Sara Yunez was hired as an assistant coach with the Eastern Kentucky University soccer program in January of 2021.
In her first season with the program, Yunez helped oversee great improvement, especially on the attacking end.
After averaging 0.67 goals-per-game in 2019, EKU averaged 1.4 goals-per-game in 2020.
After going 1-7-1 at home in 2019, Eastern went 3-1-0 at home in 2020, including shutout wins over rival Morehead State and Belmont and a Senior Day victory over then-unbeaten Southeast Missouri.
Katie Shaffer (first team All-OVC) and Michaela Iacono (second team All-OVC) earned all-conference honors during Yunez's first season with the program.
Yunez came to EKU following one season as an assistant coach at Houghton College, a Division-III school in western New York.
Prior to joining the Houghton staff, she spent the spring of 2019 as an assistant at Covenant College in north Georgia.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have someone like Sara join our soccer family,” head coach Matt Cosinuke said upon her hire. “More important than being a decorated player and great coach, Sara is an exceptional person with extremely high character and integrity. Her future as a coach is very bright.”
Yunez put together an impressive playing career at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, one of the top Division-III women’s soccer programs in the country.
As a senior in 2018, she was voted first team All-America after logging more than 1,400 minutes, and making 25 saves while surrendering only five goals. The native of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania held a 17-1-2 record while completing seven shutouts and posting a 0.833 save percentage. Yunez was the first All-America goalkeeper in Messiah history.
For her career, Yunez played in 60 games, stopping 90 shots while allowing only 14 goals. She recorded 26 shutouts and recorded a 36-4-4 record in the net. She was a two-time first team All-MAC selection.
A medical redshirt allowed Yunez to spend five years with the Messiah women’s soccer program. During that time, her teams finished with an impressive 106-6-12 record, which included finishes in the national Sweet 16 (2018), Elite Eight (2014 & 2017), Final Four (2015) and a national runner-up finish in 2016.
Yunez graduated from Messiah with a nursing degree in May of 2018. She is currently working on an MBA from Messiah.
A New York State Registered Nurse, Yunez also worked as a Resident Care Coordinator/RN Nursing Supervisor when not coaching at Houghton.
