Houston Soccer Head Coach Diego Bocanegra announced the hiring of assistant coach Blair Quinn to the coaching staff for the upcoming 2017 season. Quinn will work with the goalkeepers and field players with a focus on the defensive side of the ball.
Quinn comes to Houston after two seasons at Arizona State, his second stint with the Sun Devils. Prior to joining the Arizona State program, he spent three seasons (2011-13) as the head coach at New Mexico State University.
In his time with the Sun Devils, Blair earned consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2009-10). In both of his stints with ASU (2007-10, 2014-15), Quinn served as the team’s goalkeepers coach. In 2014, he helped the Sun Devil soccer program return to the NCAA Tournament where it advanced to the second round for the first time since 2003. The team’s goals against average of 1.05 was its lowest since 2007.
Under Quinn’s direction, ASU goalkeeper Chandler Morris tied the program’s second-best, single-season total for shutouts in 2014 (7.5) and she would conclude her career as the program’s all-time leader in combined shutouts (25).
Before Quinn’s return to ASU, he served as New Mexico State’s head coach for three seasons (2011-13). Quinn’s accomplishments at NMSU included leading the Aggies to a single-season school record 10 wins in 2011 while also guiding them to their first postseason win in program history. New Mexico State forward Jennae Cambra was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference Second Team in 2013.
Quinn earned a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2005 from Rockhurst University. He also has earned several coaching licenses, including United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National “A” License, United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National Goalkeeping License and the NSCAA National Youth Diploma.