Mathias’ Trip To Argentina Was Amazing

In a word, Merritt Mathias’ trip to Argentina with the U.S. Under-17 National Team was “amazing.”

After trips to Mexico and Sweden failed to materialize, the U17s’ first big trip out of the country proved to be a positive experience.

The U.S. team had three games scheduled. They split the first two and the third was rained out.

Against Argentina’s U-20 national team, the U.S. U-17s came away a 4-1 winner with the Birmingham high school junior assisting on the first goal.

Against Argentina’s full senior team, which included some familiar faces from the U20s, Mathias gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead in what would eventually be a 2-1 loss on a pair of controversial goals.

The goal was against Argentina’s senior team, which recently beat Brazil in an international friendly, was the result of a buildup that began with Mathis winning the ball at midfield and playing it back to a supporting defender.

Eventually, the ball, after being played between several players, was slotted through to her, and she beat the goalkeeper from inside the penalty area.”

“The trip was a lot more than I expected,” said the Oak Mountain HS junior. “The other girls and the coaches were amazing, and it proved that all of the hard work paid off.

“We controlled most of the first game even though we started a little slow and we were nervous. They were pretty good, but the full team was better.

“They (the senior team) were more organized.

Mathias felt that her team was better technically, but said that the Argentine players were individually skillful. They were also physical.

“They were physical, but we stood up to that,” she said. “We expected it.”

In their “down time” Mathias and her teammates were able to soak up the atmosphere and the experience of being in a new and different country. They also got a chance to see a top South American club in action.

“We got to see Boca Juniors play,” she said. “The stadium was packed and the atmosphere was just insane.”

While her Oak Mountain classmates begin to think about preseason practice for the upcoming high school season, Mathias will be involved in a January training camp with the U17s. She has another year at that level as she has played the last year up an age group.

She can’t play with the national team and high school soccer at the same time because Alabama high school rules prohibit out of school play during a high school season.

While high school soccer hasn’t been in the cards for Mathis, she does plan to play at the collegiate level and has made a verbal commitment to UNC Chapel Hill.

She plays club soccer for the Mountain Brook Angels, which is UNC alum Cat Reddick’s old club. She’s looking forward to taking her game to another level with the Tar Heels, and in time perhaps find herself on the field with Reddick with the U.S. WNT.

Time will tell!

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UAB Upsets #1 SMU, 2-1

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB men‚s soccer team stunned top-ranked and previously unbeaten SMU, 2-1, here Wednesday evening on senior night. Senior Lukasz Kwapisz and sophomore Trey Gregory each tallied goals in the UAB victory, which marked the fourth ranked team the Blazers have beaten this season.

“Anytime you beat the #1 team in the nation it is a pretty big win,” UAB head coach Mike Getman said. “We are the first team to beat them this year so that makes it a pretty big win.

“It wasn‚t until about 1:20 left in the game that I thought ‘Okay, we have a good chance at this,’ Getman said in reference to his feelings as the time wound down. “You put together a game plan and hope that the players execute it. I don’t know if a group of players could execute it any better.”

The Blazers pulled off the upset in front of what is believed to be a record crowd of 2,755 fans at West Campus field. The win improves UAB to 8-6-2 on the campaign and 3-3-1 in Conference USA, while SMU drops to 14-1-3 and 4-1-2 in league play.

“The crowd was terrific tonight,” Getman said. “They gave us a lot of energy and support and it was great to see the stands filled for this game. I know our players, especially the seniors, appreciated it.”

The Blazers wasted no time getting on the board. After missing several good scoring opportunities in the opening 10 minutes of the contest, UAB’s persistence paid off in 13th minute. Junior Joe Klosterman cleared a ball from the UAB penalty box that sailed over SMU’s back line and on to the foot of a streaking Kwapisz. The Oshawa, Ontario native then outraced the Mustang defenders and deposited a shot into the left netting to give his team an early one-goal lead.

However, the lead did not last long as SMU responded just under a minute later at the 13:36 mark. As senior midfielder Derick Radcliffe attempted to clear the ball from the UAB penalty box, the ball jumped off the wet turf and hit him in his hand, which resulted in a penalty kick. SMU’s Mynor Gonzalez converted the kick to even the score at one apiece.

The score would remain that way until Gregory’s heroics at the 60:35 mark. Sophomore midfielder Carlo Schiavoni took a free kick from midfield, which found the head of senior forward Jerson Monteiro. The Houston, Texas native then flicked it on to Gregory to tapped it over SMU goalkeeper Matt Wideman‚s head for the game-winner.

