Search

Soka University of America

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
California Southwest
Private Very Small Developing team
I'm interested in this program!

Coaches

Email coach

Wendy Espejel

Wendy brings a great deal of expertise to the Lady Lions. She is currently on staff for the Cal South Olympic Development Program as a scout and goalkeeper coach. She has traveled to two ODP National Championships and one Regional Tournament as an assistant coach. She also recently completed her first year as both the men’s and women’s soccer assistant coach at Providence Christian College, where she played a vital role in the Sea Beggars growth and development during their inaugural season. Previously, she spent two seasons as assistant coach at Point University (West Point, Georgia).


She was also formerly a goal keeper for the U-20 Mexican National Team as well as the Mexican University Olympic Team where she competed in various international tournaments.


Wendy graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a double major in Exercise Science and Spanish. She also spent time studying Spanish Literature in Costa Rica. While at ONU, she helped the Lady Tigers get to the NAIA National Championship final for the first time in program history. She was a three time All-American, and still holds the record for a perfect league season in goal (no goals scored against her during league).


She currently holds her USSF “B” National License.

show more
Email coach

Liam Delury

Liam Delury is entering his first year with Soka University as the Women's Soccer Program's Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.


Prior to joining Soka, Delury spent one year as a volunteer assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University and was then elevated to 2nd Assistant at LMU during the 2021 season. Liam also coached at Marymount California for the men's soccer program.


Liam has coached club soccer in the South Bay for the past ten years since moving from Glasgow, Scotland. He has held positions including Assistant Director of Coaching and Program Director.


Additionally, Delury recently completed the MBP Scouting and Analysis Specialist course. He currently coaches at Beach FC, where he won a National Championship in 2022 within ECRL, and is now coaching 2005/06 ECNL.

show more
Email coach

Shawn Beyer

Shawn Beyer joins Soka University as the men's assistant soccer coach in 2019. As a player he was an All-American at Johnson County Community College where he was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame. He then became an All-American at the University of Evansville where he led the team in scoring, and was voted the team's Most Valuable Player. After graduating with a degree in History, he was drafted by the Kansas City Attack of the NPSL (National Professional Soccer League) and was voted the team's Newcomer of the Year. After two seasons with the Attack, he moved to the Philadelphia Kixx where (at the time) he set a record of six goals in a single game. Beyer finished his playing career with the San Diego Sockers and played in the WISL (World Indoor Soccer League) finals falling short to the Dallas Sidekicks. Regarding his youth and professional playing career Beyer says "All my time as a player has been a massive blessing that I will always look back on with great memories and I am very grateful for all the lessons learned and friendships made."


After retiring, Beyer still had a passion for the game and remained involved through coaching. He worked in high school and club soccer while also pursuing his coaching licenses. He holds his "A" License from the US Soccer Federation and the National Diploma from the United Soccer Coaches Association. He has also had the opportunity to coach and study in Spain multiple times, and received the "Iniesta Methodology Credential" from Barcelona.


Currently, Beyer is also a Talent Scout Coach with the US Soccer Federation helping identify players for the US Youth National Teams. He recently received his Talent Scout License from the US Soccer Federation as he worked with the pilot course for the newly launched Talent Scout License. He is also an author for the online soccer publication soccernation.com.


Shawn lives in Encinitas with his wife Carissa and two children, Hana and Owen.

show more
Email coach

Alex Zotinca

Alex Zotinca was born in Sibiu, which is in the Transylvania region of Romania. Zotinca began his professional soccer career when he was 17 years old.


In 1998 he joined the First Division Romanian powerhouse club, Steaua Bucharest. To this day, playing for Steaua Bucharest was one of the proudest moments of his career. In 2000, Zotinca moved to the United States and played for the MISL's team, the Kansas City Comets from 2000-2003. He then became the first Romanian to play in the MLS when he joined the Kansas City Wizards. He played for them from 2003-2007, and then joined Chivas USA in Los Angeles, CA, where he played for three more seasons.


After a 16-year career and having played over 300 professional games, Zotinca retired at the end of the 2010 season. Upon his retirement, he spent the next several years coaching youth, collegiate, and elite academy players within various clubs, schools, and organizations.


In addition to his many years of coaching, Zotinca also worked for the US Soccer Federation for eight years as a Youth National Scout, Technical Advisor, and Talent ID Manager for the West region, where he led a team that scouted and recommended players for USSF Youth National Teams.


Most recently, he worked in the Scouting Department for the LA Galaxy as Manager of Domestic Scouting, where his primary focus was to identify, monitor, recruit, and sign high-potential players for the LA Galaxy Academy.


Zotinca received a Bachelor's Diploma in Sport Education in Romania. In the US, he continued his education first at Irvine Valley College and then California State University, Fullerton, majoring in Kinesiology.


Additionally, Zotinca holds a USSF A-Youth Coaching license, a USSF Academy Director license, and a USSF Talent ID license.

show more

College Bound Athletes

Showcase Tips

Are you ready for your next college showcase?
This site helped me establish communications with several colleges. The ability to contact colleges that interested me and research information about them was very helpful.
- Dylan MorenoWhat are others saying?