Assistant Coach Zlatan Sahmanovic enters his eighth season as an assistant coach for the Cal State East Bay women’s soccer team in 2017. Sahmanovic was a student-athlete in the CCAA, playing center back for four years for Humboldt State. He currently competes for the Sonoma Sol of the National Premier Soccer League.
The Pioneers have posted at least six wins in three straight years during Sahmanovic's tenure at CSUEB. In his first season as an assistant coach for both the men and women’s teams in 2010, he helped both teams at least double their win totals from the previous season. As Gerace’s top assistant on the women’s side, Sahmanovic helped the team improve three spots in the CCAA standings, recording four victories and three draws during league play. The Pioneers finished ninth in the CCAA, posting a win over North Division leader Cal State Stanislaus and back-to-back victories against Humboldt State and Sonoma State. The team demonstrated its poise under pressure during the campaign, playing in six overtime games without a loss to finish the season 3-0-3 in extra time. The Pioneers also posted five shutouts on the year and started the season with a three-game undefeated streak.
As a player for the Jacks from 2005-09, Sahmanovic was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Freshman of the Year and first-team All-GNAC in 2005 after helping HSU to a third-place showing in conference. As a sophomore, Sahmanovic collected Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Far West Region Second Team honors. A two-year captain as a junior and senior, Sahmanovic helped the Jacks finish fourth in the North Division of the CCAA in 2009.
Sahmanovic previously coached the Mad River United U12 boys’ team in Arcata and currently trains goalkeepers with Ballistic United in Pleasanton.
A 2010 graduate of Humboldt State, Sahmanovic earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in criminal justice.
As a prep student-athlete, Sahmanovic was a three-time all-league selection at Prospect High School in San Jose and an All-Metro selection as a senior at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks.
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1987, Sahmanovic lived in Croatia and Germany before coming to the United States with his family in 1996.
