Spokane native Missy Strasburg named to lead Eastern Washington women’s soccer

Missy Strasburg, a Spokane native with collegiate experience across the country, was named Wednesday to lead the women’s soccer program at Eastern Washington University.

“I look forward to getting to the work of helping these young women grow into champions and leaders of character on and off the field,” said Strasburg, who for the last five years has been an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy.

Strasburg has never been a head coach at the collegiate level but has worked at New Mexico, Saint Mary’s, Texas-San Antonio, Georgia Southern, Washington and North Carolina-Greensboro.

After starring at Mead High School, Strasburg was a four-year starter on defense at Gonzaga from 1997-2001. She graduated from GU in 2001 with a degree in business administration. Nine years later she earned a master’s degree in intercollegiate athletics leadership at Washington.

In between, Strasburg served as the first coach at Riverside High School, earning three state tournament appearances from 2001 to 2003.

She spent seven years as the program director and team coach for multiple age groups for the Spokane Shadow Soccer Club.

“It has been a long-time dream of mine to take the helm of a program like this and contribute to the local community that has had so much to do with my own growth and development,” Strasburg said.

Strasburg replaces Chad Bodnar, who was fired last month despite posting the best record in program history.

The reasons for Bodnar’s dismissal are still unclear. Athletic Director Lynn Hickey has refused comment to comment on personnel issues.

However, Hickey said she was “very excited” to hire Strasburg.

“She has great experience both at the collegiate and club level as a coach and a recruiter,” Hickey said. “It was even more special to bring someone back home, for she grew up in this area and has a true feel for Eastern Washington.

“She is a competitor on the field and is also known for her work in developing leadership programs for student-athletes. We look forward to working with Missy as she continues the success of Eastern Washington soccer.”

Following one year as an assistant at New Mexico, Strasburg arrived at Air Force in 2016 to join the staff of longtime coach Larry Friend.

After back-to-back seven-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, the Falcons went 2-9-6 in 2018.

However, Air Force rebounded in 2019 with a record of 10-7-1, the best in program history.

The Falcons went 2-6 in the pandemic-altered 2021 spring season.