Mitch Murray resigns as men's soccer coach

By Josh Griffin

Santa Clara men's soccer coach Mitch Murray resigned from his position on Wednesday in order to pursue his options in the private business sector. During his 11 years at the helm of the Santa Clara program, Murray led the team to eight NCAA tournament and three College Cup appearances, while amassing the most wins (147) in school history.

Murray arrived on the Mission Campus in 1986 as an assistant to head coach Steve Sampson and remained in that position until Sampson left for the United States National Program in 1991. As an assistant in 1989, he helped lead the team to a co-national championship, the first in school history.

Murray met immediate success after being named Sampson's replacement as Santa Clara head coach in 1991 by leading the team to a 20-1-2 record on the season and running all the way to the national championship game. He was honored as the National Coach of the Year for 1991. Additionally, Murray's 1998 squad reached the national semifinals and the 1999 team made an improbable run to the national finals, only to lose 1-0 to Indiana.

On the heels of the overwhelming successes of 1998 and 1999, the Broncos struggled in 2000, finishing 10-7 and failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The team started their turnaround in 2001, finishing 12-9 on the season. However, they won the WCC regular season championship with a 5-1 record, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They reached the second round of the tournament, losing to long-time rival Stanford 3-1.

Beyond his team's success, Murray has helped elevate many of his players to individual accolades. He coached 78 All-WCC players, five WCC players of the year and 10 All-Americans. Current associate head coach Cameron Rast and his brother Tim were the first two All-Americans under Murray's reign in 1991.

While pleased that Murray is moving on to new opportunities, the current team has a bittersweet reaction.

"It's something that I think he's been thinking about for a while," said freshman midfielder Akil Foderingham. "He's a great coach that knows how to get teams to win. I'm sad that he's leaving, but it is understandable."

"I am not upset, but I am kind of shocked," said junior forward Jamil Walker. "It's disappointing that he is leaving right before my senior year, but I understand that he has a good opportunity to move on."

The search for a replacement will begin immediately. Among the prospective candidates is Murray's first All-American, Cameron Rast, who completed his eighth season as a Bronco assistant in 2001.

"Cam is definitely qualified, as both an extraordinary player and coach," said Foderingham. "I would expect that he would be the next coach."

Walker added, "I hope that Cameron will be the next coach. He worked under Mitch for a while, and he is the best candidate for the job."