ntering his 18th season as the head coach of the Florida International University women's soccer program is Everton Edwards.
Edwards started the program from scratch in 1985 and since then has a 145-123-24 career record, a 2000 Sun Belt Conference crown, a 1993 Trans America Athletic Conference championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. His teams had national rankings four times in the 1990's. Heading into the 2001 season, Edwards is ranked 27th among all active coaches in career victories.
Last year, Edwards had six players on the All-Sun Belt Conference team, which marks 22 different players in seven conference seasons. In every season of conference play, he has guided a player to first-team honors.
In the 2000 season, he guided the Golden Panthers to a 15-6 finish, a Sun Belt Conference regular season co-championship and tournament championship. He received the Sun Belt Coach-of-the-Year award for his efforts. It marked his third coach-of-the-year trophy, the other two in the TAAC.
Every year, FIU not only fields a solid team on the field, but also in the classroom. Last year's team finished with a 3.24 cumulative grade-point average, the highest of any sport at FIU.
"You're here for an education," said Edwards. "You need to do the things you have to do to get good grades and if you don't get good grades, you won't play soccer here."
In 1997, its last season in the Trans America Athletic Conference, Edwards guided his squad to the TAAC semifinals before losing in a shootout to UCF. That season, eight of the 12 freshmen made either the honor roll or Dean's List.
Edwards coaching career began as an assistant with the 1983 FIU men's team. One year later, he was part of that program's second Division II national championship in three years.
In 1991, his Golden Panthers finished 9-4-2 and became the first women's team sport at FIU to be nationally recognized in Division I polling with a final ranking of No. 19 in the Adidas Top 20 poll.
The 1993 season was the most satisfying for Edwards as the Golden Panthers won 13 matches and made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. FIU became the first team in school history to win a NCAA Division I first-round match, with a 3-2 penalty-kick victory over Duke University.
The team entered the next season with high expectations and a preseason top 20 rating, but one debilitating injury after another ended any hope for a second-consecutive postseason appearance. The next two seasons had the same flavor. In 1996, FIU had only 12 active players, but Edwards and his team still managed to make it to the TAAC Championship before losing to UCF, 1-0. FIU finished with an 8-1-1 conference record and Edwards was honored with his second conference Coach-of-the-Year award.
Before taking the helm as coach, Edwards was a star collegiate goalkeeper. He played at Mercer (NJ) Community College, where he starred on the Vikings 1980 Junior College national championship squad and over a two-year career there, lost just three games. Transferring to FIU, he recorded 10 goalkeeper shutouts in 1981, establishing a school record that still stands today. His 0.84 career goals-against-average is also the school record. In 1982, he was the starting goalkeeper on the Golden Panthers' first-ever NCAA Division II national championship team.
"That (FIU championship) was the high point of my playing career," Edwards said. "I was injured and had shoulder surgery earlier that year. It was severe enough that they said I probably would never play again. But I came back and contributed. That's why that particular championship was so special."
Edwards also competed professionally in the American Soccer League with the Miami Freedom and 1989 ASL champion Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.
A community activist, Edwards is a regular clinician at inner-city programs, Boys' Town and the AYSO. He also worked as goalkeeper coach with Major League Soccer's Miami Fusion and with the USA National Team. Additionally, Edwards coaches with the new Miami Premier Club Team for girls' 10 - 18 years old.
"I want to involve myself with as many things as possible," Edwards said. "We need to go out and sell our program if we hope to gain recognition and credibility within the soccer community."
Originally from Sheffield-Yorkshire, England, Edwards earned bachelor's degrees from FIU in 1982 in Criminal Justice and Computer Science.
Edwards' Career Coaching Record
Year School Record Pct. 1985 Florida International 6-4-1 .591 1986 Florida International 9-5-2 .647 1987 Florida International 7-6-1 .536 1988 Florida International 9-7-2 .556 1989 Florida International 4-13-0 .235 1990 Florida International 5-11-2 .333 1991 Florida International 9-4-2 .667 1992 Florida International 13-4-1 .750 1993 Florida International 13-3-3 .763 1994 Florida International 6-10-0 .375 1995 Florida International 7-11-1 .395 1996 Florida International 10-7-2 .579 1997 Florida International 3-11-4 .278 1998 Florida International 9-9-0 .500 1999 Florida International 9-8-1 .528 2000 Florida International 15-6-0 .714 2001 Florida International 11-4-2 .706 Totals Seventeen Seasons 145-123-24 .538
Assistant Coach Daniel Brizard
Assistant Women's Soccer Coach Daniel Brizard
aniel Brizard joins the women's soccer program for his first season as assistant coach. Brizard comes from the University of South Alabama, where he has spent the past two seasons at the same position.
With the Jaguars, Brizard was responsible for coaching the goalkeepers, recruiting, strength and conditioning, and travel arrangements. Under his direction, the USA goalkeepers had a goals-against-average of 1.07 last season, good for fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.
Before that, Brizard spent two years with the University of Missouri-St. Louis. With the UMSL, Brizard was the goalkeeper coach for the men's and women's programs.
He also currently coaches on the Alabama and Region III Women's Olympic Development team.
"He is a well-rounded goalkeeping coach," said Edwards. "I needed someone to take over the goalkeeping duties and he comes in at just the right time."
Brizard graduated from Berry College, where he was the starting goalkeeper and team captain in 1995.
"I am very excited about coming to Miami," said Brizard when he was hired. "It will be a great experience to work with Everton."
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