UCLA women’s soccer coach Margueritte Aozasa is departing Westwood to explore other opportunities, the university announced Monday morning.
Aozasa, the former Stanford assistant who led the Bruins over the last four years and won the 2022 national championship, held a 67-13-9 overall record. UCLA announced a national search for the next coach of the Bruins would begin immediately, and would be heralded by executive senior associate athletic director Erin Adkins.
“Leaving a place like UCLA is not easy, and it is especially difficult to say goodbye to the team, support staff and fellow coaches that make up this exceptional Bruin family,” Aozasa said, via release. “These relationships go well beyond the soccer field, and I’m grateful to everyone for making this journey so memorable these last four years. I’ve had the privilege of coaching some of the most incredible women, and I will always be in their corner.”
When UCLA brought Aozasa into Westwood, one of athletic director Martin Jarmond’s first — and most successful — coaching hires, the women’s soccer program was amid a tad of turmoil. Previous coach Amanda Cromwell, who had coached the Bruins for nine seasons up until 2021, left UCLA to coach the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League (a role she would eventually be terminated from after violating the NWSL policies).
Aozasa led UCLA to the national championship victory in 2022 — her first season as coach — and tied a school record for 22 victories, claiming Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023.
In 2024, UCLA won the Big Ten Championship with Aozasa at the helm, but lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Three days ago, the Bruins suffered the same result, falling to BYU on penalty kicks and departing the NCAA tournament field prematurely in her final three seasons in charge of UCLA.
Aozasa coached three players to All-American status — defender Lily Reale, forward Reilyn Turner and goalkeeper Ryan Campbell — and produced 22 professional players over her four seasons at UCLA.
Similar to UCLA gymnastics coach Janelle McDonald (California), Aozasa came from an assistant background based on the West Coast, coaching the Cardinal from 2015 to 2021. The breadth of the UCLA job has expanded beyond the West and into Big Ten territory, but the position should remain sought after by head and assistant coaches alike in the months ahead as the NCAA season wraps up.
“Margueritte was a transformative coach for this program during her time at UCLA,” Jarmond said, via release. “Her on-field success speaks for itself, with a championship title in each of her first three years, but her mentorship and wisdom have been just as impactful for so many of our student-athletes as well. We thank her for everything she has accomplished here and wish her and her family all the best.”
Jarmond’s next hire is another test of his athletic director’s tenure, which has soured within the UCLA fan base over the past six months, which included the firing of UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster three games into the 2025 season.