MOBILE, Ala. – Rob Ward, who has spent the last two seasons on the University of South Alabama soccer staff as a graduate assistant, has been named a full-time assistant, head coach Richard Moodie announced Tuesday.

The York, England native came to South Alabama after spending a year under Moodie at Carson-Newman University.

"Firstly, I would like to thank Richard Moodie for the opportunity to continue coaching here at the University of South Alabama," Ward said. "I would also like to thank coaches such as Mark Foster, Andy Poklad, Giles Cheevers and Moodie that have mentored me and helped me achieve what I have in the game today.

"I have been part of the program now for two years and I am very excited to continue to work with this fantastic group of student athletes."

During his tenure at South Alabama, the Jaguars have posted a 22-15-3 overall record and a 14-5-1 mark in the Sun Belt Conference, and claimed the 2017 Sun Belt regular-season and tournament titles.

In his first season, Rio Hardy was named the league's player of the year after recording 16 goals, 37 points and 6 game-winning goals. The team led the league in goals (40), points (108) and shots (345), and Hardy led the Sun Belt in seven different categories.

Faced with a schedule that included five opponents from major conferences, including eventual national champion Florida State, the Jags still finished in the top half of the conference in scoring, and Brenna McPartlan was listed in the top 10 in nine different categories en route to Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors.

"I'm excited to announce Rob as the assistant coach here," Moodie said. "Even though he was a graduate assistant at Carson-Newman, he took on the responsibilities of a full-time assistant while going to school, so he's not shy of working hard. He helped us become very successful there and he followed me here to South Alabama and did the same thing. Once Mark Foster left, it was an easy decision to move him into that role.

"He's very knowledgeable about the game and has a great soccer IQ. He's an outstanding recruiter and understands exactly what we're looking for here. It was a natural fit for the program and we're lucky to have him."

Ward was a member of the 2016 NSCAA Southeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year at Carson-Newman after the Eagles won the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

As a defender at Trevecca Nazarene, Ward appeared in 49 games and scored 10 goals – including five as a senior to rank second on the team – with seven assists over three seasons.

He graduated from TNU in 2015 with a degree in sport management, and earned a master's at South Alabama in health education, and a master's in business administration from Carson-Newman.

Ward's coaching licenses include an NSCAA national diploma, USSF D, NSCAA goalkeeper level 2 and English FA level 1.

Join the Upper 90 Club, the soccer specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All gifts to the Upper 90 Club go directly to support the South Alabama soccer program. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/upper90

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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