Arizona State Football Head Coach Becca Moross He was forced to unexpectedly replace two assistants just a few weeks before the start of the season, and while he knew his two previous assistants would likely move on in the coming months or years, he didn't think it would happen right now.
Moross' longtime friend and former Duke teammate Lorraine Quinn Back in New York, she had family obligations to fulfill.
“We were hopeful that it would happen after the season and I'm sure she was too,” Moross said. “Obviously she's contributed so much over the last three years to building what we've been trying to build. It's unfortunate that the timing wasn't right, but it was a family decision.”
From Tucson Brian Perryman He was looking for a different kind of coaching opportunity, and when an opportunity presented itself with USL's Spokane Zephyr FC, he had to take it.
“Brian has always wanted to go pro,” Moross said. “Ever since I've known him and worked with him for the last three years, we've talked about it. It's something he's always wanted to do and this was just an opportunity to give it a go. So I fully support him in that career path and I think part of my job is to make sure everyone here has the opportunity to do their best.”
It may not be the best time to hire, but Moros is looking to fill a diverse range of requirements. Nat Gonzales and Philip Congleton This month, he has experience at various levels of professional, international and NCAA soccer, as well as experience in many different aspects of the game.
“I think we've been blessed with a great group of coaches,” Moross said, “great people, great personalities, hard-working, humble, great experience, a variety of experiences. They both have experience at the professional level. I think they'll come in and help us continue to grow in the direction we want to be and become the program we want to be.”
Gonzalez has coached for nearly 30 years, including 11 as head coach at UC Riverside before suddenly leaving that position to take the coaching job at Arizona State. It may be viewed as a demotion to assistant coach, but to Moros and Gonzalez, it's not a threat.
“Mark Krikorian, formerly of Florida State and now in the Washington Spirit front office, told me a long time ago that the best programs have multiple head coaches and that's just the way it is,” Moross said. “It takes great leadership and great ability to juggle all the different things you have to do as a coach in college sports, so I think Nat's experience as a head coach will be a huge advantage for us as a program, and I think the women on our team will benefit greatly from that experience.”
Gonzalez isn't worried about the perception that he's no longer running his own program. He was named head coach of the Puerto Rico women's national team in 2021, a role he will continue in. It's the main reason he wanted to leave UCR.
“When I was at UCR, I was trying to juggle both and I don't know if stressful is the right word, but it was definitely exhausting,” Gonzalez said. “Once I had success with Puerto Rico, I knew that as it expanded, more was going to be asked of me and I felt like I had to leave the program as the head coach to make that happen. It's been a great experience at UCR and they've been very supportive in that regard, but I expect that as we grow, there will probably be some decisions made in the future. And Becca has been great through this whole process and told me I could stay and join the staff.”
Gonzalez also believes he could adapt well to Moros' preferred style of possession football, but he's not rigid in his thinking.
“I think the reason she felt comfortable having me on the team is because we have the same model of how I want to play and how I want my team to play,” Gonzalez said. “It's good to have the ball to gain possession, but you have to score goals. That's why I call it efficient football. If they're pressing you, there's no point in having the ball. If one pass can give you a goal-scoring opportunity, you take that pass. That means passing in an efficient way. You can set up your team to draw them in and get in behind, or if they're frustrated that they can't get the ball, you have to solve a different kind of problem by making them do most of the work.”
Gonzalez will primarily focus on training the goalies. Moros is looking to use all of his experience, but goaltending will be more important than ever this season. The Wildcats have five-year starter and local hero Hope HishyThere are four relatively young and inexperienced goalkeepers competing for the vacant spot.
“I'm a goalkeeper specialist,” Gonzalez said. “I played goalkeeper my whole playing career and I've always honed that skill. I still have a passion for the position. And I help her tactically during games, I make decisions, I help her make decisions. She was very complimentary about my experience and I wanted to put it to good use, so that's how I see it.”
Gonzalez was someone Moros met through a connection, but she'd known Congleton for years, and when she realized she needed to hire, she asked Congleton for a recommendation — she was specifically looking for someone with experience on the data side of the sport.
“I thought about it all night and then called her back and asked if I could nominate her,” Congleton said.
Moross was thrilled by Congleton's interest. She had been looking for someone with a similar skill set, but didn't think she'd find anyone with his level of experience. The opportunity to get out on the field was appealing to him.
“I think as he's been through different stages of coaching, he's spent more time in front of the computer and less time coaching,” Moross said, “so I know he was very excited about this change to have more of a voice and be back on the field and be more involved in coaching.”
Congleton spent three seasons at the university, where he focused primarily on using data in training, before joining NJ/NY Gotham FC as director of sports science in 2020, overlapping with Moross' 18-month tenure on staff there, where Moross noted Congleton weathered two coaching changes and was a valuable asset to three different coaching staffs.
Congleton also works as an independent contractor for Arizona, helping the coaching staff incorporate a data-driven approach to training, so he has some familiarity with many of the players already on the team.
Congleton's primary interaction thus far has been with the Arizona coaching staff, but he has also worked directly with Wildcat players during offseason workouts, a position in which the coaches are not allowed to observe or participate.
Congleton said he and his girlfriend fell in love with Tucson when they came from New York for an offseason session.
“She asked me if she could move here,” he said with a laugh.
Now they're getting the Tucson apartment she wanted back then.
Congleton brings a data-driven approach to the Wildcats, but he wants his role to be more than that.
“If you read too much into it, [data],” He said.
It's not just about numbers and on-field performance.
“My job is to support people, not just the players,” Congleton said.