From there, UAB goalkeeper Jeremy Drake and the Blazer defense shut down the Mustang attack, which entering the contest had outscored their opponents by a count of 45-8. Drake made four saves in the victory, and allowed just the penalty kick goal.

SMU outshot UAB 15-9, and doubled the Blazers up on corner kicks, 8-4.

UAB will next be in action when it plays its regular season finale at Florida International on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. ET

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Oak Mountain Completed Unbeaten Season #1

Oak Mountain, ranked #1 nationally among boys spring high school teams, saved their best for the Alabama 6A championship game at the John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville.

Six different players scored for the Eagles in a 6-0 win over Prattville for the school’s first boys state soccer title.

Vestavia Hills HS downed McGill-Toolen 3-1 for the girls 6A championship. Homewood HS went to overtme to beat Cullman 2-1 for the boys 5A state title, and the girls 5A championship was won by Huntsville, 1-0 over Briarwood Christian. Holy Spirit won the boys 1A/4A title on kicks from the penalty mark, beating Mars Hill 4-3, and the girls 1A/4A final was won 4-0 by Indian Springs over Mars Hill.

Oak Mountain Wins First

Oak Mountain ran the table in posting their first championship season and finishing the year unbeaten at 26-0-2.

“They played soccer instead of relying on their athletic ability,” said coach Ryan Patridge, describing his team in the title game. “They are a very athletic group. They like to run, and they’ve been doing that lately, but today they really knocked the ball around.

“We took our chances and finished them. It was our best game since spring break.”

Patridge, an assistant at defending 2004 champion Shades Valley, became the Oak Mountain head coach in January when Eagles veteran coach Derek Dearman shipped out to Iraq with his U.S. Navy reserve unit.

Bryce Noel got Oak Mountain on the scoreboard with the opening goal in the 25th minute, and Trey Gregory made it 2-0 by halftime. Johnny Markey, Loy Vaughan, Eric Schauwecker and Clark Powell completed the scoring.

Oak Mountain’s Gregory was named the 6A MVP.

Prattville, which reached the finals with three playoff shutouts, finished the season 17-5-5.

Lightning Strikes For Vestavia

A five-minute delay for lightning delayed the final whistle for Vestavia Hills, but lightning on the field had already struck for the Rebels who downed McGill-Toolen 3-1 for the 6A girls state title.

Claire Hooten, Erin Pender-gast and Julie Andra got the goals to give Vestavia Hills (24-3) its first state title since 2001. Andra was named the game’s MVP.

Had it not been for the efforts of McGill-Toolen goalkeeper Samantha Allen, who had 16 saves on 32 shots by Vestavia, it margin could have been greater.

McGill (27-4-1) upset Auburn 2-1 in the semifinals, while Vestavia beat Grissom 4-1.

Patriots Go To Extra Time

A Homewood vs. Cullman final has been a common site in recent years. It’s been that way three of the last four years.

After splitting the last two championships, Homewood now has the edge in the series after beating Cullman 2-1 for the 2005 5A title in overtime.

Senior Morgan Smith got the gamewinner, finishing a long throw-in from Wilson Boardman, for the title. Julian Kersh had given Homewood (21-6-1) a 1-0 lead, but James Nyquist got the equalizer for Cullman (20-6) midway through the first half.

Homewood senior Matt Neill was named the game’s MVP.

Homewood had reached the finals by upending topseeded Briarwood 2-1 in the semifinals. Kersh got that game-winner on a deflected shot into the goal with only one second left in regulation.

Cullman edged Northridge 3-2 in the other semifinal.

Back-To-Back Titles

Huntsville broke open a 1-1 game with four goals in the final 24 minutes to win its second consecutive 5A girls state title.

Senior Hannah Lanford scored twice for Huntsville (21-1-1). Sophomore Meredith Kerkhof and junior Stephanie Boyd also scored for the Panthers. Sophomore Ivy Bentley was named the game’s MVP.

Briarwood (21-5), which lost three games to Huntsville this season, got its lone goal when Haley Taylor scored on an assist from Leslie Jennings midway through the first half to tie the game at 1-1.

Huntsville, which beat Gladsen 10-0 in one semifinal, has won state championships three of the past four years, including the 6A title in 2002. Briarwood shutout Benjamin Russell HS 5-0 in its semifinal.

“The good thing about today is I think the best team won,” said Briarwood head coach Andrew Brower, praising the winners. “This group of players that’s played at Huntsville will be one of the top four or five teams ever to come through the state of Alabama.”

