LA GRANDE — The Mountaineers women’s soccer team has a new coach leading the way.

Eastern Oregon University athletic department announced the hiring of Josh Goodman on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Goodman is an in-house promotion, having served as an assistant coach for the Mountaineers for the last four years.

“This opportunity feels amazing,” Goodman said in an official press release from the university. “I’ve been on the staff for four years and I played here before that, so it means a lot to me to start my head coaching career here.”

Goodman previously coached as an assistant for the women’s team the last four years, while also serving as an assistant coach on the men’s team for three years. During Goodman’s tenure as an assistant, the Mountaineers combined for a 48-10-8 record and took home a Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship in 2019. Eastern Oregon has qualified for two NAIA tournaments under Goodman’s tenure as an assistant coach.

As a collegiate player at Victor Valley College, Goodman was a two-time all-Inland Empire Athletic Conference selection and was named conference player of the year. Goodman later transferred to Eastern Oregon in 2017, where he was named second-team all-Cascade Collegiate Conference.

The hiring of Goodman comes in the wake of former head coach Jacob Plocher taking the head job at Missouri Western State University this offseason. Plocher coached the Mountaineers for the last six seasons.

“Josh has been part of our women’s soccer coaching staff that helped build our program to one that has been successful at both the conference and national levels,” Eastern Oregon University Athletic Director Anji Weissenfluh said in the press release. “Josh is incredibly hard working and I guarantee that he will be one of the hardest working coaches in the conference. I am excited to watch Josh grow as a head coach.”