While working as an assistant for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Zavala helped lead the Panthers to 14 wins. In the 2023 season she helped lead the Panthers to the best defensive season in school history, only allowing 12 goals all season long. The Panthers also finished with 11 shutouts and finished 23rd in the country with a .550 shutout percentage. The Panthers finished both the 2023 and 2024 seasons with a winning record in Sun Belt play and qualified for the Sun Belt conference tournament in both seasons.
In Zavala's first season, the Panthers finished with a 9-7-5 record and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Semifinals. Senior defender Eva Diez Lois ended the season with All-Sun Belt Second-Team honors, and junior goalkeeper Jaddah Foos earned All-Tournament Team honors after recording a tournament-best 16 total saves.Â
A former forward and midfielder who competed for the Panthers' women's soccer team for four seasons,Â
Brisa Zavala joined the Georgia State women's soccer coaching staff in August 2022. Zavala enters her coaching tenure at GSU , serving as an assistant for the team for the fall 2022 season.
Recruited by head coach Ed Joyce for the fall 2018 season, Zavala closed her career as a student-athlete at GSU with a senior outing that saw the Panthers reach the Sun Belt Conference semifinals for the fourth consecutive season in 2021. The senior helped the team chart a 9-4-7 final record for the fall and post a third-straight nine-win season for the first time since 2002.
Zavala completed her bachelor's degree in health and physical education with a concentration in sports coaching at Georgia State in May 2022. The Panthers' assistant received academic merit in every semester while attending GSU and was named to the Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll for 2018-19.
As a freshman in 2018, Zavala compiled nearly 1,000 minutes on the pitch and accounted for two goals for the Panthers. The freshman season saw Zavala finish with 13 total shots and seven shots on goal for a .538 shot on goal percentage.
"We are extremely excited to add Brisa to our staff," Joyce said. "Having the opportunity to bring on not only a quality coach but also a GSU alumnus is special. I can't wait to see what she brings to this program as we near the 2022 season."
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Zavala coached the middle school girls’ soccer team at Pace Academy for two successful seasons (one year as an assistant coach and the other as a head coach) from 2021-2022. She will serve as a club soccer coach for Inter Atlanta beginning fall 2022.
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Zavala is a native of Marietta, Ga.
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