coaching staff coaches Assistant coaches support staff

coaching staff coaches Assistant coaches support staff

Rob Donnenwirth Rob Donnenwirth head coach W.Va. Wesleyan ( 88) Rob Donnenwirth enters his 13th season at the helm of the women s soccer program at East Carolina University. He has guided the Pirates to six 10-plus win seasons in 12 years, mentored 69 allconference performers and his 116 victories make him the winningest coach in school history. The 2008 season was Donnenwirth s most successful as he led ECU to the best overall record in program history at 14-4-4 and a share of the Conference USA Regular Season Championship. That year the Pirates finished the C-USA season with a 7-0-4 mark, good for the first unbeaten run through league play since Charlotte went 8-0-2 in 2002. East Carolina played in its first C-USA Tournament Championship game in 2008, but fell to Memphis, 4-1, and narrowly missed out on making the program s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. For his efforts, Donnenwirth received his first C-USA Coach-of-the-Year award and was the Soccer Buzz Southeast Region Coach-of-the-Year runner-up. The conclusion of the 2008 campaign also saw a Pirate agree to the first United States professional contract in program history as Madison Keller signed with the Washington Freedom of the Women s Professional Soccer (WPS) league. The only other Pirate to sign professionally was Amanda Duffy, who played in Sweden. Keller earned First-Team All-C-USA, National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Second-Team All-South Region, Soccer Buzz Third-Team All-Southeast Region and NSCAA Second-Team Academic All-America accolades in her final campaign under Donnenwirth. Prior to arriving at ECU, Donnenwirth spent five years as the head coach at North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C. Under his guidance, the Battling Bishops enjoyed tremendous success, going 62-27-9, winning four Dixie Conference titles and making three trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament. In Donnenwirth s first year as the Bishops as head coach, the team advanced to the NCAA Final Four and finished with a 15-3-3 record. Chris Webb and Trish Parker, former ECU assistant coaches, were a part of that squad and Parker was named the Division III National Player-of-the-Year. In his tenure at N.C. Wesleyan, three Bishop players were named All- Americans, two were chosen Dixie Conference Players-of-the-Year and three were picked as the conference s Rookie-of-the-Year. Donnenwirth was also recognized several times while at N.C. Wesleyan, earning NCAA South Regional Coach-of-the-Year twice and the Dixie Conference Coach-of-the- Year three times. Before heading to N.C. Wesleyan, Donnenwirth served as an assistant with the James Madison men s and women s teams and the University of Massachusetts men s squad. Outside the college ranks, Donnenwirth has a wealth of experience in Olympic Development Programs (ODP). He has been part of the United States Region III ODP coaching staff and has served eight years as a North Carolina ODP coach with the under-13 and under-15 girls teams. He was formerly the director of the Pitt Greenville Soccer Association s traveling and recreational programs and is currently president of Soccer Express, a community soccer camp business that has attracted over 3,000 youth and adult campers in the U.S. and Canada. As a player, Donnenwirth guided West Virginia Wesleyan College to back-to-back NAIA National Championships in 1984 and 1985 and was named a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in 1987 as a goalkeeper. He earned a B.S. in marketing from West Virginia Wesleyan in 1988 and his M.B.A. from James Madison in 1990. Donnenwirth and his wife, Rosy, have three daughters: Allison (17), Madison (13) and Carly (11). Donnenwirth s Coaching Record Year School Record.Pct Championships/Postseason 1994 N.C. Wesleyan 15-3-3.786 Dixie Conference Champions NCAA South Regional Champions National Semifinalist 1995 N.C. Wesleyan 6-11.353 1996 N.C. Wesleyan 15-3-2.825 Dixie Conference Champions NCAA Tournament 1997 N.C. Wesleyan 15-4-2.761 Dixie Conference Champions NCAA Tournament 1998 N.C. Wesleyan 11-5-2.667 Dixie Conference Champions Totals 62-26-9.686 1999 East Carolina 11-5-1.676 2000 East Carolina 10-7-2.578 2001 East Carolina 10-8-1.553 2002 East Carolina 11-6-4.619 2003 East Carolina 7-7-5.500 2004 East Carolina 8-9-2.450 2005 East Carolina 8-12-1.405 2006 East Carolina 10-8-2.550 2007 East Carolina 9-5-5.605 2008 East Carolina 14-4-7.700 Conference USA Regular Season Co-Champions 2009 East Carolina 9-7-3.553 2010 East Carolina 9-9-1.500 Totals 116-87-31.562 CAREER 178-113-40.598 2011 pirate 14 soccer

