Washington native Andrew Croft joined the Southern Oregon University men’s soccer program in the spring of 2016 as Biniam Afenegus’s top assistant.
Croft was the head men’s soccer coach at Bellevue College in 2013 and ’14. In 2015 he traveled to Shanghai, China and worked on a project with RSports and Nike in an effort to bring soccer into grade schools.
He also started PlayUp, a non-profit organization, in 2012 and travelled to Namuwongo, Kampala, Uganda to run a week-long soccer and empowerment camp for over 200 kids. Croft has worked at the youth level with Washington State ODP, Seattle Sounders camps, Seattle United and FC Alliance.
Croft played professional indoor soccer from 2012 to ’15, serving as the starting goalkeeper for the Tacoma Stars/Galaxy in the Premier Arena Soccer League. He led Tacoma to a Northwest Division title and a berth in the PASL-Premier Ron Newman Cup Championships in Chicago, Ill., with a 3.5 goals-against average (the next closest was 5.7) and the third-best save percentage in the league. He also played for the Sacramento Surge in the MASL.
A 2005 graduate of Inglemoor High in Kenmore, Wash., where he was an All-State goalkeeper and a first-team All-King County selection, Croft went on to attend Pacific Lutheran University and play for coach John Yorke. He helped the Lutes to consecutive 12-win seasons as a freshman and sophomore and received his B.A. in 2009.
After earning his degree he spent two years directing camps for the Seattle Sounders and was also a Community Partnership and Events Manager at the Starfire Soccer Complex.