Felipe Restrepo is in his second year as men’s head soccer coach. To say he breathed new life into the program is certainly an understatement, as Restrepo guided the Wildcats to seven straight wins to open the 2008 season and an eventual 13-5-1 record, a six game turnaround from the year before and the most wins by a Chico State men’s soccer squad since 2003.
Under Restrepo’s guidance, the ’Cats finished second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s (CCAA) North Division (posting a win and tie in two meetings with eventual NCAA Division II champion Cal State Dominguez Hills) and ranked fifth in the NCAA West Region poll. Chico State senior forward Zac Crim was an All-CCAA and All-West Region first team selection, and a Honorable Mention All-American; junior midfielder Kyle Crain earned first team All-CCAA and second team All-West Region honors; while senior defender Byron Salata and junior forward Evan Armstrong garnered second team All-CCAA selections. For his impressive first year efforts, Restrepo was named the CCAA’s 2008 Coach of the Year.
Restrepo is the seventh men’s soccer coach in Chico State history and just the third since 1976. Prior to taking over the Wildcat program, Restrepo spent seven seasons as the head assistant coach at UC Davis under Chico State alumnus Dwayne Shaffer. Restrepo, whose primary duties with UC Davis were training, team management, and recruiting, helped lead the Aggies to a 70-49-15 record during that time in which the school was making the challenging transition to Division I status. The Aggies went 12-5-3 in 2007 and earned an NCAA Championship Tournament berth in their first season as a Division I postseason-eligible program. In the process, they ranked among the nation’s top 10 in scoring. During his tenure, Restrepo was part of several of Davis’ top recruiting classes, including All-Americans Quincy Amirakwa (the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and the San Jose Earthquakes’ third round pick in the ’09 Major League Soccer Super Draft) and Dylan Curtis (2008’s Big West Conference Midfielder of the Year and a first team finalist for the nationwide Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award).
Restrepo’s first two seasons at UC Davis were the school’s final two as a member of Chico State’s current conference, the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Over those two seasons, Restrepo helped lead the Aggies to a 26-12-2 record, including 18-9-1 in the CCAA, and a pair of top-five regional rankings. As a Division I school, the Aggies boasted wins over California, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, San Diego State, and Cal State Northridge, among others.
Before arriving at UC Davis, Restrepo spent three years as an assistant coach at CSU Monterey Bay while completing his master's degree in education. While at CSUMB, Restrepo helped develop a brand-new program. During his tenure, the Otters made two conference tournament appearances and earned a berth in the conference title game.
Restrepo was the head coach of the York High School varsity boys’ soccer team from 1998-2000 and earned Mountain Trail Athletic League Coach of the Year honors in 2000. He also served as the head coach of a number of club teams in Davis and led the under-17 Davis Legacy Gunners boys’ team to the state final in 2007. He holds a United States Soccer Federation national "A" coaching license.
As a player, Restrepo was a four-year letterwinner at UC Davis from his midfielder position. He started 52 of his final 55 games and during his junior year was a second-team All-Northern California Athletic Conference selection. Restrepo has also been a member of the state and regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) teams, and in 1999, he attended the U.S. Soccer Festival with the U-23 Region IV ODP team.
Restrepo and his wife, Mandi, have a son, Diego, and a daughter, Eliana.
Donny Ribaudo enters his fourth year as the Wildcats assistant coach.
Ribaudo played at Chico State from 2000-01, netting four goals and four assists. He was an All-Conference selection, and received the Patty O’Malley award in his senior year. Ribaudo then played professionally for the California Gold of the USL D3 Pro League in the Western Conference. In 2004, he helped lead the Chico Rooks to a national championship. Ribaudo was also a member of the National Premier Soccer League and played for the Sacramento Knights during 2007 season.
Ribaudo earned his Advanced National Diploma from the NSCAA in January 2008. He is also coaching at the youth level for Chico’s Butte United Soccer Club. Ribaudo has been a staff coach for the Cavitt Soccer Academy Camps since 2001.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Chico in 2003, Ribaudo completed a master's degree in Kinesiology in May 2008.
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Robert Handy
Assistant Coach
530-898-6810
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