The Donnnenwirth File Coaching Experience 1999-Present Head Women s Soccer Coach, East Carolina University 1994-99 Head Women s Soccer Coach, North Carolina Wesleyan College 1992-93 Assistant Men s Soccer Coach, University of Massachusetts 1990 Assistant Women s Soccer Coach, James Madison University 1988-90 Assistant Men s Soccer Coach, James Madison University ODP Coaching Experience 2007-09 Under-14 North Carolina ODP team 2002-08 Member of the Region III Coaching Staff 1999-2003 Under-15 North Carolina ODP Team 1994-1999 Under-13 North Carolina ODP Team Coaching Education United States Soccer Federation A License Coach Donnenwirth s Team Achievements 1 Conference USA Championship 1 NCAA Div. III Final Four Appearance 1 NCAA South Regional Championship 1 Div. III National Player-of-the-Year 3 NCAA Tournament Appearances 3 Players named All-American 3 Rookie-of-the-Year selections 4 Conference Players-of-the-Year 4 Dixie Conference titles 69 Players named All-Conference Coaching Awards Dixie Conference Coach-of-the-Year 1994, 1996, 1998 Conference USA Coach-of-the-Year 2008 NCAA South Region Coach-of-the-Year 1994, 1996 Playing Experience NAIA National Championships 1984, 1985 NAIA All-America 1987 Personal Born December 20, 1965 Hometown Edison, N.J. College B.S. in marketing, W.Va. Wesleyan ( 88) M.B.A., James Madison ( 90) 2011 pirate 15 soccer

Shannon Lewis Shannon Lewis assistant coach N.C. Wesleyan 01 Shannon Lewis, who has been coaching collegiate soccer for 10 years, enters her seventh season in the Pirate program as an assistant coach. As an assistant, her primary duties include day-today coaching, handling recruiting tasks and monitoring student-athletes academics. Under her direction, the 2010 Pirates received their seventh-straight National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award and 10th in the last 13 seasons. To qualify for the academic award, teams were required to average at least a 3.0 GPA for the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010 semesters. The Pirates easily surpassed that standard, turning in a cumulative team mark of 3.24. A native of Newtown, Pa., Lewis served as a graduate assistant coach at Marshall from 2003-05, when she was involved in all facets of the program. In her two seasons with the Herd, she had direct involvement in coaching Ashleigh Woods, a 2003 First- Team All-Mid American Conference selection, as well as 2004 All-MAC Freshman Team honoree Kassie Hollman. Prior to working at Marshall, Lewis served one year (2002-03) as an assistant coach at her alma mater, N.C. Wesleyan. Lewis was a four-year starter, four-time Dixie Conference First Team and Scholar Athlete selection, three-time regional All- American and three-time captain for the Bishops. She guided N.C. Wesleyan to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1999-2001), The Lewis File Education: 2001 B.A. in English, N.C. Wesleyan 2005 MA. in communications, Marshall University Coaching Experience 2005-Present Assistant Coach, East Carolina University 2003-05 Graduate Assistant Coach, Marshall University 2002-03 Assistant Coach, North Carolina Wesleyan College Coaching Education NSCAA National Coaching License United States Soccer Federation D License Coach Playing Experience/Achievements 1998 Dixie Conference Rookie-of-the-Year 1999 NCAA Southeast Regional Championship 1999 NCAA Elite Eight Appearance 1999-2001 Three NCAA Tournament Appearances 1998-2001 Four Dixie Conference Championships 2001 Dixie Conference Tournament Champions 1998-2001 Four-time Dixie Conference First Team Selection 1999-2001 Three-time Regional All-America Selection 1999-2001 Three-time team captain Personal Data Full Name: Shannon Lewis Hometown: Newtown, Pa. Born: July 29, 1980 four Dixie Conference titles, one tournament championship (2001) and the 1999 NCAA Southeast Regional Championship and subsequent Elite Eight appearance. As a freshman in 1998, she was named Dixie Conference Rookie-of-the-Year under the direction of Rob Donnenwirth. Away from the university setting, Lewis has spent two years (2009-10) as an assistant coach with the North Carolina Olympic Development Program (NC ODP). She has also coached the West Virginia Rowdies (U-13 and U-11), Rocky Mount Raiders (U-12), Greenville s U-10 boys team and the Pitt-Greenville Soccer Association s Academy Girls teams. In addition, she has assisted with numerous clinics around the Pitt-Greenville area. A 2001 graduate of N.C. Wesleyan with a B.A. in English, Lewis completed her master s degree in journalism and mass communications from Marshall in May of 2005. In May of 2008, the former Shannon St. George married ECU Head Equipment Manager Erik Lewis. 2011 pirate 16 soccer

