Soccer In Arkansas
Arkansas State head women’s coach Tafadzwa Ziyenge has signed five newcomers to the Red Wolves squad for 2013 including Summer Sheppard from Collierville, TN. She was Arkansas State’s first commit for 2013 and is a defender/forward for Briarcrest Christian HS….Lyon College has signed a local goalkeeper for the fall of 2013 in Caitlin Bowe from Little Rock Central HS…..McKinzie James, who played on state championship teams all four years of high school at Rogers (Ark.) HS, is one of 11 members of Coach Colby Hale’s first recruiting class for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Also in the class is Erika Miller, a defensive standout from Knoxville, TN….Jim Cherry, coach at Fayetteville Parks and Rec, was honored at the Arkansas State Soccer Association’s Annual General Meeting with his selection as the 2012 Volunteer of the Year….Kristina Henry, Arkansas’ Bentonville HS Girls Coach, NWA Lightning SC Coach, and ASSA ODP Coach, was honored at the NSCAA Convention in Indianapolis as the Southwest Regional Women’s Coach of the Year for Division I High School Girls.
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. She replaces Lindsay Basalyga who resigned to become the new women’s head coach at Bowling Green….The US Youth Soccer Kentucky Presidents Cup will be played May 17-19 at Woodford County Youth Soccer Complex in Versailles and the second weekend (Semifinals and Finals) will be played at Elizabethtown Sports Park in Elizabethtown June 1-2…..The Kentucky State Youth Open Cup will be played May 25-27 split between Elizabethtown Sports Park in Elizabethtown (Girls) and Lovers Lane Soccer Complex in Bowling Green (Boys) and the finals weekend will be played at Lovers Lane Soccer Complex in Bowling Green June 1-2…..Coming off a season in which Kentucky hosted the first round of the NCAA Tournament, men’s soccer head coach Johan Cedergren has announced the addition of five new members to the 2013 squad. The newcomers are comprised of three Kentuckians – Kaelon Fox (Louisville), Napo Matsoso (Louisville), and Sam Miller (Lexington) – an Ohio native in Alex Bumpus and Wright State transfer Justin Laird…..With the 54th pick in the 2013 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft, the Seattle Sounders selected Lindsey Wilson College’s Lebogang Moloto. He is a four-time NAIA All-American for the Blue Raiders who finished his collegiate career with 42 goals and 20 assists.
Soccer In Louisiana
Delaney Sheehan, a senior midfielder at Mandeville High School (Mandeville, La.) who is headed to Furman in the fall, has been selected as the NSCAA/TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Girls Player of the Week. Sheehan scored her 201st varsity goal in Mandeville’s regional playoff win against Baton Rouge High School. She is the first player in school history to score over 200 varsity goals, finishing her senior season with 56 goals (a new school record for goals scored in a single season) and 33 assists…..Nicola Newton, a senior midfielder at Episcopal HS (Baton Rouge, La.) has also received the NSCAA High School Player of the Week award after scoring five goals in her first two playoff games. Newton, who has committed to Birmingham Southern University, finished the regular season with 36 goals and 19 assists….A USSF national C License Coaching Course will be held in Mandeville, LA, at the Pelican Park Soccer Fields, August 15-18 and August 22-25. Cost for the course, not including room and board which is not provided, is $695 ($95 for audit). Only the first 40 candidates will be accepted. Josh Saboe is the LSA Coaching Course Administrator josh@lsa-soccer.org.
Soccer In Maryland
The USL’s PDL Baltimore Bohemans will played home games in 2013 at Ridley Athletic Complex on the campus of Loyola University in a 6,000 seat stadium. Steve Nichols, a Loyola alum, returns as the Bohemians’ head coach after leading the club to a 5-7-4 record in 2012 as an expansion club…..The University of Maryland Terps are well represented on the U.S. Men’s National Team for World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico. Named to the U.S. squad were Maurice Edu, Omar Gonzales and Graham Zusi. All three former Terps have earned multiple caps with the MNT….Salisbury University has hired Kwame Lloyd as the Sea Gulls new women’s head soccer coach. He is the program’s third head coach. Lloyd, a Maryland native, comes to Salisbury after two years at Wittenberg University where he led the Tigers to a 19-14-4 record. He is a former women’s soccer and lacrosse coach at Christopher Newport University (2001-2008)….The Delaware Youth Soccer Association in conjunction with US Soccer, the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association and Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, will host a national C License Coaching Course in New Castle, Delaware, at the Kirkwood Soccer Club, August 1-4 and August 8-11. This is considered to be a commuter course, but local hotel accommodations are available. Tuition cost for this national course is $750. Registration will close July 1. Questions regarding this course are to be directed to Lew Atkinson at coaching@dysa.org.
Soccer In Mississippi
The Mississippi Brilla of the USL Premier Development League has announced the return of four key players for the 2013 season. Felipe Silva, a native of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, led the team in scoring a year ago. Since then he earned NAIA All-America honors last fall at Hannibal-LaGrnge University after scoring 18 goals with 15 assists. Also back for his sixth season is veteran Phillip Buffington, midfielder Antenneh Lemma and goalkeeper Jake Files, a Clinton, Miss, native who will be a sophomore at Spring Hill College in the fall. Lemma is back for his fifth season. The Brilla also have a new head coach, Drew Courtney…New Mississippi State women’s soccer coach Aaron Gordon has two Mississippi natives in his first recruiting class of six incoming freshmen. Those are Starkville Academy’s Tiffany Huddleston, who plays club soccer for the Chicago Fire Juniors of Mississippi ’95, and her teammate Abby Williams, a midfielder from Tupelo HS…MSU also signed Kayla Puzas from Atlanta, GA and defender Savannah Boswell from Niceville, Florida.
Soccer In West Virginia
Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors’ head coach Scott Reitnour announces that nine players from the club’s 2012 inaugural USL Premier Development League season will be returning as team members in 2013. Among the key players returning are defenders Harry Sherwood and Carter Robbins, along with goalkeeper Erik Mozzo. Other returnees include forward Jorge Martinez, midfielders Stephen Millage, Mark Mitchell and Bennie Bardales, and defenders Byron Ramirez Knowles and Jordan Devlin…..The West Virginia Chaos begins their 11th season of USL Premier Development League play in 2013 after setting a record for wins in a single season by going 8-5-3 in 2012. The Chaos finished third in the division, just missing postseason play….Marshall’s men’s soccer team led the nation in two statistical defensive categories last season. Marshall was ranked #1 nationally in save percentage (0.895) and goalkeeper Daniel Withrow, now with the Columbus Crew, was first in Division I with a save percentage of 0.895.