LITTLE ROCK — After leading their respective teams to their best seasons ever, Bryant soccer coaches Julie Long and Jason Hay have been chosen to be the head coaches for the East squads in the seventh annual East-West Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star soccer games.
The games, sponsored by Tyson Foods and the Arkansas Army National Guard, will be played Tuesday, June 22, at Razorback Field on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. The girls game will start at 6 p.m. The boys game at 8. As with the football, basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball All-Star games, the contests are held annually in conjunction with the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Coaches Clinic, which will be headquartered at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Fayetteville June 23-25.[more]
Long, in her first year at Bryant, led the Lady Hornets to a 17-8 season posting the most wins in the program’s history. They also won two State Tournament games for the first time, defeating Springdale Har-Ber and Fort Smith Southside in shootouts before being knocked out in the semifinals by eventual champion Fayetteville, 3-1.
Erica Selig, a junior on the team, will serve as the All-Star manager for the East team.
Hay led the Hornets to a 15-8 mark which was also a new standard for the program. They were upset 1-0 by Rogers Heritage in the opening round of the State tourney.
Reed Evans of the Hornets will serve as the East team manager and senior Tyler Salminen will be playing in the game.
Hay will be joined on the coaching staff by Bryan Mattox of Mountain Home, Chuck Speer of Conway Christian and T.J. Stroud of Batesville.
Long will be aided by Amanda Carter of Jonesboro Westside, Tim Chatman of Paragould and Leah Coleman of Mountain Home.
The West boys will be coached by Stephen Peck of Rogers with assistance from Don Earnest of Berryville, Brian Gibson of Sheridan and Chris Pratt of Harrison.
Gena McGee of Fayetteville will be the head coach of the West girls with Dan Childress of Gentry, T.J. Slough of Greenbrier and Roger Williams of Texarkana completing the staff.
Joining Salminen on the East boys squad from the 7A-Central Conference will be Luis Beltran and Wes Cummings of Conway, Cameron Koehler of Cabot, Tommy Regan of Little Rock Central and Jacob Sparks of Russellville.
The team will also include Carson Butler of Pulaski Academy, Chase Cain and Ryan Lamberson of Central Arkansas Christian, Omar Caruajal of Little Rock Hall, Jared Harriman and Will Lynn of Searcy, Jordan Howard of Valley View, Mathew Ingersol of North Pulaski, Jeremy Jacobs of Conway Christian, Winston Lee of Jonesboro, Jessie Light of Conway St. Joseph, John Lungaho of Little Rock Parkview, Jeremy Tashizdeh of Little Rock Lutheran, Drew Taylor of Mountain Home, Alfonzo Torres of Malvern and Tim West of Monticello.
The East girls will include 7A-Central players Ashley Barksdale of Mount St. Mary, Taylor Eshnaur of Russellville, Kendra Hendrix of Little Rock Central, Julia Hohn of North Little Rock, Emily Warren of Cabot and Hope Washispack of Conway.
Long’s Bryant team had only two seniors who were both limited by injury this spring.
The East team will also include Jessica Berry of Valley View, McKenzie Clark, Caleigh Woodruff and Cynthia Hoffman of Searcy, Claire Crews of North Pulaski, Desirre Feltmeyer of Marion, Andrew Hasik of Paragould, Miranda Hickman and Grace Sorge of Episcopal Collegiate, Korbin Kuhn of Pulaski Academy, Kristen Peterson of Mountain Home, Cara Rolf of CAC, Anna Williamson of Jonesboro, Jessica Wisenor of Little Rock Mills, Cheyenne Wood of Conway Christian and Sam Zinno of Conway St. Joseph.
