Coaches Corner with Al de Lachica - Week 8 Coach Okpodu

Sam Okpodu enters his sixth year as the head coach of the Newberry mens soccer team after five successful seasons at the helm of the scarlet and gray.

The 2008 season saw Okpodu take the program to new heights with a third place finish in the South Atlantic Conference with a 5-2-1 record in conference play and a 5-11-1 record overall, the best finish in the SAC standings in team history. Forward Debola Ogunseye was selected to the All-SAC first team, while senior midfielder Shane Abbott and defender Jeff Bell was named to the second team. Ogunseye was also named to the DAKTRONICS All-Southeast Region first team.

Coach Okpodu lead Newberry to a 9-10 record overall in 2006 and a 2-5 record in the South Atlantic Conference, finishing sixth. Three total players were placed on the all-SAC first and second teams.

In 2005, Newberry went 7-9-2 overall and 1-6 in SAC play. Okpodu led Newberry to a 9-7-2 overall record and a 3-3-1 South Atlantic Conference record in 2004, both tops in school history. The men also finished fifth in the SAC, what was then their highest conference finish ever.

The success found in 2004 included two all-conference selections and one all-region selection. Newberry finished the season ranked eighth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Appalachian Region rankings, also a first for the program.

In addition to compiling the best overall and conference records in program history, the men also racked up an eight match unbeaten streak in 2004, another school best.

Prior to his work with Newberry, Okpodu boasts 18 years of coaching experience on the amateur, collegiate, semiprofessional, and international levels. He coached the Virginia Tech womens Division I program for 10 seasons and he has served as a consultant for the Delta United Soccer Club, a professional mens team in Nigeria. While overseas, he also guided the Nigerian womens national team to its third African Womens Soccer Championship in 2002.

A graduate of North Carolina State University, Okpodu was a three-time All-American and still is the all-time Atlantic Coast Conference leading scorer with 193 points. He started all 77 games of his career, and participated in postseason play three of his four years.

After his professional career with the Orlando Lions (United States Soccer Federation) and a stint at the helm of the Raleigh United Soccer Club, Okpodu returned to the Wolfpack as an assistant coach before taking the reins of the Virginia Tech program. His Hokie squads graduated 95% of its players.

In 2002, Okpodu was recognized as one of 55 people to be selected to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team for his accomplishments as a player at N.C. State. The team was voted on by seven league institutions that sponsor mens soccer as decided by the leagues 50th Anniversary Committee.

Okpodu, a Nigerian-born U.S. citizen, holds licenses and diplomas with the SSF and the NSCAA. He fills the role of advisor and consultant for the International Soccer Network, Inc., based in Blacksburg, Va.

From Newberrry College Sports Information Director

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