Head coach Tara Erickson of the Oregon women’s soccer team made a name for Portland State soccer in 2004 when she took over coaching a squad that went 5-31 four years prior and turned them into champions of the Big Sky Conference.
Erickson has the opportunity to do the same for the Ducks, who she will guide this year in hopes of raising Oregon from the bottom of the Pacific-10 Conference standings in her much-anticipated inaugural season.
Erickson, a native of Puyallup, Wash., garnered experience for the Pac-10 Conference at the University of Washington, where she played as a midfielder from 1992-96. After graduating with a degree in communications, Erickson coached the Huskies for two years as an assistant until 1998. Erickson learned much of what she knows at her old stomping ground in Seattle, but she said she is excited to have a shot at leading Oregon to a victory over the Huskies this year.
“Let there be no mistakes; my loyalty is with Oregon,” Erickson said. “I never thought I’d want to beat (the Huskies) so badly, but I do.”
Erickson lettered all four years in college and was a three-time MVP. As the captain of her squad in her junior and senior years, she was named to the all-Pac-10 first team and All-America West Team. Erickson was best known for her aggressive play, which she hopes to see out of the Ducks this year at both ends of the field. During the summer Erickson’s coaching philosophy has been to strengthen Oregon’s play on defense, which should in turn improve them offensively by creating scoring opportunities.
“I’d like to focus more on offense once our defense is strong enough so we can rely on it when our attacks come up short,” Erickson said. “We will definitely be attacking a lot this season.”
While wrapping up her career at Washington, Erickson was also a player/coach for the Washington State Select Women from 1997-99. Her talent earned her a season playing professional soccer in Europe for FSV Frankfurt.
“Playing in Europe was a blast for me,” Erickson said. “It helped me as a coach because I learned even more about the game and saw it played by some of the best players around.”
Erickson returned to the states at the turn of the century to coach Portland State for the 2000 season, in which the Vikings went winless. Erickson’s 2001 team did not fare much better, losing all but two games; however, success was just a season away. In 2002 the Vikings found themselves one goal short of winning the Big Sky Conference
Tournament. With 13 wins they were the most improved team in NCAA Division I soccer. Two years later they were conference champions. For Erickson, it remains her most memorable achievement as a coach.
“Winning the conference was indescribable for me,” Erickson said. “We came so far in the four years I was there. I hope to do something special like that here at Oregon.”
Erickson attributed her team’s success in 2004 to two simple factors: attitude and focusing on team goals.
“The key to making a turnaround is believing you can, most importantly,” Erickson said. “When you understand the game and see what can happen on any given day, you have the goal of doing your best and keeping up with your opponent because that may be all you need to win.”
Erickson’s winning ways at PSU landed her the position as Oregon’s new head coach; she was named in January. Considering that the Ducks won only three games last year in their ninth season of varsity competition, Erickson has her work cut out for her. Transforming a team that has never had a winning season into a conference contender is a daunting task, but with a talented incoming freshman class plus the healthy return of standout senior Nicole Garbin, who was second in goals scored for Oregon in 2003, a turnaround to a .500 or better season could be in Oregon’s near future.
a fresh start
Daily Emerald
September 18, 2005
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