June 2, 2010
LAS VEGAS - Liam Connors has been named assistant men's soccer coach at UNLV, head coach Rich Ryerson announced on Wednesday. Connors completes Ryerson's first coaching staff, who took over the helm of the Rebels in April. Connors replaces top assistant Chad Brown, who left UNLV in March to take a position at West Virginia. Dan Schell, meanwhile, will remain on the staff as assistant coach for his third year beginning this fall.
"I'm very excited to have Liam come on board with our program," said Ryerson. "His experience in playing and coaching at the University of Redlands under head coach Ralph Perez will be a huge asset to our team."
Connors comes to Las Vegas after spending the past two seasons as assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Redlands in California. As an assistant for the Bulldogs, he assisted in all aspects of running the team while also serving as the recruiting coordinator. He also spent a year as an assistant coach for Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.
Other coaching experience for Connors includes the past two years as a staff coach at the Region IV ODP Camp (2009-10), two years as a head coach for the MidState Soccer Club (2007-08) in Decatur, two years as a head coach for the Lake Oswego Soccer Club (2006-07) in Oregon and two years as assistant boys' soccer coach at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego from 2005-2006
As a four-year starter for Redlands, Connors helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament four straight seasons, while also making an appearance in the NCAA finals in 2001, and the team was NCAA regional finalists all four seasons. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 in the nation by NSCAA in 2002 and won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference four times as well during Connors' time on the squad. He finished his career ranked in a tie for ninth in points in a season with 31, while his career totals include 23 goals (ninth best in school history) and 58 points (10th). Connors also received All-SCIAC honors his senior year, in which he also served as the team captain.
Connors graduated from the University of Redlands in 2005 with a bachelor of science degree in environmental science and is on track to receive his master's degree in higher education from Redlands in July of this year. He holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) "A" license in coaching and also has a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national youth diploma.
