Women’s Soccer Welcomes New Additions to Staff

BILLINGS, Mont. – Montana State Billings head women’s soccer coach, Don Trentham, announced Wednesday that Wojtek Krakowiak (Voy-tek, Kra-ko-vi-ak) has been hired as an assistant coach.

“Wojtek is a great hire for our university, athletic department and especially our women’s soccer program,” Trentham said.  “His experience of being a head coach at the collegiate level, along with the fact he has won a national championship as a collegiate player will certainly benefit our program and players as we continue to move forward in achieving our goal of winning the GNAC.”

Krakowiak, a native of Poland, brings a tremendous amount of experience to the program as a player and a coach. Over the past two years he has been the head coach of the women’s program at Rutgers-Newark where he went 15-20-3, and guided them to their only post-season berth in the brief ten-year history of the program in 2008 when they participated in the ECAC Metro Championship tournament.
Prior to being named head coach for the Scarlet Raiders in November of 2007, Krakowiak was an assistant coach for one year on the men’s side.

As a player, he played at St. John’s University and Clemson University during his collegiate career. He was honored as the Soccer America Freshman of the Year at St. John’s after helping the Red Storm to the 1996 NCAA Championship. At Clemson, Krakowiak was the 1998 Hermann Trophy recipient (equivalent to the Heisman Trophy) and the ACC Player-of-the-Year as he scored 31 goals and had eight assists leading Clemson to the NCAA quarterfinals.

After his collegiate career he was drafted 15th overall in the 1999 MLS College Draft by San Jose Clash. In the 2000 MLS season he played 24 games and scored five goals for San Jose. In 2001 he was picked up by the Tampa Bay Mutiny, but injuries cut short his time there and his professional playing career came to an end.

Krakowiak, earned his bachelor’s of science degree in sports management from St. John’s University, and he holds several USSF and NSCAA licenses. Furthermore, he is fluent in both Polish and Russian.

Last November, former Yellowjacket standout and assistant coach, Ally Stroup resigned to pursue a career in counseling at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls ranch in Billings.

“Ally did so many great things for our program as a player and as a coach, so I was definitely sad to see her go,” Trentham said.  “At the same time I am happy for her, as I know she is having success and enjoying her new career.”

In addition, Trentham also announced two additional assistant coaches in former Yellowjacket standout, Sara Gress and former University of Montana standout and Billings native, Sara Campbell.

Gress, a native of Boise, Idaho, returns to her alma mater after serving as co-captain during the summer of 2009 for Boise Blitz FC, a member of the Women’s Premiere Soccer League.  As a Yellowjacket, Gress was a four year starter at defense and a two-time captain. She was named to the Heartland Conference Honor Roll her freshman and sophomore years.  She was part of the 2006 team that was at one point ranked first in the Midwest Region in both the NCAA and NSCAA/adidas regional rankings and was also ranked nationally as high as eighth in the NSCAA/adidas national ranking.

Gress was named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Honorable Mention Team, GNAC Academic All-Conference Team, and the NSCAA/adidas Women’s Soccer Scholar All-West Region Honorable Mention Team as a junior. Her senior year she received awards as she was named to the GNAC All-Conference First Team, NSCAA/adidas Division II All-West Region Third Team, GNAC Academic All-Conference Team, NSCAA/adidas Women’s Soccer Scholar and All-West Region First Team.  She was also voted MSUB Women’s Soccer Most Valuable Player by her teammates and was an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. Gress finished her career at MSUB starting 75 of 78 games played, both program records.

Gress holds a USSF “D” coaching license and has coaching experience with a wide variety of ages and skill levels. She began coaching in 2007 as an assistant coach for the Magic City Soccer Club U-14 girls, winning a state title. She has also been a staff coach at Yellowjacket soccer camps, as well as lead soccer staff for the Billings Family YMCA youth indoor soccer league and the Treasure Valley YMCA summer soccer camps.

She graduated magna cum laude in 2009 with a bachelor of arts in environmental studies accompanied by minor in geography.

“Gress meant so much to this program as a student-athlete,” Trentham said.  “She was certainly one of the top players to have ever played here, and I believe she has a lot to offer in terms of knowledge and experience to our team.”

Campbell returns to Billings after playing for the University of Montana Grizzlies from 2005-2008.  As a four year starter for the Grizzlies, Campbell was selected 2006 Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention, 2007 Big Sky Conference Second Team and 2008 Big Sky Conference First Team. In 2007, she was voted Offensive Player of the Year by her team and in 2008, as a senior, Campbell was awarded Most Valuable Player.  During her senior season, Campbell helped the Grizzlies reach the Big Sky Conference Tournament. She also showed success in her academics by being recognized as an Academic All-Conference player from 2005-2008. 

“I am excited to have Sara Campbell become part of the staff,” Trentham said.  “The fact that she is still competing at the professional level, coupled with the coaching experience she gained while at the University of Montana will certainly be a great asset to our players and program.”

Campbell spent the summers of 2007 and 2008 as a member of W-league team Colorado Force.  In 2008, the Force reached the W-league playoffs only to be defeated by league champion Palisades Blues.  Campbell’s success in the W-league earned her a try-out for the Women’s Professional Soccer league in the fall of 2008.  The try-out helped boost her career even further, placing her on the Chicago Red Eleven squad for summer of 2010. 

Campbell currently holds a USSF “D” license.  Over the past eight years Campbell has gained a plethora of coaching experience as she has been very active in soccer camps, club and individual training for several different colleges and organizations throughout Montana and Colorado.    Furthermore, Campbell gained one year of NCAA Division I coaching experience at the University of Montana where she served as an assistant coach spring 2008 through fall 2009.

Campbell is a December 2009 graduate of the University of Montana where she earned a bachelor of arts in education with an emphasis in health and human performance.  She is currently pursuing a master’s of science in sport, recreation and fitness management at MSUB.