Moody Bible Institute soccer coach Chris McHugh was recently named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II 2012 National Coach of the Year. The award was officially given to Coach McHugh on Jan. 18 during the NSCCA's annual Awards Banquet in Indianapolis, Ind.
"It was an honor to receive the award," said Coach McHugh. "This is a team success award, and so I am indebted to the hard work and performance of our players this season, and to the great leadership of our assistant coaches, Brian Moon and Leo Medeiros." The annual award is voted upon by the eight coaches of the participating schools at the NCCAA DII Men's Soccer National Tournament. Twenty three other head coaches and four assistant coaches were honored for their accomplishments this past season.
Coach McHugh has extensive coaching background at the collegiate, high school, youth club and camp levels. In his first season as head of Moody's soccer program, he guided the Archers to an 18-2-0 record and led them to their second straight NCCAA Division II National Championship.
"My first year of teaching and coaching at Moody has been a joy and a blessing," stressed Coach McHugh. "I inherited a program that had been well loved and cared for by Moody's long-time head coach Joe Harding (25 years), and a team that was very talented. It was also great to have the leadership of our Athletic Director, Dan Dunn, and the support of the administration at Moody." Coach McHugh is the second soccer coach at Moody to win the award. Retired Head Coach of Moody's soccer team, Joe Harding, previously won the award for the 2011-2012 season and the 1994-1995 season.
Additional honors this season for the Moody Archers include: Ryan Pattison-Most Outstanding Player of the National Tournament; Jacob Persson-Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the National Tournament; 1st Team All-Americans-Ethan Montesinos, David MacFarland, and Jacob Persson (also named NSCAA/NCCAA Division II Player of the Year). 2nd Team All-Americans-Ryan Pattison and Andy Schnepp.
For more information about the men's soccer team, please visit their Web page.