FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton women's soccer assistant coach Stacey Fox will return for her third season with the Titans in a full-time position, it was announced by Athletic Director Jim Donovan on Friday.
Fox, a 2012 graduate of Cal State Fullerton and former Titan student-athlete, served as an assistant coach in a part-time role in 2013 and 2014, helping lead Fullerton to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and Big West Tournament championships as well as a 2014 regular season conference crown.
"I would like to thank Jim Donavan and the athletic department for allowing me the opportunity to continue to be a part of the Titan family as we work toward winning a championship and developing well-rounded individuals," Fox said.
As part of Cal State Fullerton's effort to grow the athletic department budget, and fully fund all sports programs through the next few years, full-time assistant coach positions were created for both men's and women's soccer. Each program now has two full-time assistants.
"As we continued to evaluate our athletic department, adding a second full-time assistant coaching position to both men's and women's soccer was a need we wanted to address as soon as possible," Donovan said. "Both programs have experienced success throughout the history of our department, as well as very recently with both teams appearing in the NCAA Tournament last fall. Giving our coaches fully-funded staffs will only continue to help develop their programs' success."
In two years with the Titans as a coach, Fox has been part of back-to-back Big West Tournament championships (2013, 2014) and NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 2014), as well as a Big West regular season championship in 2014 (10-8-4, 6-0-2).
"I am extremely grateful to our administration to recognize the importance of creating this position," ninth-year head coach Demian Brown said. "I am very happy for Stacey. She has meant so much to our program's success, first as a player and captain, and now as a mentor and coach. With Stacey entering a full-time role, I feel that all of the pieces are in place for future success on the field, in the classroom and in the community."
Over the last two seasons, Fullerton has produced an 18-15-11 record and a 9-3-4 mark in Big West Conference matches. In addition, Fullerton has had five different players receive a total of six National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-West Region honors. In 2014, nine players received Big West Conference honors – the second most in school history.
"I can't wait to begin working again with the team, and to build on some of the accomplishments we had during the spring," Fox said. With a great group of returners and an incoming class that will have an immediate impact on the program, I am excited for the potential this group has to be successful this upcoming season."
Last year, Fox helped mentor Fullerton's emerging offensive stars. Rebecca Wilson was named the 2014 Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year with a 10-goal, three-assist season, while Big West Tournament MVP Christina Burkenroad scored six goals and added four assists, ending the year with five goals and one assist in her last five matches.
Fox completed her collegiate career with Fullerton in 2012, earning All-West Region Second Team honors from the NSCAA for the second consecutive season -- one of only 14 Titans to be named to the all-region team since 1996 and only the third out of a total of four to earn multiple awards from the NSCAA, joining Karen Bardsley (third team in 2002, second team in 2006), Jenae Gibbens (third team in 2007-08) and Morgan Batcheller (third team 2013, second team 2014).
After suffering a season-ending injury that sidelined her for all of 2010, Fox was a third-team NSCAA All-West Region selection as a redshirt junior in 2011, finishing tied for second on the team in points (10) and tied for the team lead in goals (5) in 15 starts. She also tied for the team lead in points (6) and goals (3) as a sophomore and was an All-Big West Honorable Mention choice as a freshman, appearing in all 19 matches as a rookie and leading the team with five goals and 13 points.
Fox finished her Titans career ranked ninth on the school's all-time list in career points (45), sixth in goals, (20), ninth in goals per game (0.29), tied for third in game-winning goals (6), and seventh in shots (110).
