California University of PA

California University of PA Athletics
250 University Avenue California, PA 15419

Division 2 Pennsylvania Northeast

Public Medium National competitor

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Pete Curtis

With head coaching experience at all three NCAA divisions, Pete Curtis enters his sixth year (fifth-playing season) as head coach at California (PA) in 2023.

Last fall, Curtis led the Vulcans to their winningest season since 2015 as they also doubled their win total from the previous season. Cal finished fifth in the PSAC West standings despite tying for the third-most conference wins in the division. The Vulcans featured their first All-PSAC West selection in seven years, as they boasted multiple players on the All-PSAC West Teams.

Goalkeeper Emily Ouimet continued her development last season, as she ranked among the top 10 in the league in save percentage, goals-against average, total saves and saves per game. She helped Cal record five shutouts last year after she led the PSAC and ranked among the top 15 in the country in total saves in 2021.

The Vulcans have received the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award in four-consecutive seasons – the longest streak in program history. In 2022, six players earned CSC Academic All-District honors in the first year of the new structure for the Academic All-America program that placed a maximum number of six women’s soccer nominees per institution.

Curtis spent 11 seasons as the head women's soccer coach at nearby Washington & Jefferson, a NCAA Division III program. Prior to his tenure at W&J, he served 16 years as a head men's soccer coach at three NCAA schools with stints at all three NCAA divisions. In 30-plus years of coaching collegiate soccer, Curtis has compiled 269 career victories.

Curtis guided the Presidents to a 132-69-17 mark (.644) during his tenure to become the winningest coach in program history. He led W&J to at least 12 victories seven times, as the program captured three-straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships from 2008-10. W&J also made three-consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament during that span, recording the first NCAA post-season win for any W&J women's team sport in 2008.

During his time with W&J, Curtis was named PAC Coach of the Year three times, featured the PAC Player of the Year four times and mentored nearly 60 All-PAC selections. He played a pivotal role in the development of two-time PAC Player of the Year Holly Shipley, who ranks second in program history with 61 goals, 33 assists and 155 points.

The Presidents also featured one of the top goal scorers in PAC history in Jordan Toohey. She paced the league in goals in each of her three years at W&J, including a single-season school record 27 goals in 2015, after starting her college career at St. Francis (Pa.). Toohey, the 2015 PAC Player of the Year and a three-time All-PAC First-Team selection, broke the all-time school record with 66 goals in 2017 and finished third in school history with 146 points.

Prior to W&J, Curtis served as the head men's soccer coach at Cleveland State for six years. He was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2002 after helping the Vikings record their winningest season in over a decade. The following season, Curtis helped Stephen Ademolu become the first player from Cleveland State to be named Horizon League Player of the Year.

Curtis played a pivotal role in developing Charleston (W.Va.) into a national power in men's soccer, spending five seasons as the head coach from 1995-99. He posted a 68-30-8 record with the Golden Eagles, as they posted at least 11 victories in each year of his tenure. In 1999, Curtis helped lead Charleston to a 21-2 overall record and an appearance in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament while out-scoring opponents by a 112-10 margin. He was named both the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year that season, as the Golden Eagles finished No. 3 in the country.

Before his arrival at Charleston, Curtis was the head men's soccer at Marietta (Ohio), a NCAA Division III program, from 1990-95. He also spent time as the head women's tennis coach and the assistant softball coach during his time with the Pioneers.

Curtis, who played for three English professional teams, was a four-year starter at then NAIA-powerhouse Alderson Broaddus from 1983-87. While a team captain, the Battlers achieved the No. 1 ranking in the nation. He earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education/physical education in 1987.

While completing his master's degree in Sports Administration at Iowa State in 1989, Curtis coached the school's club program to the semifinals of the 1988 National Collegiate Club Soccer Championships.

Curtis was inducted into the Alderson Broaddus Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 and later was honored as a member of Charleston Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.

He and his wife, Patty, reside in Washington and have two children, Shannon and Sean.

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Samantha Gribowicz

Samantha Gribowicz enters her sixth year as an assistant coach at California (PA) in 2023.

Gribowicz currently works as the Director of Goalkeeping for Pittsburgh Football Club (PFC) where she oversees goalkeeper training for the club. She has also been an assistant coach with the 2004/2005 girl’s team for the past six years and coached with the PA West Olympic Development Program. Gribowicz also runs and oversees goalkeeper clinics throughout the Pittsburgh area with various clubs and youth organizations.

As a college goalkeeper, Gribowicz totaled over 900 minutes while playing in 15 career games with seven starts in two seasons at Washington & Jefferson, a NCAA Division III program. As a freshman in 2010, she helped the Presidents capture their third-straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship and return to the NCAA Tournament for a third-consecutive year. Gribowicz later transferred to Pittsburgh and helped the women’s club soccer team capture two regional championships and make a pair of appearances at the national tournament in 2012-13.

Gribowicz earned a bachelor’s degree with a dual major in psychology and German language and cultural studies from Pittsburgh in 2014. She has worked in the mental health field as a service coordinator with Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (UPMC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the past seven years.

A native of Bethel Park, Gribowicz currently holds a “C” license from U.S. Soccer. She also holds a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma and a Level 1 Performance Analysis accreditation through ISPAS.