A new era will for SMU women’s soccer season begins in the fall. (Christina Parrish)
The SMU women’s soccer team will start training for its 2007 season with a new face on the sideline: head coach Brent Erwin. Mustang athletic director Steve Orsini hired Erwin from the University of Central Florida after John Cossaboon announced he was leaving SMU to become an assistant coach at Gonzaga University.
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” Erwin said of his return to Mustang territory.
Erwin, the fifth head coach since the program began in 1986, is no stranger to the SMU field. He spent six years as the SMU men’s assistant coach under head coach Schellas Hyndman before his two-year run as the men’s head coach at UCF. During his time on Hyndman’s coaching team, Erwin helped the Mustangs to an 86-19-7 record and six NCAA tournament appearances.
A veteran of the Dallas area, Erwin spent three years as a starter at TCU before training with the Dallas Burn organization. He played for the minor league team, the Texas Toros, for two seasons. His coaching career has taken him all over the world, including Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he worked with the Santos Futebol Club.
As for the transition between coaching men and women, Erwin says he focuses on the individual athletes and not their gender.
“I don’t find a big difference; it’s how you treat your players. I respect what they need to get better. A coach can coach, whether it’s men or women,” he said.
The women’s team was 17-5-1 in 2006 and took its seventh consecutive regular-season conference title. Erwin has big shoes to fill for his inaugural season as a Mustang head coach, but he feels he’s up to the challenge.
“It’s not an easy job to make a good team better, but I’m very comfortable at SMU. I’m very comfortable selling what we have to student athletes. SMU and I fit perfectly,” he said.
Six recruits bought what Erwin was selling and signed letters of intent last week. The incoming players hail from California to Pennsylvania and, Erwin says, they will all be assets on the field.
“We attract top players because we are SMU, but these girls are enthusiastic for SMU and they have the desire to do great things,” Erwin said.
The head coach is optimistic about the new talent, but he’s more than impressed with the girls already on the team. The Mustang squad graduated only four seniors this past season, allowing the team to pair collegiate experience with a few fresh perspectives next year.
One of Erwin’s goals is to continue SMU’s tradition of being a competitor at the NCAA tournament. He hopes to rise to the challenge of taking SMU from Top 25 to Top 15, or even Top 10, in the nation.
SMU women’s soccer returns to action in the fall.
