Spidahl Named Women's Soccer Coach at PLU

Seth Spidahl, the current technical director for the nationally renowned and locally based Washington Premier Football Club, has been named women's soccer head coach and director of soccer at Pacific Lutheran University.

Spidahl, 38, will begin his duties on Feb. 8.

"We had an outstanding candidate pool from which to choose before deciding on Seth," said Laurie Turner, PLU director of athletics. "He stood out because of his strong connections to Pacific Northwest youth soccer, and because of the high regard that he has within that community. He is also familiar with PLU and the Northwest Conference, and all of those factors should give him an excellent start in quickly rebuilding the women's soccer program at Pacific Lutheran."

As Washington Premier's technical director since March 2011, Spidahl directs a total of 35 boys and girls youth teams. He creates and oversees training curriculum, hires administrative and coaching staff, and also directs fundraising and annual budgets for the club.

In addition, he is local director for Elite Clubs National League, a 66-club premier-level girls soccer league in the United States. He coaches two ECNL girls teams, one of which won a national championship in 2011.

A 1994 Pacific Lutheran University graduate and four-year letter winner as a member of the PLU men's soccer team, Spidahl was first assistant coach for the University of Washington men's soccer team from 2001-09. He served as director of recruitment and player academic development, and during his tenure the Huskies compiled a 83-58-16 record and five NCAA postseason tournament appearances.

More recently, he was head coach for the Seattle Wolves, later to become Washington Crossfire U23 PDL, from 2009-11.

Spidahl replaces former PLU women's soccer head coach Lynnette Buffington, who resigned after five seasons in which she compiled a 24-63-8 overall record, including a 4-13-1 mark in 2011.

- PLU -