Reynaud Retires from Long Beach State
Women's Soccer Coach Set to Retire After 22 Years as a Head Coach
March 15, 2004 LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State Women's Soccer Coach Peter Reynaud has decided to hang up the cleats. Reynaud announced his retirement after 22 years as a head coach. A national search will begin for his successor.
"After 23 years, it is time for me to retire and let a young coach take over the program," said Reynaud. "I am very pleased to leave the Long Beach State program in very good shape. We have 26 players returning, of which nine are starters, and already have some very good players coming in. My stay in Long Beach has been a wonderful experience and I see nothing but a bright future for the program."
"Under Coach Reynaud's leadership Long Beach State women's soccer is headed in the right direction," said Executive Director of Athletics Bill Shumard. "This program has a chance to really succeed thanks to that foundation. We wish him all the best in his retirement."
Reynaud's 23-year run has included an NCAA Championship, six NCAA Tournaments, 15 All-Americans, three members of the U.S. National Team and the establishment of two programs, first at Sonoma State in the early 1980's and then at Fresno State in the mid-1990's. His record of 245-145-30 finishes at 14th all-time in NCAA history.
"Peter Reynaud has been a stalwart in the game of soccer for as long as I have been able to lace up my own cleats.That is to say, he was around when it wasn't popular for young girls, and boys for that matter, to be kicking a ball around instead of using their hands," said one of his former players, Brandi Chastain, who is traveling with the U.S. National Team.
"When I first met Peter, he was the coach at Sonoma State University. His teams were tough, skillful and always competitive. As I grew to know Peter, I learned that his passion for the game came from growing up in a country where soccer was king and he shared that with all his players. He felt it only just to share the finer parts of the game, the subtleties, if you will. His main focus was to help the players, in a team setting, improve. His enthusiasm was always apparent and was infectious. His knowledge is deep and his desire for it to be played with heart is unparalleled. Peter Reynaud will always be someone who I go to for insight into the game I have come to love," continued Chastain.
In his final stint here at The Beach, Reynaud set a strong foundation for future coaches to build upon. In 2003, Reynaud's club finished with a school-record nine wins and with its first .500 season at 9-9-0. In just three years, 13 of the program's 20 All-Big West selections were under Reynaud, including two of the three first team selections.
Reynaud did not shy away from tough competition, regularly scheduling regionally ranked opponents, including Connecticut, Hartford, Purdue, San Diego and Pepperdine to prepare for conference. Over the past two seasons, Reynaud set the school-record for conference points, going 4-2-3 in 2002 and then breaking that mark with a 5-4-0 record this past year. In each of the past two seasons, LBSU was in the mix late in the season for the top half of the conference. In three seasons at LBSU he was 19-29-7, improving its win total in each of his three seasons.
Reynaud came to Long Beach from Fresno State, where he started the Bulldog program in 1995 and continued to coach there until 2000.The Bulldogs reached the Western Athletic Conference Playoffs in each of his six seasons, including the school's first-ever WAC Championship and NCAA bid in 1999. He earned WAC Coach of the Year honors in 1999 as well, behind a 14-6-2 record. He coached the first 18 All-WAC players at FSU, including the franchise's first-ever WAC Player of the Year in 2000. While at Fresno, he went 64-56-7.
Reynaud's best years came at Sonoma State, where he established the program in 1981, coached there until 1984 and then after two years at Cal, came back to Rohnert Park and coached the Cossacks from 1987 to 1994. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in October, 2003. SSU advanced to five NCAA Tournaments in his 12 seasons, culminating in the 1990 NCAA Championship behind a 15-4-0 mark. He coached 12 All-Americans, earning National Coach of the Year honors in 1990 and was selected as the conference coach of the year four times. His years in Sonoma culminated in a 146-57-15 record.
His two seasons at California were also successful, first as an assistant in 1985, and then as the head coach in 1996. The 1996 reached the NCAA Tournament thanks to three future National Teamers, that year's National Freshman of the Year, Brandi Chastain, and National Goalkeeper of the Year, Mary Harvey. Joy Biefeld would got on and play for the National Team after being named the National Player of the Year in 1987. | YEAR-SCHOOL | RECORD | NOTES | | 1981-Sonoma State | 7-7-0 | Started Program | | 1982-Sonoma State | 10-4-2 | | | 1983-Sonoma State | 11-4-3 | | | 1984-Sonoma State | 12-3-2 | | | 1986-California | 16-3-1 | NCAA Playoffs | | 1987-Sonoma State | 7-7-3 | | | 1988-Sonoma State | 14-6-1 | | | 1989-Sonoma State | 10-7-1 | | | 1990-Sonoma State | 15-4-0 | NCAA Champions | | 1991-Sonoma State | 17-2-2 | NCAA Playoffs | | 1992-Sonoma State | 14-5-0 | NCAA Playoffs | | 1993-Sonoma State | 17-4-0 | NCAA Playoffs | | 1994-Sonoma State | 12-4-1 | NCAA Playoffs | | 1995-Fresno State | 9-11-1 | WAC Playoffs
Started Program | | 1996-Fresno State | 9-11-1 | WAC Playoffs | | 1997-Fresno State | 12-9-0 | WAC Playoffs | | 1998-Fresno State | 9-10-3 | WAC Playoffs | | 1999-Fresno State | 14-6-2 | NCAA Playoffs | | 2000-Fresno State | 11-9-0 | WAC Playoffs | | 2001-Long Beach State | 4-11-2 | | | 2002-Long Beach State | 6-9-5 | | | 2003-Long Beach State | 9-9-0 | School-Record for wins | | 22-Years | 245-145-30 | 14th All-Time |
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