Anna Boserup Rush Zado '57, M '76, SUNY Cortland's women's soccer head coach from 1978-80 and physical education instructor at Cortland for nearly 30 years, passed away on Dec. 26, 2022, at age 87. 
 
As an undergraduate student at Cortland in the mid-1950s she participated in numerous intramural and club athletic programs that were available to women at the time. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in physical education, she taught elementary physical education at Cherry Road School in Westvale, N.Y., then worked as an adult fitness coordinator at the Utica YWCA. She served as a physical education instructor at Cortland from 1965-66 and 1967-69, then taught at the College's Campus School from 1970-72 before returning to the Physical Education Department in 1973. She earned a master's degree in education from Cortland in 1976 and continued serving as an instructor until retiring as Lecturer of Physical Education Emerita in 1995. 
 
As Anna Rush, she was named Cortland's first varsity women's soccer head coach in 1978. In her three seasons at the helm, she led the Red Dragons to a combined 38-4-1 record. In her inaugural season, Cortland finished 11-0 and outscored opponents by an astounding 132-2 margin. In 1979, the Red Dragons posted a 12-1-1 record and tied for the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) title after playing to a 1-1 tie versus Harvard in the championship game. 
 
In 1980, Cortland won its final 12 games to finish 15-3 and the Red Dragons won the first-ever U.S. National Women's Soccer Championship. Seeded eighth in the EAIAW tournament, the Red Dragons defeated top-seeded Princeton, 2-0, followed by a 2-1 win over Harvard and a 5-2 victory versus Connecticut. Cortland then traveled to the national championship tournament in Colorado Springs and blanked Colorado State and Harvard, each by 3-0 decisions, to earn a spot in the title game. Cortland finished its national title run with a 5-1 victory over UCLA. A documentary and other info on the memorable 1980 season can be viewed at cortlandtocolorado.com. 
 
Rush Zado was inducted into the Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame in Oct. 1981. She was born in Mineola, N.Y. in May, 1935, and lived on Long Island, a short time in Denmark, and in Vernon Center in Upstate New York prior to her arrival at Cortland. She relocated to Florida in 1997 and was residing in Nokomis, Fla., at the time of her passing. Her first husband, James Rush, passed away in 1993 and her second husband, Richard Zado, passed away in 2004.

Rush Zado's Obituary

Rush Zado's C-Club Hall of Fame Bio (at time of her induction)