2013 Ring of Honor reservation form
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University will honor 10 of its graduates Friday, Oct. 18, by induction into the SRU Soccer Ring of Honor.
The Ring of Honor's Class of 2013 includes Steve Allison, John Cunningham, Adam Frederick, Tony Hindley, Erich Kaiser, Erika Lutwin, Meghan McGrath, Art Rex, Matt Thompson and Sharon Wheeler.
The Class of 2013 will be the first Ring of Honor group to include female soccer student-athletes. The initial two classes of honorees included only male student-athletes.
Induction ceremonies will be held in the Robert M. Smith Student Center Ballroom starting at 6 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 each and purchased online until Oct. 10, at which time the price increases to $40 per person.
For more information on the Ring of Honor, contact Pearl Shaffer, associate director of alumni engagement at 724.738.2768 or pearl.shaffer@sru.edu.
With the addition of the Class of 2013, a total of 32 former Rock men's and women's soccer student-athletes will be members of the Ring of Honor.
The following are profiles of the Ring of Honor's Class of 2013:
STEVE ALLISON was a four-year member of The Rock men's soccer program and earned numerous all-conference, all-state and all-region honors as a member of the Green and White. Allison also served as The Rock's assistant men's soccer coach from 1978-81 and helped lead the team to the ECAC regional championship in 1978.
Allison left The Rock to become soccer coach and assistant athletic director at Alfred University (1981-91). His AU teams won three ECAC Upstate New York Division III championships, claimed NCAA regional finalist honors in 1988 and compiled the only undefeated regular-season record in school history. He subsequently served as head men's (1991-98) and women's (1994-97) soccer coach at Greensboro College, where his men's teams earned five NCAA appearances (92, 94, 95, 96, 97) and four DIAC Conference Championships (94-97).
Since graduation from Slippery Rock, Allison has been involved and highly successful for over 30 years at all levels of soccer coaching, including the U.S. Soccer's National team player development system and coaching numerous state, regional and national championship teams. Allison has tutored several players who won national youth, college, Major League Soccer and W-League championships and earned spots on men's and women's national-team rosters.
Allison has served since 2010 as Executive Director of Coaching for the Lonestar Soccer Club, a perennial Soccer America Top 20 Youth Soccer Club. Prior to that, he served as Director of Coaching for the Austin United Capital Soccer Club (2008-10) and Director of Soccer for the Greensboro Youth Soccer Association (2004-2008).
In addition, Allison served as an assistant coach for the Carolina Dynamo of the USL Player Development League and head coach of the Dynamo's Super Y League teams from 2006-2008.
Allison has served since 1994 as a US Soccer Olympic Development, Region III coach and is currently the head coach of the U-14 BODP Region III team.
Among Allison's other individual honors are induction into the Greensboro College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 as an individual and in 2008 as part of the 1995 men's soccer team, as well as induction into Alfred University Athletic Hall of Fame as coach of the 1988 men's team.
Allison, who compiled a 157-62-24 career record as a collegiate men's head coach, has also received numerous Coach of the Year honors throughout his career.
Allison currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Mary, and is the father of two children.
JOHN CUNNINGHAM was a four-year member and three-year letter winner for Rock soccer teams coached by the late Jim Egli. Cunningham served as co-captain for the 1964 team.
Two years after receiving his undergraduate degree from Slippery Rock, Cunningham was hired in 1967 as Bethany (W. Va.) College's associate dean of students and Coordinator of Testing and Counseling, as well as advisor to the newly-formed Bethany Soccer Club.
Cunningham subsequently served as Bethany's Dean of Students, Dean of Admission, Executive Dean of Students, Vice President for Student Services, Executive Administrative Assistant to the President, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services and Senior Vice President.
In 1987, Cunningham was recognized by the Alumni Association with the Outstanding Service to Bethany College Award. Cunningham retired in July 2007 after devoting 40 years of service to the college.
