Alexis Mata Named Interim Head Women's Soccer Coach
7/2/2026 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Director of Athletics Brent Blaylock announced today that assistant coach Alexis Mata has been elevated to interim head women's soccer coach for the 2026 season.
"We are excited to have Alexis Mata lead our women's soccer program," said Blaylock.
"Her genuine passion for the University of San Francisco, strong commitment to the holistic development of our student-athletes, and tireless dedication to competitive success make her an exceptional fit for the program. We look forward to the positive impact she will have on our program and our USF community."
Coming to the Hilltop in spring 2024, Mata served as an assistant coach under Pinder Nijjar for the past two seasons. She joined the Dons after serving as a volunteer assistant at the University of Oregon in 2023. While in Eugene, Mata coached at the club level locally. She holds a United States Soccer National C License, an advanced soccer coaching certification focused on U-13 to U-19 age groups.
"I've been part of this program as an assistant coach, and I know firsthand what these student-athletes are capable of," said Mata.
"I'm deeply invested in helping each of them grow as players and as people. I'm honored to step into this role to continue supporting their development and driving this program forward. This team has my full commitment, on and off the field."
During her first two seasons at USF, the Dons have yielded notable success, including five All-West Coast Conference (WCC) selections: Lindsey Chau (2024 - Honorable Mention, 2025 - Second Team), Tyra Bengtsson-Stenseth (2025- All-Freshman), Alicia Osegueda (2025 - All-Freshman), and Kaitlyn Sasadeusz (2025 - Honorable Mention). As a team, San Francisco recorded a notable victory with a 2-0 shutout of No. 18 Texas Tech at home on Aug. 24, 2025.
Primarily responsible for working with USF's goalkeepers, Mata helped Bengtsson-Stenseth shine in her debut season on the Hilltop as she showed her promise as one of the best backstops in the conference. The freshman started in the cage in all 18 matches for San Francisco, playing all 90 minutes in each match this season. She was one of only two Dons to play every minute this season, alongside defender Danica Lunceford. Overall, Bengtsson-Stenseth finished with 69 saves, five shutouts, and a 0.697 save percentage. She would go on to finish fourth in the WCC in saves and fourth in shutouts.
Academically, Gabby Rizzo (2024) and Natalie Drotzmann (2025) both earned spots on the WCC Women's Soccer All-Academic Team, with San Francisco also earning 10 academic honorable mentions each year. As a team, the Dons maintained a 3.74 cumulative GPA in 2024 and a 3.67 cumulative GPA in 2025.
In her playing career, Mata was a goalkeeper at the University of Hawai'i, as she was named Big West Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019 in addition to earning All-Big West honors her final two years (2018/Honorable Mention and 2019/First Team). Wrapping up her career, she was also selected to the 2019 United Coaches All-West First Team. She was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week four times. Academically, she was named to the Big West Academic All-Conference Team twice (2018 and 2019).
Following her collegiate career, Mata went overseas to pursue a professional career. Beginning at the amateur level, she started her journey in Valencia, Spain, and worked her way up to Segunda RFEF (second division in the Spanish league) playing for Levante Las Planas in Barcelona in 2022.
San Francisco's full schedule is slated to be announced next week. Tickets for upcoming games will also be available in the coming days.
For updates and more information on the University of San Francisco women's soccer program, be sure to follow the Dons at @USFDonsWSoccer on X, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram, and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.
"We are excited to have Alexis Mata lead our women's soccer program," said Blaylock.
"Her genuine passion for the University of San Francisco, strong commitment to the holistic development of our student-athletes, and tireless dedication to competitive success make her an exceptional fit for the program. We look forward to the positive impact she will have on our program and our USF community."
Coming to the Hilltop in spring 2024, Mata served as an assistant coach under Pinder Nijjar for the past two seasons. She joined the Dons after serving as a volunteer assistant at the University of Oregon in 2023. While in Eugene, Mata coached at the club level locally. She holds a United States Soccer National C License, an advanced soccer coaching certification focused on U-13 to U-19 age groups.
"I've been part of this program as an assistant coach, and I know firsthand what these student-athletes are capable of," said Mata.
"I'm deeply invested in helping each of them grow as players and as people. I'm honored to step into this role to continue supporting their development and driving this program forward. This team has my full commitment, on and off the field."
During her first two seasons at USF, the Dons have yielded notable success, including five All-West Coast Conference (WCC) selections: Lindsey Chau (2024 - Honorable Mention, 2025 - Second Team), Tyra Bengtsson-Stenseth (2025- All-Freshman), Alicia Osegueda (2025 - All-Freshman), and Kaitlyn Sasadeusz (2025 - Honorable Mention). As a team, San Francisco recorded a notable victory with a 2-0 shutout of No. 18 Texas Tech at home on Aug. 24, 2025.
Primarily responsible for working with USF's goalkeepers, Mata helped Bengtsson-Stenseth shine in her debut season on the Hilltop as she showed her promise as one of the best backstops in the conference. The freshman started in the cage in all 18 matches for San Francisco, playing all 90 minutes in each match this season. She was one of only two Dons to play every minute this season, alongside defender Danica Lunceford. Overall, Bengtsson-Stenseth finished with 69 saves, five shutouts, and a 0.697 save percentage. She would go on to finish fourth in the WCC in saves and fourth in shutouts.
Academically, Gabby Rizzo (2024) and Natalie Drotzmann (2025) both earned spots on the WCC Women's Soccer All-Academic Team, with San Francisco also earning 10 academic honorable mentions each year. As a team, the Dons maintained a 3.74 cumulative GPA in 2024 and a 3.67 cumulative GPA in 2025.
In her playing career, Mata was a goalkeeper at the University of Hawai'i, as she was named Big West Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019 in addition to earning All-Big West honors her final two years (2018/Honorable Mention and 2019/First Team). Wrapping up her career, she was also selected to the 2019 United Coaches All-West First Team. She was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week four times. Academically, she was named to the Big West Academic All-Conference Team twice (2018 and 2019).
Following her collegiate career, Mata went overseas to pursue a professional career. Beginning at the amateur level, she started her journey in Valencia, Spain, and worked her way up to Segunda RFEF (second division in the Spanish league) playing for Levante Las Planas in Barcelona in 2022.
San Francisco's full schedule is slated to be announced next week. Tickets for upcoming games will also be available in the coming days.
For updates and more information on the University of San Francisco women's soccer program, be sure to follow the Dons at @USFDonsWSoccer on X, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram, and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.
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/ Women's SoccerWednesday, September 14
Wednesday, September 14
Wednesday, September 14
Wednesday, September 14
