Oberkirch proud of program he built

<p>Luke Oberkirch isn't necessarily happy with the way Sonoma State replaced him. But he wants the local soccer community to know it won't mar the 21 years he spent with the women's program there, the past 16 as head coach.</p><p>“It's been a really great 21 years,” Oberkirch said by phone. “I started in 1990, I took over in 1995 and we had a lot of great successes. We had some of the best teams ever there, and I've enjoyed it.”</p><p>Oberkirch was the longest-tenured women's coach at SSU at the end of the school year, and also the winningest women's soccer coach in school history, with an overall record of 189-97-33 and a conference mark of 126-63-29. He won seven titles in two conferences, made three NCAA Division II tournament appearances and took the Cossacks, as they were then known, to the D2 championship game in 1998.</p><p>But the school asked him to reapply for his job in April.</p><p>“Doing a recruitment allows us to look at the talent that is out there for college level coaching, which we haven't done for 15 years in this case,” SSU associate vice president of marketing and communications Susan Kashack explained at the time. “It's good to step back and review after so long a period.” </p><p>Sonoma State eventually handed the post to Emiria Salzmann — a former player and assistant under Oberkirch who had been the head women's coach at Santa Rosa Junior College.</p><p>“It was difficult,” Oberkirch said of the past few months. “We made the best of a tough situation in the spring. I thought the spring season was fantastic. We beat St. Mary's, we beat San Jose State, a couple of bigger programs. But by then it was too late.”</p><p>Without offering details, Oberkirch said the situation at Sonoma State had become “toxic,” and needed a resolution. And yet he had hoped to coach the Seawolves again in 2011-12, noting that six expected new starters promise to reshape the team.</p><p>One consolation, Oberkirch said, has been the outpouring of support he has received from former players, and from other coaches still at Sonoma State, many of whom sent him encouraging e-mails.</p><p>Oberkirch will pursue another coaching job in soccer, and could be a candidate to replace Salzmann at the JC.</p>