GU To Honor Longtime Coach Einar Thorarinsson on Monday Night
9/1/2018 10:31:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Retired last November after 23 years
SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga will honor longtime men's soccer head coach Einar Thorarinsson, who retired last November after 23 seasons, prior to Monday's 7 pm match against No. 3 Washington at Luger Field.
The ceremony will begin at 6:45 with an introduction from the Gonzaga administration and some notable alumni will speak about their former coach as well.
Thorarinsson came to Gonzaga in January of 1995, and is the all-time program leader in wins with 163. He led GU to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2007, and a pair of West Coast Conference titles in 1997 and 1998. Under his watch, the Bulldogs have finished in the top five in the league 14 times, including eight WCC finishes in the top three. He has been named WCC Coach of the Year on three separate occasions (1996, 1997, and 2005) and coached 22 First Team All-WCC selections, along with three WCC Player of the Year winners, as there were none prior to his arrival.
Alumni confirmed to be attending the event include Brian Ching, a former First Team All-Conference selection who went on to become a six-time MLS All-Star and win three MLS Championships, along with over 45 appearances with the U.S. National Team and a trip to the 2006 World Cup. In addition to Ching, former all-conference selections Ben Funkhouser, Nick Hamer, Mike McCarthy, Tim Muravez, and Mike Thompson will be in attendance.
Since retirement, Thorarinsson has remained a fixture in the Spokane and Gonzaga communities, and a proud supporter of his former program.
