Head Coach Brandee Craig 7th Year at Saddleback

Saddleback College added Women's Soccer to its intercollegiate lineup in the Fall 2001 season. Brandee Craig was selected as the college's first soccer coach and did a tremendous job on short notice, leading the team to an 8-8-2 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the nine-team Orange Empire Conference. For her efforts, Craig was selected as the Orange Empire Conference Coach of the year.

Since then, Craig has guided the Gauchos to an overall record of 52-40-11 in her five seasons at the helm, including a 15-4-2 record in 2002 when the program qualified for the regional playoffs for the first time. Saddleback won it's first-ever playoff contest (2-0 over Chaffey) but fell in the second round.
Coach Craig has an extensive playing and coaching background in Southern California. She is a product of Edison High School in Huntington Beach who went on to play at Orange Coast College and San Francisco State University. She has coached at Edison and Marina high schools and with several club teams. She served as the assistant soccer coach at Orange Coast College from 1992 through the 2000 season and has served as the head coach at Fountain Valley High School from 1993 to 2002.

Coach Craig Plays In Women's Soccer Cup

Saddleback College women’s soccer coach Brandee Craig is a member of the Southern California United women’s over 30 soccer team which will be competed in the U.S. Adult Soccer Association’s National Cup Finals tournament August 3-5 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.
Craig, a resident of Laguna Niguel, is heading into her seventh season as head coach of the Gauchos after previous coaching stints at Edison, Marina, and Fountain Valley high schools and Orange Coast College. She played at Edison High School, Orange Coast College, and San Francisco State University and hasn’t had the desire to hang up the cleats. She still competes in adult co-ed, sand soccer, and 7 vs. 7 tournaments in addition to competing in triathlons. It was during a women’s over 30 tournament in Las Vegas she was playing in this spring that she broke her hand. That team, which also featured former national team players Joy Fawcett and Shannon MacMillan, won the tournament but Craig was forced to have hand surgery afterward.
“This was an Over-30 tournament, but we also play in some Open tournaments to play against the 18-year-olds. The competition helps to keep us sharp,” she said.
Her Southern California United team is made up of women throughout Southern California, from San Diego to Long Beach and from Redondo Beach to Corona. Craig is one of the few players from Orange County.
Southern California United won the Region IV tournament in mid-May by defeating Arizona Premier 1-0 and two-time defending national champion Forza of Seattle, WA, by a 3-0 score. Her team will face Region I champion New York Metropolitan Women’s Soccer League (NYMWSL) in the National Cup semifinals on Friday, August 3, at 1 p.m. The winner will advance to the National Cup finals on Sunday, August 5, at 9 a.m. against either Region II champion St. Louis (MO) Soccer Club or Region III champion Houston (TX) Challengers.
The National Cup prides itself as the oldest and most prestigious soccer tournament in the country for anyone playing on a U.S. Soccer Federation or U.S. Amateur Soccer Association team. National competition for men started in 1914 while the women’s division was added in 1980. There will be eight national champions crowned during the weekend with both men’s and women’s competitions at the Open, Amateur, Over 30, and Under 23 levels. Over 250 teams participate in National Cup qualifying events in these eight divisions.
More information on the National Cup can be found on the US Adult Soccer Association website at: www.usasa.com.