Jason Cherry assistant coach Alma Mater Jason Cherry, who spent the past three seasons at Western Illinois, enters his first season in the Pirate program as an assistant coach, a position he accepted on August 1, 2011. Cherry will assume a direct coaching role with the Pirate goalkeepers succeeding Joe Crump, who resigned in July to take a position with the men s program at the University of Cincinnati. At Western Illinois, Cherry helped guide the Leathernecks to The Summit League championship match during the 2010 season with an overall record of 10-6-5 including a 6-2-1 record in league play. Under his guidance, goalkeepers Laura Atkinson (.83) and Jessica Walsh (.91) each posted a goals against average under 1.00 as the team finished 52nd in the nation in goals against average (.84) while posting the 27th-best save percentage (.848). Atkinson finished 51st among all Division I goalkeepers in goals against average and 28th in save percentage (.852) while earning first-team All-Summit League and All-Tournament honors. In 2009, he helped guide the team to its second-straight 8-8-2 record including a 5-3-1 Summit League mark and a berth in The Summit League Tournament. Cherry once again saw great success from his goalkeepers as Atkinson, an all-conference performer, posted the second-best single-season save percentage (.859) and the third-best goals against average (1.18) in program history. Her save percentage was ranked 23rd nationally among all Division I goalkeepers in 2009. During the 2008 season, his first with the team, he helped guide the women s soccer squad to an 8-8-2 record. Working primarily with the goalkeepers, Cherry was in charge of sophomores Meghan Tyk and Jessica Walsh, who split time in net. He helped Walsh record the third-lowest goals against average (1.29) in school history, while Tyk posted the fifth-lowest (1.82). Walsh also set the third highest save percentage in school history (.821). Prior to Western Illinois, Cherry served as the associate head men s soccer coach at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind., for two years (2006-07) and assistant coach in 2005 where he directly worked with the men s and women s goalkeepers. While at Bethel, the men s team won one regular season and one tournament MCC championship and sported a three-year 35-21-12 record under his guidance. The 2005 Bethel team was ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament. The 2006 Bethel squad was ranked in the top 25 and qualified for the NCCAA National Tournament. In 2007, the Bethel men s team won the NAIA futsal national championship with a futsal season record of 17-0-3. He also coached for his hometown club for five years compiling a record of 90-39-33. His team, the Junior Irish Crew U17 girls, qualified for the Midwest Regional League playoffs, and attended several high-level club tournaments including the Orange Classic (FL), Raleigh Shoot-out (NC), and Crossroads of America (IN). Cherry played at Goshen College before transferring to IUPUI. He started at goalkeeper for Clay High School in South Bend, Ind. A team captain, Cherry was named first team all-state and was the starting goalkeeper in the North-South All-Star game as a senior. Cherry was also a member of the Indiana Olympic Development team. Cherry received his bachelor s degree in the Board of Trustees program from Western Illinois. The Cherry File Education 2011 B.A. in general studies, Western Illinois Coaching Experience 2008-11 Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Coach, Western Illinois 2005-07 Associate Coach/Goalkeeper Coach; Head Men s Coach, Bethel College 2002-07 Director of Coaching/Goalkeeping, Junior Irish Soccer Club 2005 Club/Goalkeeping Coach, Indiana Invaders FC Coaching Education United States Soccer Federation D License Coach NSCAA State and Regional Goalkeeping License Playing Experience/Achievements 1993-94 Goshen College Personal Data Full Name: Jason Charles Cherry Hometown: South Bend, Ind. Born: May 20, 1975 Assistant Coaches Brian Akers volunteer coach UNC Wilmington 10 Brian Akers enters his first year as the volunteer soccer coach at East Carolina. Akers joins the Pirates after spending the last year working as an Associate Staff instructor with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and will assist Donnenwirth and his staff in a variety of facets. While at the NSCAA, Akers was selected to lead and instruct coaching education courses for the Coaching Academy, which is one of the leading organizations for coaching certification. A 2010 graduate from UNC Wilmington with a degree in criminology and criminal justice, Akers spent eight years (2001-08) in the United States Army rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant where he was deployed to combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom before returning to the pitch in 2008 as an assistant women s coach at Jacksonville High School. With the Cardinals, he organized practices and provided match analysis and feedback to both players and coaches. 2011 pirate 17 soccer

