and Alese Woolard for their guidance and assistance in all things soccer.  But most of all, I would like to thank all of the players that I have had the pleasure of working with at Missouri Southern.  I couldn't have asked for a better group of individuals to spend time with.  I wish the Women's soccer program and MSSU athletics my best."

 

Missouri Southern will begin an immediate national search for Wachsman's successor.