UC Irvine’s Scott Juniper named regional coach of the year

UC Irvine women’s soccer coach Scott Juniper has been named by his peers as the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America/Mondo West Regional Coach of the Year.

The selection was made through voting by members of the NSCAA.

Juniper, in his fourth season as the Anteaters’ head coach, led UCI to an overall record of 19-3-2, setting the school mark for victories and tying the Big West Conference record. UCI became the first team in conference history to go undefeated and untied during league play with an 8-0-0 mark. Juniper was named the Big West Coach of the Year, the first in UCI women’s soccer history.

His Anteater team made the first NCAA Tournament appearance in the 27-year history of the program and earned national attention by advancing to the Sweet 16.

UCI defeated Arizona State, 2-1, in the NCAA first round and shut out Wake Forest, 2-0, in the second round before losing to Washington, 1-0, in double overtime (104th minute) in the third round. A program-record home crowd of 1,254 watched the Sweet 16 game at Anteater Stadium Nov. 20, breaking the previous record of 1,058 who witnessed the first-round win over Arizona State.

The Anteaters, who won 16 of their last 19 games, were ranked as high 11th nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) during the season.

— From staff reports