The soccer club eventually transitioned to an intercollegiate varsity sport with Cunningham as its head coach. In 33 seasons (1968-2001) as a collegiate head coach, Cunningham has never experienced a losing season. He led Bethany to the 1994 NCAA Division III national championship, the only national title in school history, as well as a national runner-up finish in 1982.
Cunningham-coached Bethany teams have won 29 Presidents' Athletic Conference championships and made 17 appearances in the NCAA tournament. Cunningham has also coached 41 All-Americans.
As Bethany's head coach, Cunningham has played integral roles in the creation of the Bethany Alumni Soccer Association to support soccer and enhance facilities and coordinated $500,000 in improvements to Hoag Field and Soccer Complex.
In addition to his coaching accomplishments, Cunningham founded Bethany Soccer Camps, Inc. in 1974.
Cunningham received his Bachelor of Science degree from Slippery Rock State College in 1965 and a Master of Arts from Kent State University in 1967. He later received his Doctor of Education degree from West Virginia University in 1982.
Cunningham and his wife, Patricia, have three grown children and six grandchildren.
J. ADAM FREDERICK, a four-year starter as goalie for The Rock men's soccer team, earned two All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors and was named as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-region performer in both his junior and senior seasons.
Frederick led the PSAC in saves per game in both his junior and senior seasons and concluded his Rock soccer with 16 career shutouts. Frederick was in goal every minute of The Rock's 1984 and 1985 seasons, including the PSAC championship game vs. East Stroudsburg in 1985.
Frederick continued to play competitive soccer after college and played 14 seasons as goalie for the Walkersville Soccer Club in the Mason-Dixon Soccer League, where he joined other Rock graduates to lead his team to two league championships and numerous appearances in the championship game. He also served as keeper for the Maryland Area Police Futsal team that competed in international tournaments throughout the U.S. and in Holland, highlighted by a championship effort in a 38-team international tournament in 1999 at American University in suburban Washington, D.C.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1986 as a biology/education major at SRU, Frederick taught and coached at Walkersville High School in Maryland, where he was the school's first girls soccer head coach. Frederick served in that role for one season before taking the boys soccer head coaching job at Walkersville, a role in which he remained until 1995, when he took a job at the University of Maryland Sea Grant College in Baltimore's Inner Harbor area.
Frederick has coached club soccer with FC Frederick for the last 10 seasons and is a director of the club's goalkeeping academy that has produced NCAA Division I, II and III net minders.
Frederick currently lives, appropriately enough, in Frederick, Md., with his wife, Lisa, and their three children.
TONY HINDLEY was a three-year member of The Rock men's program after starting his collegiate career at Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia.
Hindley earned two All-PSAC honors and was an NSCAA All-American as a Rock junior in 1981, when he scored 12 goals and had 10 assists. Hindley, who shares the school record for single-game assists with four against St. Vincent in 1981, currently ranks ninth on SRU's career scoring list with 29 goals and 18 assists for 76 points.
Behind Hindley's lead, The Rock recorded double-digit win totals in all three of his seasons with the Green and White, a feat that went unduplicated until 2004-06.
Hindley, a 1983 Rock graduate, has lived and coached in the Zelienople area for the last 20 years and most recently served on the staff of the Seneca Valley Soccer Association from 2001-05 and Stars United club/classic from 2006-08.
A native of Sheffield, England, who emigrated to the U.S. in 1975 and graduated from North Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh's North Hills section, Hindley has been employed as a sales professional for more than 20 years. He and his wife, Sheri, a 1984 SRU graduate, are the parents of one daughter, Healy.
ERICH KAISER earned four All-PSAC honors, two as a member of The Rock men's program after starting his career at conference rival California (Pa.). Kaiser, an SRU team captain in 1990, also earned all-region honors in each of his seasons with The Rock after being honored as a sophomore at California.
Upon completion of his collegiate career, Kaiser was invited to tryout for both the Harrisburg Heat of the Professional Arena Soccer League and Raleigh Flyers of the A-League (outdoor).
