Rebecca Hornbacher, who was named an assistant soccer coach at Iowa State under Stephanie Gabbert on June 24, has been named the interim head soccer coach while a national search is conducted for a permanent replacement.

Gabbert resigned as head soccer coach last week after two years at the helm.

Hornbacher said she has several positive qualities that can contribute to the success of the soccer program at Iowa State.

“The experience in having been a player and a coach in the Big 12 Conference – I think that experience will be good in bringing this soccer program towards being more competitive in the Big 12,” Hornbacher said. “I think my experience in the Big 12 will help, but also two words: winning attitude.”

Hornbacher’s playing and coaching resum‚ is impressive. She began her coaching career in 1998 as a graduate assistant at Baylor University. She held the interim head coach position for the Bears in the spring of 1999 and was an assistant coach there for the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Last year she held an assistant coach position at the University of Hartford.

The Hawks went 15-6 overall and 10-1 in the America East conference last season.

She also has extensive experience as a player. She served as goalkeeper at the University of Virginia for two years, and then transferred to Nebraska for the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

As a Husker, Hornbacher earned NSCAA All-America and second-team all-Big 12 honors twice. She also set season records in saves and wins.

Since being named an assistant last month, Hornbacher said she hasn’t had the opportunity to meet all of the players.

“I’m in the process of meeting the players,” Hornbacher said. “All of the players have been contacted and they know exactly what’s going on.”

Soccer players will report to campus on Aug. 13, while practice starts up Aug. 15, she said.

“We’re excited about the upcoming season and preseason is only four weeks away,” Hornbacher said.

“All of the girls expressed their enthusiasm for the upcoming season and they’re continuing to prepare for their arrival on August 13th,” she said.

In the meantime, Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde said an open search will be conducted to find a permanent head soccer coach. If the search committee does not find a replacement before the season starts, the search process will resume again next spring.

Hornbacher said she does plan to interview for the permanent position.

Van De Velde said there’s no real deadline to find a permanent replacement. He said it’s more important that the right person is found than to get it done quickly.

“We will fill the position as soon as we find the best candidate for us,” Van De Velde said. “We’re fortunate that we have a person like Rebecca here to fill in. We can utilize her expertise.”