Smith was promoted to associate director of soccer and head women’s coach in the fall of 2003 after serving 11 years as an assistant to coach Clive Charles. During his time, Smith has lifted the women’s program to new heights during his nine years in the main seat, and he’s been named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Years six times.
He led the Pilots to the NCAA Championship in 2005, and he's led the team to six WCC titles.
The Pilots have advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals six times under Smith’s guidance, and they’ve registered four 20-win seasons. Smith earned National Coach of the Year honors from FieldTurf in ‘07, his second such honor after claiming the Soccer Times National Coach of the Year award in 2005.
Smith orchestrated a record-breaking 2005 season that resulted in the school’s second NCAA title in four years. Portland finished 23-0-2 and routed UCLA in the title game by a 4-0 margin. The Pilots became just the second school in history to complete an unbeaten season with a title, joining North Carolina. The Pilots also became the third program to win multiple women’s soccer titles along with North Carolina and Notre Dame. That year Portland became the first program to bring in more than 40,000 fans in one season.
No matter the style, Smith has produced phenomenal results, both as an assistant and as a head coach. After helping Portland claim the school’s first NCAA championship in any sport as an assistant in 2002, Smith took the helm and led the Pilot women to the third round of the NCAA playoffs in 2003, finishing with an 18-3-2 overall record. Impressive as the record was, it was even more remarkable considering the nation’s best player - Christine Sinclair - was forced to redshirt the entire season while competing in the FIFA World Cup for her native Canada. Sinclair returned in 2004, but the Pilots were again shorthanded as three of the team’s top players - Angie Woznuk, Stephanie Lopez and Megan Rapinoe - redshirted while competing with the U.S. Under-19 National Team at the FIFA Youth World Championships. Despite their absence, Smith and the Pilots would claim the fourth 20-win season in program history before falling to eventual national champion Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinals. With “all the Pilots home” in 2005, nobody could topple the Pilots.
UP has made its mark as a premier soccer school, but academics also play a strong role in the program. Smith has coached eight Academic All-Americans, including the 2005 Academic All-American of the Year, Christine Sinclair. Sinclair also won the 2005 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy for the second consecutive year and won the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, which spans all sports at the NCAA Division I level.
From 2006 until 2011, the Pilots made an unprecedented run through the West Coast Conference as they went unbeaten in 31 (30-0-1) straight league games. They also went to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, before receiving the No. 1 overall seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Portland’s consecutive years streak of reaching the NCAA Postseason extended to 2013, which would mark the 21st straight season to reach the playoffs for the storied program. The Pilots again won the WCC title in 2013, and Smith again was named league coach of the year.
Portland’s game at BYU on Oct. 15, 2016 was the 300th career game at the helm of the Pilots for Smith.
Smith and the Pilots coaching staff have continued many of the traditions passed on by Charles, specifically preparing players for the next level. Since 2003 three Smith-coached Pilots have played with the senior U.S. National Team - Stephanie Lopez, Angie Woznuk and Megan Rapinoe – and Sophie Schmidt and Christine Sinclair have been regulars with the Canadian National Team. Rapinoe exploded onto the international soccer scene during a phenomenal 2011 FIFA World Cup and she helped the U.S. claim the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, her first Olympic appearance. Also in London, Sinclair and Schmidt helped Canada claim the bronze medal for their first Olympic medal in women’s soccer.
Rapinoe then helped the United States win the 2015 World Cup, which took place in Canada. In 2016 Rapinoe, Sinclair and Schmidt returned to the Olympics in Brazil, with Sinclair, Schmidt and the Canadians again claiming the Bronze medal.
Much of Smith’s coaching success mirrors his career achievements as a player. In college, Smith was one of the highest-scoring defenders in University of Portland soccer history with 25 points (7G, 11A). His collegiate soccer career at UP (1986-89) was highlighted by the 1988 team’s fabulous run to the NCAA Final Four coming within one game of the national championship match. The Pilots won their first 21 games of that season before losing 1-0 to eventual champion Indiana in the semifinals. Smith was an All-WCC first team pick in 1989 and was named team MVP in 1986. He was a three-time All-Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference selection.
Smith began his professional career with the Portland Timbers of the Western Soccer League in 1989. He played one season for the Seattle Storm of the APSL in 1990, before joining the San Diego Soccers of the Major Indoor Soccer League for the 1991 season. Smith concluded his professional career playing for the Portland Pride of the CISL from 1993-95.
Born on December 14, 1967, Smith attended Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Wash., and competed with the Washington U-19 State Team. Smith and his wife, Christina, have three daughters: Hannah, Nicole and Sydney.