LEXINGTON, Ky. — Now entering his third season in Lexington (2017) as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator, Jason Goodson has set a new recruiting standard for Kentucky women’s soccer in just two short years with the program.
He helped recruit the No. 8 overall-ranked class in the nation to Lexington in 2016, including forward/midfielder Marissa Bosco and forward Foster Ignoffo, both from the upper midwest. The Class of 2016 also included Gina Crosetti (Oakland, Calif.) and LaMaya Williams, both late commits to Goodson, from the west coast to put UK into the top-10 nationally in recruiting.
Goodson came to Kentucky from Ohio State, where he also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Buckeyes, helping to lead OSU to two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including an appearance in the 2013 Lexington Regional, which Kentucky won 3-1.
The San Jose, Calif., and Hawai’i native came to Columbus after a four year stint with the Washington State Cougars under head coach Matt Potter. Goodson was the recruiting coordinator for the Cougars, helping lead WSU to four-straight NCAA Tournament berths in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, with the 2011 season resulting in a third place PAC-12 finish and an appearance in the 2011 Lexington Regional, in which Washington State advanced on a penalty shootout. During Goodson’s time at Wazzu, the Cougars placed four student-athletes on the PAC-12 All-Freshman Team and led the PAC-12 in Academic All-Conference members.
Goodson had a long and successful career playing professional soccer, where he spent two years playing for the San Jose Hawks/San Francisco Bay Blackhawks club of the American Professional Soccer League and the United States Professional Indoor Soccer League. Additionally, Goodson played two indoor years for the San Jose Grizzlies of the CISL and spent time with the Hawai’i Tsunami.
His coaching career started in 1996 with the Leahi (Hawai’i) Soccer Club in February of 1996, while he also became involved with the Kamehameha School District in Honolulu. He became the director of coaching at Ho’okalakupua Futbol Academy in Hawaii in August of 1996, where he stayed in that position until June of 2005.
Goodson was also heavily involved in the ODP Region IV staff. His tenure included a stint as a head coach, until joining the coaching staff at Washington State. He was also the head coach and youth division technical director for the Sereno Soccer Club (Phoenix, Ariz.) from June, 2005 until March, 2008.
He has coached or directed 27 State Cup championship teams, as well as teams that have won some of the top tournaments nationally, including Surf Cup, the Las Vegas College Showcase and the Disney College Showcase. In addition, he has been involved with the USWNT U15 team and an invited guest speaker and clinician on a number of occasions with the Japanese Football Association (JFA).
He is a member of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and holds an `A’ license from the organization. He is also a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and earned a `premier’ diploma from the NSCAA.
Goodson is married to the former Emma Borst, who was a player on the 2001 Santa Clara women’s NCAA Championship soccer team. They have two sons.