Decided In A Shootout

Holy Spirit entered the playoffs having never gotten past the first round, and after putting together four straight wins found itself the boys 1A/4A state champions.

With the game tied at 3-3 after overtime, the game was decided in a shootout. Each team made four of its first five kicks from the penalty mark, and in sudden death Holy Spirit goalkeeper Ben Bucy made a big save and Michael Navarro converted the deciding kick for the Titans.

Holy Spirit had taken a 3-1 lead late in the first half, but was scoreless in the second. Phillip Wittenbrink tied the game for Mars Hill (17-7-1) midway through the second half. He had two of Mars Hill’s goals, and Michael Jones had the other.

Freshman Fernando Zambrano, who was the game’s MVP, Auturo Zambrano and Jackson scored for the Titans (20-2-1).

Holy Spirit eliminated Indian Springs 2-1 in one semifinal, while Mars Hill topped Jacksonville 4-1 in the other.

Indian Springs Wins Second

Both the Mars Hill Bible boys and girls teams reached the 1A/4A championship games, but came away empty. Indian Springs (20-4-3) won the girls title with a 4-0 win over the MHB (16-1-2).

Center midfielder Rosalind Chaplin was named the MVP of the championship

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Alabama Draws 1-1 With Auburn

The University of Alabama soccer (3-0-3) remained unbeaten this spring and played the defending SEC Western Division Champion Auburn Tigers to a 1-1 tie Saturday night at the “Kick a Goal for CCF Classic” in Huntsville, Ala.

Libby Probst scored the Tide’s goal on an assist from Suzanne Baker. Alabama played stellar defense the rest of the way to hold on to the tie.

“We redeemed ourselves a little bit after last year’s showing here,” Alabama head coach Don Staley said. “This was a great game tonight and tremendous team effort. I’m proud of how our team played. There’s a lot that we can take from this game and learn from tonight.”

The Alabama-Auburn game was one of three played during the Huntsville event. Samford and Birmingham Southern played to a 0-0 draw, and the University of Alabama Huntsville edged North Alabama 2-1 in the other.

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Huntsville Soccer Club and Samba FC to Merge

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., March 6, 2004 - Samba Futebol Clube, the fastest growing all girls soccer club in Alabama has announced an agreement to merge with Huntsville Soccer Club, Inc. (HSC). HSC has one of the premier boys programs in the state. Under the terms of the agreement, Samba FC will merge with HSC effective June 2004 and the merged organization will be known as Huntsville Soccer Club. The girls program under Huntsville Soccer Club will be known as HSC Samba. The boys program will continue to be known as HSC Strikers.

Since its creation in 1999, Huntsville Soccer Club has been the most successful boys program in Alabama, earning 12 State Championships and 14 Champion Finalist's honors. In the last two years alone, HSC boy's teams have won 6, Division 1 State Championships.

Richard Todd, current Director of Coaching for Samba FC, will become the new Director of Coaching Curriculum-Girls for HSC Samba. Richard will work with Marty Clark, HSC's Director of Coaching Operations, to coordinate HSC Samba programs. John Tesema will continue in his role as Director of Coaching Curriculum-Boys for the HSC Strikers program. The merger has been approved by the HSC Board of Directors and the Samba FC leadership team. Two additional HSC board seats will be created to represent the HSC Samba program.

Commenting on the merger, Richard Todd said, "Samba FC is the fastest growing all girls soccer program in Alabama. In less than 4 years we have developed 3 Alabama State Champion and 3 State Champion Finalist girl's teams. Our merger with HSC will allow us access to the infrastructure and top quality coaches needed to continue our rapid growth. HSC offered us an opportunity to maintain our unique identity and distinctive style of entertaining soccer dedicated to the needs of the female player. This merger is a natural fit for both clubs."

Marty Clark added, "The combination of HSC and Samba FC will be the Premier Soccer Club in Alabama combining the resources of the best boys and girls development programs in the state under one club. Samba leadership shares our vision of long-term player development and commitment to the growth of all levels of soccer throughout the state. This merger is good for soccer and good for the state of Alabama."

A town meeting will be scheduled for some time in April to introduce the combined staff to the public and answer any questions about the merger.

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Birmingham Southern Upsets #5 UAB

Freshman striker Karim Dietz's late goal proved to be decisive, lifting Birmingham Southern to a 2-1 upset of No. 5 and previously undefeated Alabama-Birmingham before 1,036 who witnessed the non-conference battle of crosstown rivals at BSC Soccer Park.

