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(Lock
Haven, Pa.) - The
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Department of Athletics has announced the
appointment of Shannon Champ as the new head women’s soccer coach. She
is the fifth head coach in the nine-year history of the Lady Eagle soccer
program.
Shannon Champ comes to The Haven from Presbyterian
College and Chapin High School in South Carolina.
She served as the assistant women’s soccer coach at Presbyterian the
past two seasons, helping lead the Blue Hose to a combined 24-10-3 record and a
pair of South Atlantic Conference Tournament runner-up finishes.
Since 1996, Champ had also worked as the head coach of the Chapin High
School’s girl’s soccer team while teaching Physical and Health Education at
Chapin Middle School. As the head
coach, Champ directed her teams to three winning seasons including a state
runner-up finish in 2000 and also garnered regional Coach of the Year honors in
1999, 2000, and 2002.
“We are very happy to have Shannon Champ joining the Lock Haven
community,” said University President Craig Dean Willis.
“She brings outstanding coaching experiences and has a strong sense of
what it will take to keep our women’s soccer program among the nation’s
best.”
“Shannon is going to be an outstanding addition to our staff,” said Sharon
Taylor, Lock Haven Director of Athletics.
“She’s been very successful in all her previous positions, and we
are looking forward to her taking our women’s program to the next step.”
Champ was a decorated high school soccer player
for Rolling Meadows High School in Illinois, and was also a member of the
Illinois State Select Team and the Illinois-Teams USA group which traveled
throughout Europe in the summer of 1987. She
attended the University of Dayton, where she was a member of the Flyers’
soccer team from 1988 through 1989 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
Education.
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Newly appointed Head Women's Soccer Coach Shannon Champ
will assume the reigns of
the three-time PSAC and
defending NCAA D-II
Northeast Region champion
Lady Eagles
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She holds a USSF National
‘C’ license and NSCAA Goalkeeper School Level One certification. In
addition to her formal coaching background, Champ has served as a staff coach
at several summer camps, including the Clemson University Soccer Camp and the
Presbyterian College Soccer Camp. She
has also developed and directed the Shannon Champ Soccer Camp in Chapin, S.C.
“I am looking forward to coming in and taking the team to the highest
level possible, which at this stage I believe is a national title,” said
Champ. “The team lost only one
starter and has a great core of players returning.”
“I’m
excited about being a part of the University and all aspects of the soccer
program,” added Champ. “That
includes working the team hard on the field along with keeping their grades
up.”
Champ takes over the women’s soccer program
after former head coach Doug Moore resigned in the spring in order to assume
the head coaching position with the Lock Haven men’s soccer program. Champ
inherits a Lady Eagle soccer team that went 18-4 and closed out the season
ranked fifth in the nation after winning its third-straight PSAC title and
second NCAA Division II Northeast Regional championship.
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