Waynesburg hires coach

Waynesburg University today announced the hiring of Sean McCarthy, pictured, as the Yellow Jackets' head men’s and women’s soccer coach. He replaces former men’s coach Carl DeiCas and women’s coach Jim Rue.

McCarthy comes to Waynesburg from SUNY Old Westbury, where he was working in his second stint as the first assistant coach with the Panthers' men's team. McCarthy's first stint at Old Westbury ran from 2005 to 2008. In 2007, McCarthy helped lead the Panthers to the Skyline Conference title and the school’s first berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

McCarthy also spent one year as an assistant at Xavier University.

“We did a wide search for a new soccer coach,” Waynesburg athletic director Rudy Marisa said. “We believe we have chosen the right person to make progress with our men’s and women’s teams.”

McCarthy will be one of three coaches in the Presidents' Athletic Conference who handle both the men's and women's programs. The other two-team coaches are at Thomas More and Westminster.

McCarthy certainly has his work cut out for him. Like the majority of teams at Waynesburg, the Yellow Jackets' men's and women's soccer programs have struggled for many years. Victories have been few. The Waynesburg men have an 11-44-4 record over the last three seasons, including a 2-14-2 mark in the PAC. The Waynesburg women have been slightly better, going 20-30-4 overall and 6-14-1 in the PAC.

Cal women's soccer gets first NCAA berth

The California University women’s soccer team received an at-large bid Monday to the NCAA Division II Championships. It is the first NCAA tournament berth for the Vulcans.

California will play West Virginia Wesleyan in a first-round game Friday in Kutztown. The starting time has not been determined. Kutztown earned an opening-round bye and will host the winner of the Cal-WVW game on Sunday.

Under third-year head coach Al Alvine, Cal established a program record with 16 wins, earned its first PSAC West title and made its first-ever appearance in the PSAC tournament.

West Virginia Wesleyan (12-6-1) earned an automatic berth to the 48-team tournament by winning the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. The Bobcats won their third third-straight WVIAC title.

W&J women in D-III soccer tournament

The Washington & Jefferson College women's soccer team will be making its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III tournament after earning the Presidents' Athletic Conference's automatic berth.

The Presidents (12-6-2) will travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., Friday for a 1:30 p.m. contest against the Calvin College Knights (13-4-1).

Ohio Northern (15-4-1) takes on Wittenberg (11-4-5) in the other opening-round contest at the Calvin four-team pod at 11:00 a.m. Friday. The first-round winners will meet in a second-round match Saturday afternoon.

W&J won the PAC championship Saturday by defeating host Grove City, 1-0, on a second-half goal by Chrissy Marcius (pictured).

Calvin received one of 21 at-large (Pool C) bids to the tournament. The Knights will be making their fifth consecutive trip to the postseason. Calvin lost in a penalty-kicks shootout last week in the MIAA tournament semifinals to Kalamazoo.

W&J nets PAC women's soccer title

Freshman midfielder Chrissy Marcius scored the game's only goal as Washington & Jefferson successfully defended its Presidents' Athletic Conference women's soccer championship by defeating host Grove City, 1-0, in the tournament final Saturday.

The Presidents (12-6-2) earned their first win at Grove City since the 2005 season and receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament for the second consecutive season. For the second year in a row, W&J won both its semifinal and championship matches on the road.

Third-seeded W&J and top-seeded GCC (11-6-3) played a scoreless first half with the Wolverines holding a 7-3 advantage in shots, while W&J held the slight edge in corner kicks, 2-1.

The Wolverines continued to hold an edge in the stat sheet in the second half, but Marcius converted on a scoring opportunity in the 60th minute for the only goal the Presidents would need.

W&J sophomore goalie Stephanie Saussol held the Wolverines off the scoreboard the rest of the way and finished with 10 saves. Saussol recorded her sixth shutout of the season.

The NCAA will release the tournament bracket Monday morning.

Sadler gets PAC honor

Bethany College freshman goalkeeper Brittany Sadler, pictured, has been selected as the Presidents' Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Defensive/Goalkeeper of the Week.

Sadler, New Eagle native and Ringgold High School graduate, helped the Bison (4-2-1) to a win and tie last week. In a road match at NCAA Division II Seton Hill, Sadler made nine of her career-high 13 saves in the second half as Bethany held on for a 2-1 victory over the Griffins, who made the WVIAC tournament semifinals a season ago.

On Sunday, Sadler recorded her third shutout in a 0-0 double-overtime draw with visiting Hilbert (N.Y.) College.

Houston wins WVIAC honor

Kara Houston, a junior forward for Wheeling Jesuit University and a Trinity High School graduate, was named the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer player of the week. Houston scored two goals and had an assist in the Cardinals' 5-4 overtime victory against Shippensburg in the season opener. Houston scored the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of the overtime period.

Houston was the Cardinals' leading scorer last season with 12 goals and 27 points in 18 matches. She was a second team all-conference selection.