Birmingham Southern beat a member of the national rankings for the first time since the school elevated its program to Division I in 2001. The Panthers had lost the last six meetings with UAB (6-1-2), dating back to a 4-1 victory on September 9, 1990.

"This was, by far, the biggest win in the history of Birmingham Southern soccer," BSC coach Preston Goldfarb said. "The crowd was unbelievable. I've never seen this much support by the BSC students, alumni and fans in my 21 years coaching at this school. Without their support we would not have won the game."

Dietz scored the game-winner when he took a pass from forward Jamie Holmes off a direct kick into the right side of the penalty area. Ten yards from goal, Dietz drilled his seventh goal past goalkeeper Alberto Robles to the far post for the 2-1 advantage with 82:19 elapsed.

BSC (6-1-2) nearly took the first lead in the 31st minute when Holmes put his head on a free kick, but Robles tipped the shot over the crossbar. Six minutes later, it was UAB which came close when forward Jerson Monteiro beat keeper Gavin Long with a shot off a corner kick, but Panthers defender Thimo Langner was there to clear the ball off the goal line.

UAB went ahead 1-0 after 51:19 when midfielder Rogerio Oliveira chipped the ball over the defense onto the foot of striker Lukasz Kwapisz in stride. Kwapisz poked a shot past Long.

The Panthers pulled even at 1-1 at the 58:03 mark when Dietz sent a corner kick to Holmes for a tying header.

The Blazers nearly regained the lead in the 69th minute when midfielder Nnamdi Ngwe was freed for a breakaway down the right flank, but he clanged a 15-yard shot off the crossbar.

"Tonight's result was just a simple matter of Birmingham Southern outplaying us," UAB coach Mike Getman said. "We had a tough time getting into a rhythm tonight. I am disappointed to lose such a big game but, in reality, it is very tough for a team to go undefeated throughout the season."

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Blazers Picked #1 In Conference USA Men's Soccer

Saint Louis forward/midfielder Jack Jewsbury, a second team all-C-USA performer last season after earning the league's Player of the Year Award in 2000, has been selected the 2002 preseason Player of the Year.

UAB, which has never lost more than three conference matches in a season, welcomes back eight returning starters and 16 letterwinners this fall. Included are three preseason All-Conference selections. Senior F Flavio Monteiro is a dynamic scorer that leads the Blazers offense, along with F Marin Pusek. Both players were second team All-C-USA choices last fall. Goalkeeper Clint Baumstark earned Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors after posting a league-high nine shutouts to go along with a 0.96 GAA.

Perennial NCAA contender Saint Louis, which has earned at least a share of the last four regular season titles, was chosen second this preseason. The Billikens matched UAB with three preseason all-league choices. Joining Jewsbury are a pair of defenders, Jason Cole and Mike Kirchoff. Cole has been named first or second team all-league in each of his three seasons at SLU, while Kirchoff was the Billikens top scoring defender last season.

Coming off a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, South Florida was selected third. George Kiefer, the lone new head coach in Conference USA this fall, takes over a team that features a pair of preseason honorees. Senior F Jeff Thwaites ranked second in the league in shots (67) and seventh in points (22) and goals (9) in 2001, while D Jared Vock earned a spot on the league's All-Freshman team as well as being named second team All-Conference.

Marquette has been picked to finish fourth, followed by Charlotte. The Golden Eagles were 12-8-1 last season and will look for even more success in the upcoming campaign with the help of senior D Steve Lawrence and junior F/MF Derek Gutierrez. The 49ers will look to last year's freshman sensation, F Mira Mupier, to help Charlotte become a factor in the conference race.

Cincinnati is picked to finish sixth, followed by Louisville and Memphis. The Cardinals are represented on the preseason All-C-USA squad by senior D Adrian Cann, a first team all-league and second team all-region performer in 2001.

Rounding out the poll is TCU, East Carolina and DePaul, respectively.