Kaiser is currently employed as a health and physical education instructor in the Shaler Area School District, where he grew up (1997 graduate). Kaiser coached at Shaler from 1992-99, during which time he earned Section 3 (1996) and Class AAA (1997) Coach of the Year honors.
Kaiser has served as a coach for the North Stars Soccer Club since 2009 after serving as Director of Player Development for the Hampton Soccer Club from 2000-07.
In 2007, Kaiser, who served as a Rock assistant coach in 1991, was the founder of the Scott Alexander Memorial Soccer Game and Scholarship in honor of his longtime friend.
A 1992 Slippery Rock graduate and native of Pittsburgh, Kaiser lives in Allison Park with his wife, Alicia, and their two children.
ERIKA LUTWIN was the first-ever varsity head coach of The Rock women's soccer team in 1993, when the program transitioned from club-sport status to NCAA Division II competition.
Prior serving as The Rock's head coach from 1989-93, Lutwin was a two-year member of the women's soccer club team as well as a two-year member of the women's lacrosse varsity team. Lutwin was named to the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association's West National Team as a sophomore in 1991.
In 2001, Lutwin served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia in southern Africa.
A 1993 Rock graduate, Lutwin and her spouse, Sharon Van Stry, currently reside in Syracuse, N.Y., where Lutwin is employed as a licensed massage therapist.
Lutwin received an associate's degree in massage therapy from SUNY-Morrisville in 2006.
MEGHAN McGRATH was the first player in program history to earn two first-team NSCAA All-America honors (2003 and 2007).
As a fifth-year senior in 2007, McGrath also received third-team Daktronics, Inc. All-America honors in voting by the nation's NCAA Division II sports information directors.
In addition to her All-America citations, McGrath was a four-time NSCAA all-region selection, the MVP of the 2003 and 2007 PSAC championship games won by SRU, the 2007 PSAC Player of the Year honor, a four-time All-PSAC selection and a PSAC Scholar-Athlete.
McGrath now resides in Union City, N.J., and is employed as an exercise physiologist at Manhattan Sports Medicine in New York City, where she is a corrective exercise specialist and focuses on physical rehabilitation.
A 2007 Rock graduate, McGrath added a master's degree from California U. of Pa. in 2013.
ART REX, the top scorer in Rock men's soccer, was a two-time All-America, three-time all-region performer and four-time All-PSAC selection as a member of Egli-coached Green and White squads.
Rex led Rock teams to the 1974 PSAC championship and conference runner-up finishes in both 1975 and 1976.
Owner of Rock career (64), single-season (25 in 1974) and single-game (6 vs. Edinboro in 1975) goals scored records, Rex served two seasons as a team captain.
Upon completion of his collegiate playing career, Rex played professionally for the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League and was head coach for the W –League Carolina Dynamo.
Rex currently serves as a state and national instructor and evaluator for the NCYSA and USSF Coaching Education Staff, as NCYSA Vice President of Player & Coaching Development that oversees the Olympic Development Program, Coaching Education and NCYSA Academy Program; and as a NCYSA ODP Staff Coach.
Prior to assuming those duties, Rex served 17 seasons as head coach and three seasons as assistant coach at Appalachian State University, an NCAA Division I program. Rex earned three Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors and led teams to eight conference championships and five runner-up finishes while coaching 20 NSCAA All-Americans, seven conference Player of the Year award winners and 81 all-conference performers.
Appalachian State's all-time leader in career wins with a 147-159-21 record in 17 seasons (1981-97), Rex was inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and added spots in the Fox Chapel High School and Appalachian State University Athletic halls of fame in 1999 and 2007, respectively.
Rex and his wife, Jane, a 1978 Rock graduate, are the parents of three children and have one grandson. They currently reside in Boone, N.C., where Rex is Director of Space Management & Planning and a professor in the Geography & Planning Department at Appalachian State University.
Rex's son, Jennings, a senior at UNC-Charlotte, was selected in the 2013 MLS Draft by the Seattle Sounders.
MATT THOMPSON, currently the Head Men's Soccer Coach at the University of District of Columbia, excelled as both a men's soccer student-athlete and coach at The Rock.