Support Staff Carlester Crumpler Academic Coordinator Carlester Crumpler has been a part of ECU Athletics for four decades. He joined the Pirate family in 1970 as a running back from Fike High School in Wilson, N.C. Crumpler works directly with the soccer team as well as the men and women s cross country and track and field squads. Crumpler was one of the finest running backs ever to don an ECU uniform. He set countless records during his playing days, including most 100-yard rushing games in a season (9), rushing touchdowns in a season (17) and career (37). He concluded his career as the Pirates all-time leading rusher with 2,889 yards. He received All-America honorable mention accolades in 1972 and 73 and was voted Southern Conference Athlete-of-the-Year in 1972. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 1974 and played professionally until 1977. Following his professional playing career, Crumpler spent time in broadcasting and private business before returning to his alma mater in 1988 as an administrator. He was also selected that year to be the color analyst on the Pirate Sports Network, a position held for 18 seasons. Crumpler has worked in numerous departments during his 22 years an athletic administrator. He and his wife Danita, reside in Greenville with their daughter, A riana. He also has two sons, Carlester Crumpler, Jr. and Alge that played professional football. He was enshrined into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980 and into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Jennifer Merrill Assistant Athletic Trainer Jennifer Merrill is in her second year as an Assistant Athletic Trainer for East Carolina. Her primary responsibilities are working with the women s soccer and softball teams. She spent two years working as a graduate assistant for ECU, covering the women s volleyball team as well as softball before accepting a full-time position. Prior to joining the Pirate athletic program, Merrill earned her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology and health with a concentration in athletic training from Iowa State University in 2008. While earning her degree, she was a student trainer for the Cyclones football, women s soccer and women s volleyball teams. Merrill is a licensed athletic trainer in North Carolina as well as a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association. She completed her master s degree in exercise and sport science with a concentration in sport management from East Carolina in May 2010. The Sioux City, Iowa, native is the daughter of Mitch and Tonya Merrill. Rosie Thompson Associate Athletics Director/SWA Rosie Thompson is in her 17th year as Senior Woman Administrator and fifth as Associate Athletics Director for her alma mater. A 1979 graduate of East Carolina, Thompson has a long association with ECU, where she is a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame. She is still the women s basketball program s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Following her collegiate career, Thompson played one year professionally with the St. Louis Streak, served as a graduate assistant for the ECU women s program and coached women s basketball and track at Northern Nash High School in Rocky Mount, N.C., from 1982-84. Thompson went on to serve as Assistant Director of Admissions at ECU from 1984-87. During that time, she received her master s degree from the University in 1985. In 1987, Thompson returned to the court as assistant coach for the ECU women s program. In 1992, Thompson was elevated to head coach, just the fifth in ECU women s basketball history, a position she held until spring of 1995, when she resigned to become ECU s Senior Woman Administrator. Robert Tate Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning Robert Tate begins his first year as Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning at East Carolina working directly with the soccer program, a position he took on July 27, 2011. Tate, who earned three letters as a defensive back for East Carolina from 1991-93 under Bill Lewis and Steve Logan, joins the Pirate staff after spending the last two years working under Jeff Connors guidance as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of North Carolina. His most recent stint in Chapel Hill marked the third of his career, as Tate also worked with the Tar Heel program as an assistant from 2002-04 and 2006-07. While at UNC, he was responsible for designing year-round programs for the football and women s basketball teams, assisting with clinics, scheduling all weight room activities and developing the strength and conditioning departmental budget. Tate earned a bachelor s degree in physical education with concentrations in teaching and exercise science from UNC Wilmington after transferring from East Carolina with course credits in nutrition. 2011 pirate 18 soccer