Category: College Soccer Reporter

Two and half years ago, Tim McClements lost his job as head coach of the Vanderbilt men’s team when the Commodores’ program was disbanded. Now he has landed the job of men’s head coach at one of the highest-profile programs in the country.

Returning one of the most experienced teams in recent history, Saint Louis has been selected to win the 2008 Atlantic 10 men’s championship, ahead of Massachusetts, a 2007 NCAA Tournament semifinalist, and Charlotte.

North Carolina, winner of three straight and 19 of 21 ACC women’s championships, has been selected first in the 2008 ACC poll of the league’s 11 head coaches.

[PRESEASON WOMEN’S POLLS] Defending champions Charlotte (Atlantic-10) and Hawaii (WCC) have been tabbed to repeat as their women’s conference champions, while Marist, last year’s MAAC women’s regular-season champion, has been picked to win the 2008 MAAC title.

California’s Kevin Grimes and UIC’s John Trask, two of the most sought-after men’s head coaches, have both been granted long-term contract extensions.

In her first three seasons as Oregon’s starting goalkeeper, Jessie Chatfield broke just about every school goalkeeping record. She also suffered a broken right hand, broken left arm and two concussions. After suffering a major knee injury on July 2, she announced her retirement.

Marshall has named Kevin Long as interim head coach of the Thundering Herd women’s program following the resignation of Chris Kane, who resigned to accept a position at a private academy in Georgia. For all the coaching moves …

Dr. I.M. Ibrahim, one of the pioneering figures during the growth of college soccer in the 1970s and 1980s, died of a heart attack while playing golf Sunday in Seneca, S.C.

There is the myth that women’s college soccer is rolling in dough. Indeed, the money available for Division I women’s programs (14 scholarships) far exceeds what is now permissible for men’s programs (9.9 scholarships). But there are many more than 14 players on Division I women’s teams, so players must share the aid, and money issues can get touchy …

Notre Dame women’s coach Randy Waldrum is coaching the Trinidad and Tobago U-17 women’s team that is hosting the Concacaf U-17 qualifying tournament that begins Friday.

Coaching changes at women’s programs have outnumbered those at men’s programs by more than 5-1. For all the NCAA Division I moves …

Surprise NCAA Division I semifinalist Massachusetts landed four players, including 2007 Soccer America Men’s MVP goalie Zach Simmons, on the 2008 Atlantic-10 men’s preseason all-conference team.

UMKC has received a gift of $5 million — the largest single commitment ever to UMKC athletics — for the construction of a new soccer stadium in the heart of UMKC’s Volker campus.

[MEN’S RECRUITS] SMU’s Schellas Hyndman has again tapped a Brazil pipeline to sign highly regarded recruits Arthur Ivo and Diogo de Almeida. The same pipeline from Brazil through the Oakridge School in Arlington and the Dallas Texans previously sent All-American Bruno Guarda and Paulo Da Silva, rising seniors, to SMU.

In his third season as the University of Akron head men’s coach, Caleb Porter has snared one of the Zips’ best recruiting classes in their history with the signing of eight players, headed by defender Kofi Sarkodie, who played for the USA at the 2007 Under-17 World Cup in South Korea.

St. John’s has announced the signing of one of the Red Storm’s most intriguing freshman classes in recent history. Dave Masur, who has recruited heavily overseas, has tapped into the youth ranks of MLS clubs New York and D.C. United and Miami’s Kendall Soccer Coalition. The Red Storm’s recruits are led by Costa Rican-born Walter Hines, who is considered one of the best players in the class of 2008.

[WOMEN’S RECRUITS] North Carolina’s Anson Dorrance has assembled arguably the deepest women’s recruiting class in the country with the signing of four incoming freshmen ranked among the top 20 players in the country and the nation’s top JC player — all forwards.

ETSU men’s coach Scott Calabrese announced the signing of 18 players — including NSCAA All-Americans Sean Hoek (Castle High School, Ind.) and Tom Webster (Bearden High School, Tenn.) — who form the team’s inaugural signing class, the largest non-football signing class in ETSU history.

Loyola (Md.) has named former Duke All-American Katherine Remy Vettori as its new women’s head coach, while former Portland star Linus Rhode has been named Oregon State women’s coach after eight years as as assistant and associate coach at OSU. Lindsey Horner was promoted from assistant coach to head coach at Drake. For all the coaching moves …

Soccer players and their families spend thousands of dollars each year on youth soccer in pursuit of athletic scholarships, but just what are the odds of landing a soccer scholarship? According to NCAA figures released recently by The New York Times, there is 1.4 women’s scholarships for every 100 high school players and half that — 0.7 scholarships for every 100 high school players — on the men’s side. The chase of athletic scholarships can come to preoccupy the families of aspiring stars, but the opportunities are often “overexaggerated,” according to the NCAA President Miles Brand.

Englishman Phil Wheddon, the goalkeeper coach for the United States women’s national team, is Syracuse University’s new women’s soccer coach and will take over full-time after the 2008 Beijing Olympics (if the USA reaches the finals).

Former U.S. World Cup player Brian Maisonneuve is leaving the U.S. U-17 residency program, where he has worked since 2005, to become an assistant on the University of Louisville’s men’s staff headed by Ken Lolla.

[RECRUITING] Portland remains one of the premier destinations for top women’s recruits, as evidenced by the Pilots’ 2008 signees, headed by U.S. national youth team players Danielle Foxhoven (Colorado Rush), Michelle Olivier (Concorde Fire) and Charney Burk (Slammers FC).

A total of 43 women’s jobs have opened up during the offseason. For all the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s coaching moves …

[RECRUITING] Coming off a 7-8-5 season, the University of North Carolina men’s team was in need of a big recruiting class and got it with the signing of three players who represented the USA at the 2007 Under-17 World Cup in South Korea: forward Billy Schuler (Matchfit Academy), midfielder Kirk Urso (Sockers FC Chicago) and defender/forward Sheanon Williams (FC Greater Boston Bolts).