Coker Hires Leese to Leads Men's Soccer

by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College
4/20/2009

Hartsville, S.C. - Coker College is pleased to announce the hiring of Paul Leese as the new Head Men's Soccer Coach. Leese assumes the coaching helm for the Cobra men on May 13.

Leese, a native of Liverpool, England, comes to Coker after serving as the Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at Coastal Carolina University for the last three seasons. While at Coastal, Leese was in charge of student-athlete recruitment, including recruiting players from England, Africa, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Spain, as well as serving as the director of the Chanticleers summer soccer camp program for more than 400 youth soccer players.

"I am very pleased to join the Coker College athletic family and serve as head coach of the men's soccer team," said Leese. "I felt that Coker was a special place the moment I set foot on campus. I found the coaches, faculty and staff to be incredibly supportive and keen to create an environment where athletes can succeed both in the classroom and on the field."

Prior to Leese's time at Coastal he served as an assistant coach at Furman University and Elon University. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Furman in 2001, while receiving a Masters in Business Administration from Elon in 2003. As a member of the Furman Paladin soccer team, Leese was a part of the best finish in school history, 21-2-1 and he helped lead the Paladins to a NCAA Quarterfinal appearance. After graduation Leese played professional soccer in the United Soccer League (USL), playing for the Greenville Lions and the Greensboro Dynamo.

"Coach Leese is an outstanding soccer coach," said Coker College Director of Athletics Tim Griggs. "His ability to organize and recruit will greatly enhance the Coker College men's soccer program. I am extremely happy to have Coach Leese join the Coker Athletics staff."

Leese inherits a team that finished the 2008 season with a record of 7-12-2 overall and 3-6-1 in Conference Carolinas play, placing ninth in the conference standings. With only three seniors graduating he has a solid nucleus of players returning for the 2009-2010 season.

"I want to thank Coker College for providing me with this opportunity. I was impressed with its vision for the future of the men's soccer team and I share Coker Athletics commitment to developing our student-athletes and preparing them for life after graduation."

FMU searching for new women’s soccer coach

FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University athletic officials announced on Monday (Jan. 19) that women’s soccer head coach Marty Beall has resigned his position to take the head coaching job with High Point University.

FMU director of athletics Murray Hartzler said a national search for Beall’s successor will begin immediately.

Beall recently completed his sixth year at the helm of the Patriot women’s program and owns a 56-44-7 coaching mark. He guided the program in its recent move from NCAA Division II to Division I membership.

“I want to thank Coach Beall for his hard work and dedication to the Francis Marion University women’s soccer program over the past six seasons,” Hartzler said.

In the program’s first year (2007) as a full-fledged Division I independent, the Patriots were 10-7-1, while this past fall FMU was 6-12-1 against a schedule that included five opponents that made the NCAA Tournament the year before.

Four times in his six years, Francis Marion posted double-digit wins. His 2007 squad finished as the 15th highest scoring team in Division I, and three players earned Scholar All-Region honors. His 2006 team was 11-5-3 and recorded the fourth most improved record in NCAA Division I according to Somis Sports. Under his guidance, the program earned a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for the 2006-07, 2005-06, 2004-05, and 2003-04 school years.

Beall guided the 2004 Patriots to the Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship and he was named the PBC Coach of the Year.

Beall served as an assistant coach at FMU for four years prior to taking over the head coaching reigns in 2003. He attended both the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Montgomery (Junior) College before earning his undergraduate degree from Francis Marion.
He has also been involved with the South Carolina Olympic Development Program (ODP) and Florence Youth Soccer Association.

In 14 all-time seasons, the Patriot women own an all-time record of 165-79-11 mark, including 12 seasons of double-figure wins and an imposing 93-18-6 home record.

RedWolves notebook

The Florence RedWolves are proud to announce that Wes Davis will be returning as the head coach of the team for the 2009 season. Davis in his first season with the RedWolves led them to the first half Southern Division title and to the championship game of the Petitt Cup Tournament. Under Davis Florence tallied its most wins ever with 34 regular season wins and 37 overall. Davis along with Coach JT Severe coached the team to first in league ERA (2.97) and third in batting average (.268) both season best for the RedWolves.