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Einar Thorarinsson Position: Head Coach (15th year) College: Cornell University, 1975

Einar Thorarinsson enters his 15th season at Gonzaga University as he looks to guide the Bulldogs to their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years and the program's third trip overall.

Thorarinsson had the Bulldogs on the doorstep of the NCAA Tournament in 2008 after the Bulldogs received an at-large bid in 2007. The 2008 season came down to the final match with the Bulldogs still in the West Coast Conference title chase. Gonzaga finished tied for second, three points out of first.

Thorarinsson is the winningest coach in Bulldog men's soccer history, bringing a 119-110-21 record into the 2009 campaign.

Since his arrival on the GU campus in January of 1995, Thorarinsson has made an immediate impact on the fortunes of the program, turning it into an annual contender for the WCC men's soccer crown and leading the Zags to its inaugural NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001. He earned his third WCC Coach of the Year honor in 2005, and won his 100th Gonzaga match in 2006.

Thorarinsson took a team laden with 10 seniors back to the NCAA Tournament in 2007, the Bulldogs earning an at-large bid for their second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs had their inaugural Hermann Trophy candidate in 2007 in senior George Josten, who left Gonzaga third in career goals (34) and assists (17), and fourth in career points (85). Josten also became the first Bulldog to be a three-time All-WCC first-team selection and a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American (first team in 2006 and '07, and third team in 2005). He also earned Far West Region first-team honors and become the Bulldogs inaugural soccer All-America selection by being named to the 2007 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas All-America third team. Off the field Josten was also honored as the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year and led a group of 47 athletes named to the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America Team.

Under his tutelage the Bulldogs had two players selected in the January 2008 MLS Draft and had a third sign as a free agent. Josten was taken in the second round as the 20th overall pick by the Columbus Crew, defender Austin Washington was drafted in the fourth round as the 54th overall pick by the Chicago Fire and keeper Vito Higgins signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy after attending a tryout camp.

Thorarinsson also saw the Bulldogs return to the national rankings in 2007 for the first time since 2001. Gonzaga was ranked as high as 12th on the national scene after wins over defending NCAA College Cup champion UC Santa Barbara and 15th-ranked University of Washington, the win over cross-state rival Washington the first in program history.

Prior to 2007 the Bulldogs had been on the verge NCAA Tournament berths in 2005 and '06. In 2005 Gonzaga went into the final weekend with a shot at the WCC regular-season title, and in 2006 Gonzaga was again in the title hunt most of the season before settling for third place.

Thorarinsson, who joined the Bulldogs from across town at Whitworth College, inherited a squad which had gone 2-13-1 in 1994. Improvement was minimal to 3-10-2 in 1995, then the Zags made noise in the West Coast Conference in 1996, going into the final weekend of conference play in control of their own destiny. Although Gonzaga's title aspirations fell shot, the club made an eight-game improvement to 11-6-1 to lead all WCC teams in victories. Its 4-2-0 conference record landed the team in third place and Thorarinsson was accorded WCC Coach of the Year honors.

The upward swing continued in 1997, Gonzaga sharing the WCC crown with Santa Clara University at 4-2-0, Gonzaga missing out on the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a 2-1 setback at SCU. The 14-40 record again led all WCC teams in victories, and Thorarinsson became the first Gonzaga coach in any sport to earn back-to-back WCC Coach of the Year plaudits. Gonzaga also witnessed its first soccer Player of the Year with Jeff McAllister garnering the honor in 1997. The Bulldogs finished that season ranked 16th in the nation by Soccer Times.

Back-to-back was the theme in 1998 as Thorarinsson again led Gonzaga to a share of the WCC soccer title. The Bulldogs entered the final match of the season with a 5-0-0 record and needed a tie or win against San Diego to claim the title outright and secure their inaugural NCAA Tournament berth. Gonzaga fell short in the match, losing the title 2-1 to USD.

In 1999 Gonzaga once again remained in the title hunt until the final match of the season, losing to Portland 5-2 and dropping to a fourth place finish in the conference standings. The season was highlighted by one of the toughest schedules in Bulldog history with eight matches against nationally-ranked teams. Gonzaga responded with a 4-3-1 record in those matches including upsets of No. 1 Creighton (1-0) in Omaha, Neb.; No. 5 Virginia in Charlottesville, Vir., and a 1-0 setback at No. 1 Santa Clara.

Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Thorarinsson coached at Whitworth College for nine seasons while posting a 119-52-13 record, five Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges titles and NAIA national rankings in five of his nine seasons. He was named NAIA District I Coach of the Year from 1988-90 and again in 1992. He also coached the Pirates women for two seasons from 1990-91.

Thorarinsson has strong soccer ties in Spokane. He coached East Valley High School from 1987-90, taking the Knights to the final four in 1990. He has coached in the Olympic Developmental Program since 1990 and was a United States Soccer Federation Region IV staff coach from 1991-99. He also coached the Spokane Shadow of the USISL in their first of seasons of 1995-96. Thorarinsson holds national coaching licenses from the USSF and NSCAA.

The native of Reykjavik, Iceland, played at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY, from 1971-72, and for Cornell University from 1973-74. He is a 1975 gr4aduate of Cornell with a degree in Landscape architecture. He and his wife Melanie, have two daughters Kyra, a recent Gonzaga graduate, and Brynja, a senior at Gonzaga.