March 30, 2006

LOGAN, Utah - It did not take long for Utah State head coach Heather Cairns to find a replacement for former assistant coach Brent Anderson. In fact, it only took two weeks for coach Cairns to find the right assistant coach for the job.

Gina Brewer joined the USU staff after spending the past three seasons as a graduate assistant at Idaho. In the month that she has been at Utah State University, Cairns has been really impressed with the attributes Brewer has brought to the team.

"Gina is very competitive and has offered great vision to the attackers on the playing field," Cairns said.

Brewer brings a very good resume with her to the women's soccer program. While playing for University of Washington from 1998 through 2001, she helped her team reach the NCAA tournament three years out of four, with the Huskies making it to the round of 16 in 2000. That season Washington was ranked second in the country.

During her college career Brewer played with Caroline Putz, who was an assistant coach for Utah State a few years back.

Brewer coached at Idaho from 2003 to 2005, while getting her masters in education.

With all of Brewer's past playing experiences in the PAC-10 and three seasons of coaching she will help bring great experience, excitement, and energy to the staff and program according to Cairns.

"I am very excited about becoming a part of the Utah State University Women's Soccer program," Brewer said. "I feel confident about working with Heather. I think our knowledge of the game and experiences will complement each other well. I look forward to the upcoming season in the WAC. I feel we have a very talented group of players and are definitely going to be competing for the WAC Championship."

Cairns is confident in the hiring of Brewer for the reasons that she will bring PAC-10 playing experience, great vision, and three years of coaching under her belt.