The Georgia State men’s soccer team, fresh off a 2011 season in which it advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, announced its 2012 spring schedule on Friday.

Second-year head coach Brett Surrency and the Panthers host Conference-USA opponent UAB on Mar. 10 at 4 p.m. in Panthersville to kick-off the spring. The matchup features two 2011 NCAA Tournament teams and is a rematch from the fall after the teams tied 1-1 in double overtime on Sept. 11 in Birmingham, Ala. UAB lost to eventual national runner-up Charlotte 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

GSU men’s soccer will hold Alumni Day on Mar. 17 following a matchup against Young Harris at Panthersville (3 p.m.). The alumni match will take place directly following Georgia State’s contest against Young Harris. Other highlights of the spring schedule include a matchup against the local North American Soccer League team Atlanta Silverbacks on Mar. 24. The Silverbacks featured Georgia State alum Jordan Davis on their squad last season.

The Panthers will host the Metro Atlanta Cup on Saturday, Mar. 31 at Panthersville. The Metro Atlanta Cup feautres GSU along with several local schools including Clayton State, Emory, Oglethorpe and Southern Polytechnic. Matches will take place all day on Mar. 31.

Georgia State went 13-8-1 and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth with an at-large selection. GSU fell to No. 24 Duke in the first round of the tournament but held the No. 1 draft pick in the MLS SuperDraft Andrew Wenger scoreless in the match. The Panthers return 10 starters from the team that took the field against Duke next season. Checkwww.GeorgiaStateSports.com   throughout the spring for updates on the Panthers’ spring results.

Georgia State University

12:21 PM

ATLANTA, Ga., (January 2, 2012) — Derek Leader, formerly the associate head coach at SMU, has been named the head coach of the Georgia State women’s soccer program, announced Director of Athletics Cheryl L. Levick.

Leader, who was elevated to associate head coach before the 2010 season, spent a total of four seasons at SMU, helping head coach Brent Erwin build a winning program. The Mustangs qualified for the Conference USA Tournament in each of his four seasons and improved to double-digit win totals the last two years.

He is also a highly successful coach with the Olympic Development Program, serving as the under-16 head coach for Region III since 1997. In addition, he served as a staff coach with the Dallas Texans soccer club, the No. 1 ranked soccer club in the nation, and as the head coach for the North Texas state teams, and he was a national staff instructor for coaching courses for the United States Soccer Federation. 

Before his stint at SMU, Leader spent 12 years (1996-2008) as women’s soccer head coach and assistant director of the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was inducted into the IMG Soccer Academy Hall of Fame as a coach and builder in 2010. During his time in Bradenton, he also coached local semi-pro teams, serving as an assistant coach for the Bradenton Academics PDL men’s team from 2001-04 and as head coach for the Bradenton Athletics W-League women’s team from 2004-08. 

“Derek is the perfect fit to lead our women’s soccer program, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Georgia State family,” said Levick. “He is a strong recruiter, and he is extremely well-respected in the soccer community for his ability to teach the game and develop talent. He has all the skills to build a top-level program at Georgia State.”

Leader began his coaching career in Ohio, where he was the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s programs at Ashland University in 1995-96. He also servedas head coach for the Ohio-North ODP team, as a clinician with the state staff in Ohio and as head coach with the Emerald Soccer Club in Cleveland.

A 1995 graduate of Akron University, Leader is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and the United States Soccer Coaches Organization, and holds several coaching licenses, including a United States Soccer Federation National “A” License, an NSCAA Premier License and an International Coaching Diploma from the Victoria Coaching Institute in British Columbia, Canada.

“It’s a dream come true for me to earn a head coaching position for an outstanding program like Georgia State University, and I’d like to thank Cheryl Levick and [Senior Associate AD] Jamie Boggs for this opportunity,” said Leader. 

“My teachings encompass the most modern methods in strength, agility, and mental training along with the technical and tactical aspects necessary to develop female soccer players,” he continued. “I have extensive recruiting ties in the South and the Atlanta area, and I am ready for this new challenge. The program here has so much potential, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Leader is a native of Stow, Ohio, and his wife, Kim, hails from Millen, Ga. The couple has a daughter, Jacqueline.
http://www.theweekly.com

Georgia State University Women's Soccer

8:57 AM

ATLANTA, Ga., (October 19, 2011) - The Georgia State men’s soccer team fought back from a two-goal deficit with two goals in the final four minutes, but couldn’t push one across in overtime and fell 3-2 at No. 11 Old Dominion Wednesday night.

Sophomore Stephen McGill scored GSU’s first goal in the 86th minute after being awarded a penalty kick. McGill fired the ball into the upper-right part of the net for his third goal of the season, all on penalty kicks. GSU (10-4-1, 4-3) hasn’t scored three penalty kick goals in a season since Paul Schwak did in 2004.

Redshirt senior Ayokunle Lumpkin knotted the game at two after sophomore Michael Nwiloh threw in a ball from the right side that was flicked on by McGill. Lumpkin met the ball with his head and directed it into the right side of the net to tie the game in the 88th minute.

Georgia State now sits in a tie with VCU for fifth place in the CAA standings after the Rams beat UNC Wilmington 1-0 on Wednesday night. The Panthers now return home for senior day this Sunday to take on James Madison (2 p.m.), who beat William & Mary 1-0 on Wednesday night and are tied with Old Dominion for first in the CAA.

Junior Vincent Foermer made seven saves, several of the diving variety, in the losing effort.

ODU (10-2, 6-1) sophomore Tim Hopkinson scored the game-winning goal in the 93rd minute after classmate Gideon Asante centered a ball that nearly went out for a goal kick. Asante saved it off the line and Hopkinson buried it past a diving Foermer for the victory.

Georgia State started strong in the match with Lumpkin putting the first shot of the match on net. GSU controlled possession for a majority of the first 10 minutes, but the Monarchs turned up the pressure from that point on. The Panthers conceded a goal in the 30th minute when the nation’s second-leading scorer junior Yannick Smith struck on a feed from freshman forward Ivan Militar. The Monarchs preserved the 1-0 lead into halftime.

Asante added to the lead when he took a long clear from junior Alex De John and beat Foermer one-on-one in the 79th minute.

Old Dominion held the slight advantage in shots at 14-12 while the Panthers edged the Monarchs in corner kicks at 5-3. The win was Old Dominion’s sixth-consecutive victory.

Check www.GeorgiaStateSports.com for a preview of Sunday’s match between the Panthers and the Dukes. Also check back during and after Sunday’s match for links to live stats and a full recap from Panthersville.

Georgia State University

11:43 AM