Midfielder
USF Career Years: 1964-1967
Birthdate: 1944
Hometown: San Francisco
High School: Lincoln High School
Luis “Lou” Sagastume was born in 1944, in Guatamala, but grew up in San Francisco, and attended Lincoln High School. Negoesco repeatedly tried to recruit him for one of his youth teams, but he declined due to a back injury. “I thought maybe I can get this man off my back if I just played once,” said Sagastume, who agreed and recalls scoring the winning goal in the match at Balboa Park. He was hooked. “I had the feeling of victory again in my heart,” he said (WCC Sports).
After playing for Lincoln High School, Sagastume accepted a partial scholarship from Negoesco to play at USF. He was required to take night classes because he didn’t meet academic standards to attend school during day sessions. To make ends meet, he sold newspapers on the corner down the street from his house, worked as a busboy, and got a job stocking shelves at a Sears department store (WCC Sports). He played midfield for the USF Men's Soccer Team from 1964 to 1967. In his junior and senior years, Sagastume was team captain and made Second Team All-American in 1966, the same year that the Dons won the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. He graduated in 1968.
In 1964, Sagastume began his coaching career as Head Coach of the Saint Ignatius College Preparatory Boys' Soccer Team. Then in 1967, Sagastume moved to the USF Junior Varsity Soccer Team as Head Coach, and finished the next two seasons with a 30-2 record. In 1968, Sagastume was signed to the Oakland Clippers of the North American Soccer League, but did not play any First Team games with them. In 1974, he moved to Cal State Chico as an Assistant Coach for four seasons, before becoming a Player-Coach with the San Antonio Thunder of the NASL.
In 1977, he returned in to Saint Ignatius College Preparatory to coach two more seasons, but was hired in 1978 as Head Coach for the Men's Soccer Team at San Francisco State, and had a 22-8 record the next two seasons. In 1980, Sagastume became the Head Coach of the United States Air Force Academy Men's Soccer Team, and had a 303–196–43 record with the Falcons before retiring on April 10, 2007. Later that year, he became the Head Coach of Saint Mary’s High School Soccer Team. He credits Negoesco as the inspiration for his career path. “I owe everything to him, practically,” he said. “The way he pursued me, the way he got me to USF, the way he helped me. He was a big mentor (WCC Sports).”
He was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1976, and into the San Francisco State Hall of Fame. He received the United Soccer Coaches Latino Award of Excellence in 2020.
