Head Coach - Kom Momeni
Kom Momeni starts his third campaign at SPSU with an
20-13-3 record. His Hornet's team finished tied for second in
the Southern States Athletic Conference and hosted the first round of
the Conference Tournament. During the season, the Hornets were
ranked as high as #18 in the nation and received votes for the
National Top 25 for 4 weeks. Along the way they played
five teams in the Pre-season National Top 25 Poll, beating two and
drawing with one. They lost to eventual National Champions,
Bethel College, 0-1. They had an impressive 7-2 conference record
and had two players make the All-Conference team. The Hornets
had the Conference's leading goal scorer in Futty Danso (19 goals) and
the leading playmaker in James Grant, with 11 assists on the year.
Danso was also named an NAIA All-American, the SSAC Player of the Year and Offensive Player
of the Year.
In his first year at the helm at SPSU, he finished with an 8-8-2
record. He helped lead the Hornets to the lowest GAA in
Region XII. The Inaugural Season saw 8 starting freshmen, 4
opposing teams in the National Top 25 poll, and the Southern States
Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year. However, the most
impressive stat for the young Hornet's team was that they lost 6 of
the 8 games by only one goal, while taking the Number 6 and 25 teams
in the Nation to overtime.
Kom
Momeni came to Southern Poly from Division 1 Coastal Carolina University,
where he spent four years as the first assistant coach. During
his tenure, Coastal Carolina won three consecutive Big South Conference
Tournaments (’03-’05) and appeared in four straight NCAA
National Tournaments capped with a “Sweet Sixteen” appearance
in 2003. That same 2003 team was honored as having the highest
overall GPA for NCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer Teams with a 3.31
and finished the year ranked number eight in the nation. In
2002, Coastal had the second highest ranking in the nation in overall
team GPA with a 3.1, while finishing the year ranked in the top 25.
College Soccer News named Momeni as one of the Nation’s
Top Twenty Assistant Coaches in 2004.
Before
his stint at Coastal, Momeni spent three years at Division II powerhouse,
University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX. Momeni
was instrumental in turning the program around with a Heartland Conference
Championship in 2001 and a National Ranking of #4 in 2000.
Momeni
began his college coaching career in 1997 at Division III Mary Washington
College (Fredricksburg, VA), where he helped the women’s program
to an 18-2-2 record and a trip to the National Quarterfinals.
They finished the year ranked #5 in the nation. Afterwards,
he spent a season at Ferrum College before moving on to Incarnate
Word.
Coach
Momeni received his Masters in Administration from University of the
Incarnate Word in 2002 and his Bachelor’s degree and Teaching
Certificate from Radford University in Virginia. There, he met
his wife, former Rebecca Quesenberry. After college, Momeni
spent three years as the Girl’s Head Coach at Chancellor High
School where he won two District Championships and made three trips
to the Regional Tournament, while getting two Area and District Coach
of the Year awards.
- 2 years as a college head coach (20-13-3-SPSU)
- 9 years as a college assistant
- 5 NCAA Tournament appearances (’02-’05- CCU, ’97-MWC)
- 5 Conference Championships (’03-’05- CCU, ’01-UIW, ’97 MWC)
- 133-54-12 overall NCAA record (’97-’05)
- 187-64-15 record in 14 seasons as a coach
- 8 All-American Selections
- 7 Academic All-American Selections
- NCAA National Player of the Year (Joseph Ngwenya- ’03)-CCU
- NCAA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Joseph Ngwenya- ’02)-CCU
- Nation’s Leading Goal Scorer (Joseph Ngwenya- ’02, ’03)-CCU
- #1 Offense in the Nation (’03)-CCU
- #3 Defense in the Nation (’03)-CCU
- 5 Major League Soccer Draftees
- Highest National Ranking (#3-MWC, #4-UIW, #8-CCU,
#18-SPSU)
- 5 Conference MVP’s
- 5 Conference Tournament MVP’s
- 1 Conference Offense Player of the Year
- 1 Conference Newcomer of the Year
Assistant Coach- John Sprague
John Sprague joins SPSU
after three seasons as Head Coach at Division II Concordia College -
New York. During his Concordia coaching career, John has coached
players who have gone pro both domestically and internationally.
Competing in the tough East Coast Conference, he coached the 2009
ECC Offensive Player of the Year who led the country during the
regular season in goals, goals per game and points per game. This
forward now plays for the Chicago Fire of the MLS.
Five years prior to
Concordia, John was an Assistant Coach at Molloy College in
Rockville Centre, NY, a Division II school whose program was just
created a year prior to his arrival. As an Assistant, John was
vital in developing and starting a program that is now one of the
strongest in the Northeast.
John played college soccer
at Division I, St. John's University in Jamaica, NY. During his two
years there, they went to the Final 8 of the NCAA tournament both
years and won the Big East Tournament in 1998. After two seasons,
John transferred to Molloy College to complete his playing career.
As a club coach, John was
the Head Coach for the U-18 USSF Developmental Academy Team at BW
Gottschee.
At Molloy, John completed a
BA in Mathematics and a MS in Secondary Education, with a Math
concentration.
Graduate Assistant- Paul Sammeroff
Coach Paul Sammeroff comes into his third
season as graduate assistant coach of the Hornets. After a successful
college career, Sammeroff helped the Hornets to a 20-13-3 overall record
in the first two seasons.
Whilst playing his freshman
season at Winthrop University (2003-04), he then joined the
University of Alabama Huntsville (2004-07), and in his senior year,
led the team to its first conference tournament appearance in five
years.
In 2006 and 2007 Sammeroff
was selected to play for the state of Alabama where he played a
vital role in various positions under Coach Mike Remus. In 2008 he
was also named in the roster for semi pro team Rocker City United in
Alabama. Coach Sammeroff has
also represented his country 3 times in the Maccabiah games.
Sammeroff received his
undergrad at the University of Alabama Huntsville in Business
Administration and is now completing his M.B.A here at Southern
Polytechnic State University.
Student Asst.-
Travis Barbee
Travis is back for his third
year at SPSU. He is actively involved in practice and
game management at SPSU.
He coaches locally
with the Boy's Soccer team at Cass High School in Bartow County.
While he has been at Cass H.S., he has produced the best
season in school history and finished with a winning record every
year with an overall record of 32-19-1. He has notched
the school's only playoff victories when he led them to the Elite 8.
Coach Barbee has his National C License and will get his B.S. in
Sports Management from Kennesaw State University.
GK Trainer- Glen
Fox
Glen
joins the SPSU Hornets in his first year as the GK Trainer.
Fox played three seasons for Lindsey
Wilson College (Ky.) where he recorded 0.59 goals-against average
with 23 shutouts for his career. He helped Lindsey Wilson win the
2005 NAIA National Championship with a 0.42 goals-against average,
and single-season school record 16 shutouts. Fox was selected as a
NAIA honorable mention All-American, a NAIA All-Region XI and a
All-Mid-South Conference player.
Fox spent 4 months training with the USL-1 Charleston Battery in
2008. He holds a NSCAA National Goalkeeping License as well as USSF
National "D" Coaching License. Fox is also the goalkeeper trainer
for the AFC soccer club and also on the ODP staff.