As a student-athlete, Thompson was a two-time PSAC All-Conference selection, a three-time Western Pennsylvania All-Star, two-time team captain and was named the team's most valuable player in 1997.
After serving three seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Robert Morris University, Thompson returned to The Rock as head coach in 2002. The 1998 SRU graduate guided the Green and White to PSAC championships in 2005 and 2009, three berths in the NCAA Division II tournament, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2009, when his squad collected a school-record 18 wins.
In recognition of his leadership efforts, Thompson was named as the PSAC Coach of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
Thompson left SRU in 2009 to become the head coach at Lees-McRae College, where he led the Bobcats to a 13-5-3 record, Conference Carolinas regular-season and tournament titles and a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament.
One year later, Thompson was named as UDC's head coach in May 2011 and has led the Firebirds to a 14-14-6 cumulative win-loss records in two seasons after serving one season as head coach at
Aside from his coaching duties, Thompson has been extremely active in community engagement. He helped found SRU Athletes for Forgotten Angels, a student-athlete group aimed at improving the quality of underprivileged children's lives around the world. Thompson led a missionary trip to Haiti in the summer of 2008 and volunteered in New Orleans during the summer of 2009, painting houses and coaching children after Hurricane Katrina. Thompson was also involved in Special Olympics of Pennsylvania while serving as SRU's head coach.
Thompson and his wife, Danielle, live in suburban Washington, D.C. and are the parents of two sons.
SHARON WHEELER, a former member of The Rock women's soccer club-team program, has carved out a considerable niche as a soccer official.
Wheeler began refereeing in 1991 and attained National Referee status in 1999.
A native of Albany, N.Y., Wheeler served as a Major League Soccer referee from 1996-2001 and officiated a league playoff game in 1999. She also refereed in the WUSA from 2001-03, a stint highlighted by her assignments to work the opening and championship games in 2001.
Wheeler maintained International/FIFA-AR status from 2000-08, when she retired in accordance to FIFA's age requirement.
Wheeler also officiated the NCAA Women's Finals in 2000 and a Women's World Cup quarterfinal match in 2003, as well as numerous Gold Cup and CONCACAF Pre-Olympic qualifier matches and Florida state high school championship matches.
While completing college, Wheeler, who began her collegiate career at SUNY Albany before transferring to SRU after two years, coached girls U-19 teams from 1982-86 and led a Teams USA Sportsring squad on a three-week European tour in 1986.
A 1986 cum laude graduate from The Rock and owner of a master's degree from Penn State University in 1992, Wheeler currently resides in Rensselaer, N.Y., and has been employed the past 10 years at Albany Medical Center, a Regional Level 1 Trauma Center, where he created and manages the Healing Arts Program.
Wheeler is also a Celtic musician and co-founded Triskele, an international all-female performing group.
The Class of 2013 will join the following former Rock soccer student-athletes in the Ring of Honor:
Class of 2011 – Bruce Adams (SRU Class of 1943), Angelo Albanese (SRU Class of 1979), Edward Boyle (SRU Class of 1958), Marvin Donaldson (SRU Class of 1953), coach Jim Egli, Walter Esser (SRU Class of 1960), Russ Fager (SRU Class of 1971), Ray Haynes (SRU Class of 1937), Kamal Houari (SRU Class of 1979), Jack Jarvie (SRU Class of 1959), Herb Lauffer (SRU Class of 1963), Connie Palumbo (SRU Class of 1957), Jim Perry (SRU Class of 1963), Gary Sphar (SRU Class of 1976) and Bob Watson (SRU Class of 1970).
Class of 2012 – Raymond Bitar (SRU Class of 1963), Thomas "Tucker" Campion (SRU Class of 1979),
Ryan Gillespie (SRU Class of 1995), Gerald Hendershot (SRU Class of 1981), James Herlinger (SRU Class of 1974), Patrick O'Hare (SRU Class of 1965) and Donald Shea (SRU Class of 1974).