2002 C-USA PRESEASON AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jack Jewsbury, Sr., F/MF, Saint Louis
ALL-CONFERENCE
Clint Baumstark, So., GK, UAB
Adrian Cann, Sr., D, Louisville
Jason Cole, Sr., D, Saint Louis
Derek Guttierrez, Jr., F/MF, Marquette
Jack Jewsbury, Sr. F/MF, Saint Louis
Mike Kirchoff, Sr., D, Saint Louis
Steve Lawrence, Sr., D, Marquette
Flavio Monteiro, Sr. F, UAB
Mira Mupier, So., F, Charlotte
Marin Pusek, So., MF, UAB
Jeff Thwaites, Sr., MF, South Florida
Jared Vock, So., D, South Florida
2002 C-USA PRESEASON POLL
as selected by C-USA coaches)
1. UAB
2. Saint Louis
3. South Florida
4. Marquette
5. Charlotte
6. Cincinnati
7. Louisville
8. Memphis
9. TCU
10. East Carolina
11. DePaul

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Deter Walker recently watched her son play a Premier League game in England against Leeds United. For this Soccer Mom, watching the Tottenham Spurs’ goalkeeper in this game was no different than watching his games during his teenage years.

“I am a quiet observer,” said Walker, who happens to be Kasey Keller’s mom. “I get real nervous. I got that way when I watched his games when he was growing up, and it hasn’t changed.”

It’s changed for Keller, who started playing soccer at the age of six in Thurston County, Washington. He decided to become a full-time goalkeeper at the age of 12.

Two years later he decided to join a more competitive club in Federal Way, just south of Seattle, but a significant drive north of his home.

At that point Walker, who is now the Executive Director of Alabama Youth Soccer, assumed the Soccer Mom roll of chauffeur.

“When Kasey started playing we were fortunate that everything was close in our neighborhood,” she said. “When he committed to this new team I drove four days a week for training and for games.”

When Kasey started playing, so did his mom. Walker and the mothers of Kasey’s teammates formed a team of their own. It was in the Women’s Independent Soccer League.

“We were a goofy group, trying to recapture our youth,” Walker laughed. She played for 15 years, and wore out both knees doing it. She’s had those replaced, and can’t get through an airport now without setting off all kinds of alarms!

Keller was an all-around athlete and played a lot of sports. High school football fell by the wayside after his freshman year, one in which he suffered injuries to his fingers. A tough injury for a goalkeeper.

High school basketball followed two years later.

By that time Keller knew what he wanted to do in life. He wanted to play soccer. He enrolled at the University of Portland to play for Clive Charles, who was and still is a strong influence on him and a valued advisor.

The day he left for Portland, according to Walker, was the worse day of her life.

“As we stood in front of the car port at home watching him leave for Portland I realized that was the last day I would have my little boy,” she said. “I knew from that point on, even though we would see each other a gazillion times, it would not be the same. I cried all day.”

Keller played four years at Portland and four days after his senior season ended in the NCAA playoffs with a loss to UCLA, he was on a plane to England to begin a professional career with Millwall.

While life moves on and things change, to this soccer mom her son is still the same good guy.

“Kasey never changes,” she said with pride. “He’s the same nice person. He is funny, he is good with people, and I am very proud of that and of him.”

Walker, divorced from Keller’s dad after 19 years of marriage, she married Rob Walker, a soccer coach, in Washington state. When Walker accepted the job as Director of Coaching for the Mountainbrook Soccer Club, the family moved to Alabama.

Walker, who had worked for a number of years as a Superior Court Clerk in Thurston County, and a supervisor for a crime team, found that she could use both her administrative skills and soccer background in the Executive Director position for AYSA. It was a perfect job for her.

Last November Keller visited Birmingham on a combination of pleasure and business. The pleasure was spending time with his parents, and the business was having surgery for calcium deposits on his foot.

He had hoped to return in February as a player with the U.S. National Team to play Ecuador in a World Cup tune-up at Legion Field. It didn’t happen.

About a week before that game he was notified that his professional team, Tottenham, had recalled his release and wanted him back for league games, even though he would only be the backup.

“He was really upset,” said Walker. “He didn’t even get a call from his club, and found out about it from a U.S. Soccer official.”

Walker was even more upset.

“I was devastated,” she said. “We were looking forward to having him here. Had I known he wouldn’t be coming to Birmingham I would have gone to Seattle (a week earlier) to see him play against Honduras and to visit my family.”

Keller, who is battling for the starting spot in goal for the U.S. team this summer at the 2002 World Cup, has a family of his own now. He and his wife Kristin have twin four-and-a-half year old daughters, Chloe and Cameron.

During a 15-day visit to London, Walker got to see her son play two league games, and got to do some serious baby sitting while Kristin traveled to Germany to see her husband play a U.S. National Team game with the Germans.

And do the girls play soccer? You bet, and according to their very proud grandmother, “they have great foot skills.”

