(Photo Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)
Stanford Assistant Margueritte Aozasa Hired as Next UCLA Women's Soccer Coach
The Bruins have found their next leader on the pitch.
UCLA women's soccer hired Stanford assistant Margueritte Aozasa to become the team's next head coach, the program announced Wednesday. Aozasa spent the last seven seasons with the Cardinal, helping to lead them to titles and haul in top-ranked recruiting classes across her tenure.
Aozasa recently earned her U.S. Soccer "A" Coaching License, also picking up a Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration at Concordia University Irvine in 2020.
"I could not be more excited to take on the responsibility of leading this Bruin program," Aozasa said in a statement. "First, I would like to thank Martin Jarmond, Erin Adkins and everyone involved in the hiring process. I was immediately struck by the emphasis on energy, integrity and competitiveness throughout the department. This program's standard of excellence has been well-established, and I cannot wait to continue its tradition of elite performance on and off the field."
From 2015 to 2021, Aozasa was part of a Stanford staff that won five Pac-12 championships and two NCAA championships. The Cardinal went 125-19-8 with a +318 goal differential during her time on the Farm, also producing four No. 1 picks in the NWSL Draft.
On the recruiting trail, Aozasa was a leading force behind Stanford boasting multiple top-five classes and the No. 2 class in the country for this upcoming season.
Aozasa's arrival marks the first head coaching hire at UCLA since Jarmond took over in July 2020. UCLA women's rowing still has an interim after its coach moved into an administrative role over the summer and UCLA men's golf has yet to pick a successor for Derek Freeman, who is retiring at the end of the upcoming spring season.
"Margueritte is a proven winner in NCAA Soccer, having coached Stanford to two national championships in the last five years and five Pac-12 titles in seven years," Jarmond said in a statement. "Her clear ability to relate to, develop and lead young women stood out during the process, and we're looking forward to having her guide this storied program."
In UCLA's announcement that coach Amanda Cromwell would be leaving the program for other opportunities – later revealed to be the Orlando Pride head coaching job – the department pegged Associate Athletic Director of Compliance Erin Adkins as the leader in the search process.
"Margueritte instantly impressed everyone on the hiring committee," Adkins said in a statement. "Most impressive was her ability to clearly define who we are as a team now and where the team could continue to grow in the future. Her successful tenure at Stanford and her time competing at Santa Clara as a student-athlete under one of the greats in Jerry Smith have prepared her to lead the Bruins for years to come."
Smith, who has been at Santa Clara since 1987, has won two NCAA championships and upwards of 500 matches overall. Aozasa may not have won a title when she was there from 2008 to 2011, but Smith still raved about her ability as a coach when reached out to by UCLA Athletics.
"Margueritte is very bright, a wonderful communicator, a great manager of people, has a deep passion for our sport, and, like all great coaches, is constantly looking to learn and innovate," Smith said in a statement. "She was not only a great player for us, but she was also a great captain for us. In college sports, particularly soccer, it's essential to have great student-athlete leadership. Margueritte was that coach on the field for us and was actually already coaching while she was still playing. She will no doubt be able to mentor great leaders within the UCLA soccer program. Coaching at Stanford obviously gives her a great deal of experience in how to compete in the Pac-12 and the tendencies of the other coaches in the conference, which will be key to helping UCLA repeat as conference champs."
Part of the allure of adding Aozasa is her reputation for attracting and developing talent, with many of her alumni playing in the NWSL and internationally.
One of her most prestigious products was midfielder Andi Sullivan, who played under Aozasa for three seasons and earned the Hermann Trophy for national player of the year in 2017. Sullivan would go on to join the US Women's National Team and then get picked No. 1 overall in the NWSL Draft by the Washington Mystics.
"Margueritte is a fantastic coach and mentor. I am thrilled about this opportunity for her and for UCLA Women's Soccer," Sullivan said. "Margueritte has been immersed in the game in a variety of ways throughout her life, and it will all translate to her success as a head coach. I'm excited to see how she further develops players, leads the team, and adds to the university's reputable soccer history. It will be hard for me to root for UCLA, but with Margueritte there, you will have a fan in me."
Catarina Macario won the Hermann Trophy under Aozasa in both 2018 and 2019, and Tierna Davidson, Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma all went No. 1 overall in the NWSL Draft after learning from the Bruins' new coach.
UCLA will have some decent roster turnover after losing a few players of its own to the most recent NWSL Draft – namely forward Mia Fishel and midfielder Marley Canales – as well as other key contributors who graduated. Aozasa does have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country coming in this offseason, though, according to TopDrawerSoccer, so she'll hardly be working with an empty cupboard when she gets to Westwood in the near future.
Aozasa will have some pretty large shoes to fill, with Cromwell bringing an NCAA championship to Westwood for the first time in 2013. Of the five coaches in program history leading up to Aozasa, four of them had winning percentages over .790.
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