Locally: GU hires Cossaboon as women’s soccer aide
John Cossaboon, a head coach at the Division I level the last 11 years, has been hired as assistant coach of the Gonzaga University women’s soccer team, head coach Shannon Stiles announced.
Cossaboon joins the Bulldogs from Southern Methodist University, where he spent the last four years.
SMU won conference titles all four seasons. This past season SMU had a 17-5-1 overall record, 8-1-0 in Conference USA, and advanced to the second round of the College Cup. The Mustangs tied for 24th in the final SoccerTimes.com poll.
Before going to SMU, Cossaboon spent six years at the University of San Diego, like GU a member of the West Coast Conference, and one year at UC Santa Barbara. He also coached in Japan and had several other college head and assistant coaching positions beginning in 1978.
Baseball
Three former Gonzaga University standouts have been named to the West Coast Conference/Rawlings 40th anniversary team.
The WCC office announced that former Bulldogs Jason Bay, Nate Gold and Barry Matthews were named to the ceremonial team that consists of 40 of the conference’s top players from the past four decades.
Bay (1999-2000), a two-time Major League Baseball All-Star who was the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year, compiled a .374 career batting average with 125 runs, 152 hits, 24 doubles, 35 home runs and 121 RBIs as a Bulldog. He was a two-time All-WCC first-team selection and was the 2000 conference batting champion with a .388 average.
Gold (2001-2002) is the WCC and GU single-season home run king with 33 in 2002. The feat, which led the NCAA, earned him WCC Player of the Year and a first-team Collegiate Baseball All-America selection. He had a .307 career average with 46 home runs and 124 RBIs at Gonzaga. In pro ball since 2002, he was the Texas Rangers’ 2006 Minor League Player of the Year.
Matthews (1999-2001) was one of the top two-way players in GU history, holding spots in both the hitting and pitching record books. He had a .332 career batting average, featuring a school-record 26-game hitting streak in 2000, with 29 home runs and 130 RBIs.
He had a 21-12 career pitching record with a 5.01 ERA. He was a 2001 first-team Collegiate Baseball All-American.
Hockey
The Spokane Americans’ U-16 team won its pool and finished second overall in the Port Alberni, British Columbia, Boxing Days midget tournament that drew 10 teams, two from Houston.
In the championship game, Spokane battled back from a 2-0 deficit after one period against the Houston 91 Wild, the eighth-ranked midget team in the U.S., to force overtime tied 3-3. Houston won 4-3 in the extra period.
Justin Scaffer led Spokane with five goals. Four others had four, including Brent Bartel, who had team highs of seven assists and 11 points. Michael Smith and Cash Ulrich are the goalies. Todd Ulrich is the head coach with Ryan Skier and Brandon Green the assistants.