Garrett 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. Smith, who also assists the men’s team, has lifted the women’s program to new heights during his seven years in the main seat. He has advanced the team to the NCAA quarterfinals six years, highlighted by an undefeated 2005 national championship season. He has posted a 137-19-7 (.862) career record as head coach, including a 42-3-4 (.898) mark in the West Coast Conference and enters 2010 with a league record 21-match conference winning streak.
Smith led the Pilots to a 21-2-0 record in 2009, the fourth 20-win campaign in his seven years at the helm. Despite losing All-American striker Michelle Enyeart to a season ending injury in the final regular season match, Smith and the Pilots advanced to the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive season and led the nation in attendance for the fifth straight year. The Pilots went 20 games in 2008 and overcome a rash of injuries and national team conflicts – Stephanie Lopez and Sophie Schmidt at the World Cup – to post an 18-4-0 record in 2007. He 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 also has earned three consecutive WCC Coach of the Year awards and four overall.
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. Portland became the first program to bring in more than 40,000 fans in one season. Along the way, Smith became a fan favorite for his straight-forward and reserved coaching nature...so reserved that a member of the media compared his sideline coaching style to putting on a “poker face.”
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. In the last seven years, the Smith has coached eight Academic All-Americans, including the 2005 Academic All-American of the Year, Christine Sinclair. Sinclair also won the 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.
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. Lopez, Schmidt and Sinclair were all starters at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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.
Smith's Record (Women Only)
|
Year
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
Pct.
|
WCC/Finish
|
NCAA
|
|
2003
|
18
|
3
|
2
|
.826
|
5-1-1/2nd
|
Third Round
|
|
2004
|
20
|
4
|
0
|
.833
|
6-1-0/t1st
|
Quarterfinals
|
|
2005
|
23
|
0
|
2
|
.960
|
6-0-1/1st
|
Champions
|
|
2006
|
17
|
4
|
3
|
.804
|
4-1-2/2nd
|
Quarterfinals
|
|
2007
|
18
|
4
|
0
|
.818
|
7-0-0/1st
|
Quarterfinals
|
|
2008
|
20
|
2
|
0
|
.909
|
7-0-0/1st
|
Quarterfinals
|
|
2009
|
21
|
2
|
0
|
.913
|
7-0-0/1st
|
Quarterfinals
|
|
Totals
|
137
|
19
|
7
|
.862
|
42-3-4
|
7 Appearances
|