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Woodard Honored With National Award

Over a span of four decades Ray Woodard introduced soccer to thousands of young players in Alabama. At the US Youth Soccer AGM in Atlanta last month he was named the 2002 Youth National Coach of the Year for boys.

Woodard, an All-America player at Brockport State (CT), moved to Alabama to begin a soccer program at Indian Springs High School. He never left that area, and still resides in Pelham.

In those early days his Indian Spring team won prep championship after championship, first playing in the Dixie Conference that included teams from Tennessee and Georgia.

Indian Springs was a tiny school of about 150 students. It was the first high school in Alabama to field a boys soccer team. When his teams started losing state titles, more often than not those losses came at the hands of coaches who had played for him at Indian Springs.

Woodard was Alabama’s first “A” licensed coach and was the state’s first Director of Coaching, then strictly a volunteer position. He started the state licensing program and taught all of the courses until 1994. He was always a teacher of the game.

“I started coaching in 1981 and was totally lost,” said Dan Mikos, current President of Alabama Youth Soccer. “I had no soccer background and very minimal training from my club. Fortunately, in my second season I was given a practice area at Indian Springs School and met Ray Woodard.

“I soon learned he had started the first high school league, our state’s first referee organization, was our only “A” licensed coach, and our only ODP coach. Yet, each time I practiced my U-8 team he would come by and give us a new drill or coaching technique.”

In 1997, at a time he was coaching Alabama’s 82 girls ODP team, Woodard suffered an aneurysm in his brain, that left him partially paralyzed. With extensive rehab, he was able to attend regional camp in a golf cart to watch his ODP team compete. Three of those ODP players were national team players.

Woodard’s dedication to the game is reflected in his children, Eric, Christa and Michelle, who have all coached youth and high school teams.

Woodard continues to coach from a golf cart, and is currently the co-coach of the Indiana Springs junior varsity team.

Among the many recommendations for Woodard’s nomination as Coach of the Year, one of his former Indian Springs players, Dr. James Geyer said, “He (Woodard) has taken soccer from an almost unknown past-time in Alabama to a major sport. His interest was not only in developing his team, but also in developing the sport as a whole.”

Kenneth White, former Director of Coaching for the Alabama Youth Soccer said, “Ray Woodard has always been the epitome of sportsmanship. His coaching has always been positive in its approach. He is never negative and rarely raised his voice or degraded a player. He set a standard of Fair player and sportsmanship to his players that was beyond reproach.”

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Alabama Soccer Notes

Lance Williams has been named the new Director of Coaching for the Alabama Youth Soccer Association. An “A” licensed coach, Williams played collegiate soccer at Averette College (VA). He comes to AYSA from the Auburn Soccer Association, where he served as DOC

Aston Rhoden, who led North Alabama’s women’s program to a 39-51-2 record over five seasons, has resigned to accept the women’s head coaching position at Middle Tennessee State University

Alabama's 1986, '85 and '84 State Select players recently got a taste of college competition in a series of short games against the University of Alabama, Jacksonville State, UAB and Birmingham Southern

The University of Alabama has announced a $100 million fund-raising campaign for athletic facility improvements, including a soccer complex that includes a new stadium, which will be built around the current playing fields

Pending approval by the two clubs, it appears that the Huntsville Soccer Club and Huntsville (formerly Rocket City) Kicks will merge into one club. That merger could come as early as mid-March

Todd Yelton, a UAB assistant, has replaced Barry Spitzer as the head women’s coach at Samford University

Melissa Heinz, an assistant coach at Birmingham Southern, has been named Winthrop University’s first women’s head soccer coach

Two Alabama collegiate players were taken in the A-League draft. Brantley Spillman (Alabama-Birmingham) was taken with the #22 pick by the Indiana Blast, and Martin Gustavsson (Auburn-Montgomery) was chosen with the #24 pick by the Minnesota Thunder

Allison DeLisle, an all-state performer, is the only Alabama native among the nine recruits signed by the Crimson Tide for the fall of 2002. One of those other eight is Jessica Joyner (Salt Lake City, UT) who is the daughter of Major League Baseball star Wally Joyner

Preston Goldfarb’s Birmingham Southern team has played two Major League Soccer teams to draws this spring, tying the Chicago Fire 1-1 and the Dallas Burn 2-2. At the Blazers’ awards dinner senior Martin Rey was named UAB’s MVP for the 2001 season, Kareen Morgan won the Most Improved Player award and Jonathan Weimer received the Coach’s Award

MF Jenny Zarzour (Huntsville) has signed to play soccer at Auburn.

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