Fresno State women’s soccer adds Daniel Brizard to staff

FRESNO, Calif. (Via Fresno State University) – Fresno State women’s soccer head coach Brian Zwaschka announced the hiring of Daniel Brizard to his staff. Brizard will serve as one of the team’s assistant coaches, along with fifth-year assistant coach Sean Steele.

“Daniel is exactly the coach we were looking for to complete our staff,” Zwaschka said. “He brings so much valuable experience with him spanning nearly all facets of the program. With regards to coaching, first and foremost, we are thrilled bringing in such a high level of expertise in modern training of goalkeepers. We looked at that as the number one priority to shore up and he is definitely the right stuff. He’s already hit the ground sprinting.”

Brizard comes to Fresno State after spending last season with Indiana University. Prior to Indiana, Brizard was at LSU as a volunteer assistant and the previous three as an assistant with Rhode Island. His time with the Tigers marked the second stop in Baton Rouge as he served as an assistant with LSU from 2005-10, forging his reputation as one of the top goalkeeping coaches in collegiate soccer. During his tenure in Baton Rouge, Brizard helped guide the Tigers to three consecutive SEC Western Division Championships and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. LSU was the top defensive unit in the SEC and posted goals against averages of 0.82 in 2008 and 0.71 in 2009. Under his tutelage, Mo Isom became the first LSU goalkeeper to earn All-America honors.

During his three seasons at Rhode Island, Brizard saw a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection and guided goalkeeper Katie Nickles to 298 career saves, good for third-most in program history. Nickles posted a 0.76 goals against average during the 2014 campaign, the best single-season showing in the Rhode Island record books. The 2014 season saw the Rams earn a record of 12-5-2 en route to the team’s first appearance in the conference tournament since 2006.

Prior to his time at Rhode Island, Brizard served as head coach at Tennessee Tech from 2010-13. Brizard saw three All-OVC Second Team selections and off the field, led the program to an average GPA of 3.417.

Brizard has also spent time as an assistant at Florida International, University of South Alabama and University of Missouri-St. Louis.

A former goalkeeping instructor for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), he received an NSCAA Premier diploma and National Goalkeeping diploma. He also holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” Senior Coaching License and United States Soccer Federation Goalkeeping license.

Brizard has also been active in the Olympic Development Program since 1994, including serving as the goalkeeping director for Rhode Island ODP from 2015-17 and as Region I coach from 2014-17. Prior to that, he was a head coach for the Tennessee ODP from 2010-13 and the goalkeeper coach for Region II (2009-10) and Region II (2001-08).

Before the start of his coaching career, Brizard was a four-year starter and team captain on the men’s soccer team at Berry College. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports performance/exercise science from Berry in 1995 and spent two years in the Navy.

The Bulldogs finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 6-10-4 (5-3-3 MW). Fresno State recorded its best conference record since 2013, advancing to the postseason tournament for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs’ season ended in the quarterfinals, falling to eventual champion San Jose State, 2-1. Sophomore Ele Avery was named to the 2018 All-MW Second Team.