Soccer In Arkansas
Bentonville High School girls soccer coach Kristina Henry was selected as the Southwest Regional Women’s Coach of the Year for Division I High School Girls. Henry is also a club coach with NWA Lightning SC and a member of the ASSA Olympic Development Program (ODP) coaching staff…..University of Arkansas head coach Colby Hale signed 11 players in his first recruiting class for the Razorbacks, including one player from Arkansas, McKinzie James who played for Rogers HS that won Arkansas state championships four consecutive seasons……Klay Babin, one of Arkansas’ top soccer referees, recently won the 2012 ESPN/Disney Referee of the Year Award, which is an annual award they bestow upon a referee who had a good year at their events…..Arkansas Razorbacks senior soccer forward Allie Chandler has been named to the SEC Community Service Team.
Soccer In Kentucky
Eastern Kentucky University has hired Melissa Barnes, an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington, as its new women’s soccer coach. Barnes takes over the Colonels program after five seasons at UNCW…..The Commonwealth Soccer Club in Lexington has named Matt Wilkerson interim Executive Director of the club. Wilkerson has been part of the club since 2003 and is known to many of the players as simply “Wilco.”….University of Kentucky senior midfielder Cameron Wilder (Kennesaw, GA) was picked in the third round of the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft by FC Dallas. He is the fourth Wildcat player to have been drafted by a MLS team…Alex Carter, a midfielder from Conway, Arkansas, enrolled early at the University of Kentucky and will take part in the Wildcats women’s soccer spring training. Carter played for the Arkansas Rush….Former Western Kentucky goalkeeper Libby Stout (Louisville/DuPont Manual HS) is playing professionally in France for Yzeure Allier Auvergne in Division One Football Feminine League…..Former University of Louisville assistant coach Carmelna Moscato has been allocated to play for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League. Moscato is a Canadian Women’s National Team player.
Soccer In Louisiana
Louisiana State head coach Brian Lee has gone international for his 2013 recruiting class of five outstanding players. All five are international. Forward Summer Clarke, defender Rebecca Pongetti and midfielder Emma Fletcher are all from Canada and midfielder Natalia Gomez-Junco is from Monterrey, Mexico. Defender Megan Lee hails from New Zealand….Nicole Newton, a senior midfielder at Episcopal High School (Baton Rouge, La.) has been selected as the Girls NSCAA High School Player of the Week for February 13. Newton scored five goals in her first two playoff games, leading her team to consecutive 8-0 victories. The three-time All-State midfielder finished the regular season with 36 goals and 19 assists. Newton has committed to play soccer at Birmingham Southern College (Birmingham, Ala.)…..What do all nine McNeese State soccer recruits have in common? They will all be McNeese Cowgirls in the fall and all nine hail from the state of Texas…..University of Louisiana Monroe head coach Roberto Mazza announced a recruiting class of 20 players, including four from Mississippi: D Somer Anderson (Soso), and three Ridgeland HS teammates, F/MF Mary Ashton Lembo, D Rhae’ven Ellis and D Olivia Travis. The Warhawks also signed GK Katherine Werther from Lafayette, LA…..University of Maryland junior Patrick Mullins, the 2012 MAC Hermann Trophy winner and a native of New Orleans, has played soccer the past two summers in the USL’s Premier Development League with the hometown New Orleans Jesters.
Soccer In Maryland
The University of Maryland Terps were the top offensive men’s Division I offensive team in the country, scoring 64 goals while averaging 2.67 goals per game. With a 14-0-1 record to start the 2012 season, Maryland matched its best start since the 1968 season when the Terps were co-national champions…..Former University of Maryland women’s soccer forwards Ashley Grove (Rochester, NY) and Jasyne Spencer (Bay Shore, NY) were selected in the National Women’s Soccer League Supplemental Draft. Spencer was taken by the Boston Breakers in the fourth group and Grove went in the fifth to the Western New York Flash…..For the second consecutive year, UMBC soccer standout Liam Paddock earned the America East Fall 2012 Scholar-Athlete Aard for the sport of men’s soccer. Paddock is a senior from England.
Soccer In Mississippi
David Dixon has resigned as the head coach for the Mississippi Brilla of the USL Premier Development League to accept a position with the USL PRO Charlotte Eagles as an assistant coach. In addition to serving as head coach for Brilla’s PDL team, he also led their youth club Over five years, his teams had a record of 47-18-17 and captured three PDL conference championships. In 2010 he was named a finalist for PDL Coach of the Year….Head Coach Aaron Gordon’s first recruiting class at Mississippi State was six strong and included a pair of Mississippi prep standouts, Tupelo midfielder Abby Phillips and Starkville’s Tiffany Huddleston…..Thomas Velek of Columbus, MS, was named US Youth Soccer National Male Recreation Coach of the Year at the US Youth Soccer Awards Gala in Indianapolis in January. Velek was also Mississippi’s state COY and the Region III Recreation Coach of the Year. Belhaven men’s head coach Brian McMahon has been named NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading his team to the 2012 NAIA national championship and a 19-4-1 record…..Belhaven College added two junior college transfers for the spring semester. Haley Crosby (Hattiesburg) is a midfielder who transfers as a junior from Jones Junior College. Paige Killebrew, also a junior, comes from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Soccer In West Virginia
West Virginia Wesleyan men’s coach Gavin Donaldson has signed three players for the fall of 2013, including MF Adam Fox (Charleston Catholic) and MF Alex White (Hurricane HS). The third is forward Tre’ Taliaferro from Ridgeland, Miss…..Marshall University has broken ground on a new $8 million soccer complex, which will include seating for 1,000, with expansion capability for another 1,000. Another part of the project is a $14 million Indoor Athletics Facility. Eric Ryan Jones, an artist who is a former standout soccer player for the Thundering Herd, has produced 30-40 pictures with a Marshall sports emphasis which will be available by auction to benefit the school’s $20 million Vision Campaign that is funding the athletic development….Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Keane (Mt. Laurel, NJ) was named the Most Valuable Player for the 2012 season for the West Virginia women’s Big 12 champions. She posted a 0.94 ga with eight shutouts. Outside back Bry McCarthy, a senior defender from Ontario was the team’s Most Defensive Player. Forward Kate Schwindel (Livingston, NJ) a sophomore forward, was the Mounties’ Most Offensive Player award winner….The Washington Spirit has selected former West Virginia Mountaineer in the National Women’s Soccer League Supplemental Draft. Megan Mischler has spent two seasons playing in Sweden. With WVU, Mischler helped the Mountaineers to a four-year record of 60-20-15, playing in 83 matches.