EVAN SASSANO

Head Coach

Evan Sassano was hired as the UW-River Falls Men's Soccer inaugural head coach in 2023.

Sassano comes to UW-River Falls after three seasons as the lead assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas. The Tommies, who transitioned from Division III to Division I in 2021, becoming the first ever Division I men's soccer program in Minnesota, closed out its first season at the DI level winning their final three games of the season, and followed up with a pair of shutout wins and two draws against nationally ranked opponents in 2022. Serving as the lead recruiter for the Tommies, Sassano brought in a pair of All-Summit League performers to UST.

Before St. Thomas, Sassano was the head coach at Division II Holy Names University in Oakland, Calif., from 2018-21, leading HNU to the program's most wins in its history during his final season there. Sassano also has previous experience as an assistant coach at both San Francisco State University and his alma mater, University of California at Berkeley. He helped guide San Francisco State to the program's first playoff berth in 39 years, and UC Berkeley to the nation's top-ranking in NCAA Division I and an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight finish.

A California native and 2011 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Sassano was a four-year starting defender for the Golden Bears, contributing to a pair of Pac-12 Conference Championships. After his collegiate career, he played professionally overseas in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as in the United States for the Minnesota Stars of the North American Soccer League.