Sports
Soccer: Ohio Hires Former Goalkeeper As Assistant Coach
< < Back to soccer-ohio-hires-former-goalkeeper-assistant-coachThe Ohio soccer team announced Friday the hiring of former professional goalkeeper Allison Whitworth to their staff as an assistant coach.
Whitworth was an assistant and goalkeeper coach at Middle Tennessee State University, where the Blue Raiders went a combined 24-14-1, including 14-5-1 last season to share the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title. Blue Raider goalies recorded 14 career shutouts, five last season, under Whitworth.
The former Auburn goalie had one of the greatest careers in SEC history. By the time she had graduated, Whitworth had recorded 356 career saves, which remains the school record to this day. She also ranks third all-time in SEC history in the saves category.
Her success in college allowed her to become the first Auburn player to ever be drafted into a professional soccer league. She was chosen 54th overall in the eighth round of the 2009 draft by FC Gold Pride and recently played with the Atlanta Beat in her third season in the Women’s Professional Soccer league.
Whitworth joins a team that features one of the top goalies in the Mid-American Conference and Ohio’s all-time leader in career saves. Mattie Liston broke the Ohio record last fall, recording her 296th save in the quarterfinal loss to Miami in the MAC Tournament.
The goalie returns to the Bobcats for her senior season, two saves away from being 10th all-time in MAC history for saves. The all-time MAC leader is Erika Flanders, who recorded 473 saves in her career at Bowling Green. Liston, who led the MAC with 112 saves last season, is unlikely to reach that record, but she only needs 91 more saves finish top four all-time.
Under Whitworth’s guidance, Liston’s possibilities to be one of the top goalies in MAC history are endless.