Dave Morris |
CANTON, Mo. — Culver-Stockton College Director of Athletics Joel Dant has announced that former Colorado State University–Pueblo women’s soccer head coach David Morris has been hired as the new women’s soccer coach at Culver-Stockton College.
Morris takes over a women’s soccer program that finished with a 1-17 overall record, losing the final 17 matches it played last season. The Lady Wildcats are expected to return 12 players from that team.
At CSU-Pueblo, Morris coached the Thunderwolves for two seasons, leading a turnaround from a 6-10-3 record in 2006 to a 14-6-1 mark in 2007. During his tenure, the Thunderwolves earned their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Player of the Year award and first RMAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. He finished with a 23-14-3 overall record in his two seasons as head coach.
Prior to CSU-Pueblo, Morris was an assistant women’s coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay during the 2006-07 school year. While there, he led the goalkeepers to the best season in school history, shaving nearly a half a goal per game off previous team record.
From 1999-2006, Morris was the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stout where he garnered a 68-48-13 overall record, including a 15-3-2 mark in 2004. His players earned seven straight team academic awards, he had three National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association All-Region players and seven Academic All-American and All-Region awards. His overall coaching record is 91-62-16 in 10 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to lead the women’s soccer program at Culver-Stockton College,” said Morris. “This is a challenging situation to come in to, but it’s really inspiring to be a part of such a tremendous educational institution.
“I really feel that this is a place where a soccer program that provides an outstanding experience to student-athletes is a great fit with the college’s overall mission to equip women with the tools they will need to choose their own path and then navigate it successfully. It’s exciting to look at working with the kind of outstanding student-athletes that Culver attracts, and I look forward to building a great soccer tradition here in Canton!”
“Dave brings an outstanding background in building and coaching successful soccer programs at colleges much like Culver-Stockton,” said Dant. “We feel confident that his experience and background will help build our women's program and get us back to a more competitive position in our conference.”
“This was the first step in restructuring the men and women’s soccer programs from a dual coaching role for both teams to a single coach for each team,” said Melik Peter Khoury, vice president of enrollment management and college marketing. “As an institution, we decided each team merited having someone who can focus attention on building each team and leading it to success. Consequently, we believe Dave Morris is that person who will lead our women’s soccer program back to prominence.”
Morris is the third head coach in the 10-year history of the women’s soccer program at Culver-Stockton. Matt Longo, current boys coach at Quincy (Ill.) High School, coached the team from 2000-03 and Mark Thomas coached the team from 2004-08. In addition to women’s soccer, Morris will also be responsible for coaching the men’s golf team.
