Men's Soccer Southern Conference

Powell to coach Elon men's soccer program

Darren Powell
ELON, N.C. -- Elon University Director of Athletics Dr. Alan White today announced that Darren Powell has been hired as the head coach of the Phoenix men's soccer program. Powell comes to Elon after serving as an assistant at Southern Conference rival UNC Greensboro for the past four seasons.

"I am very excited to become a head coach at the Division I level. And to be able to do it in the Triad is wonderful," said Powell. "Elon is a fantastic school with a beautiful campus. It was the right time for me to move forward in my career. Elon's got a good group of young players to work with. I would like to thank UNCG for the opportunities they provided me both as a coach and a player."

At UNCG, Powell assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, scheduling and academic development. The Spartan program posted a 55-26-3 mark in his four seasons there and was the nation's top-ranked program during the regular season this fall. Powell was honored as one of the top NCAA Division I assistant coaches by College Soccer News in 2001 and has coached one MLS player, one NSCAA Senior All-Star, one All-American, one Academic All-American, four All-Regional honorees, 22 All-SoCon selections, two conference Freshman of the Year award winners and one league Player of the Year.

Prior to joining the staff at UNCG, Powell headed the Greensboro College program for three seasons, posting a 50-12-3 ledger. He led the Pride to the NCAA Division III finals in 1998 and Dixie Conference titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000. His program produced an MLS player, two NSCAA Senior All-Stars, three All-Americans, 15 All-Region choices, 25 All-Dixie Conference selections, three league Players of the Year and two conference Rookies of the Year. In 1998, Powell was honored by the NSCAA as the South Region Coach of the Year and was named the Dixie Conference Coach of the Year. The Pride finished ranked second in the nation in 1998, eighth in the country in 1999 and 12th nationally in 2000.

Powell played professionally for the Carolina Dynamo USISL team, the Raleigh Flyers A-League team and the Wilmington Hammerheads USISL team from 1995-1999.

Powell graduated from UNC Greensboro in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in leisure studies where he helped the Spartans make two NCAA Tournament appearances. He was a two-time captain, team MVP and All-South Region selection as well as a three-time All-Big South honoree. Powell became the first Spartan player to score over 100 career points at the Division I level.

"We are extremely excited to have secured the services of Darren Powell as our new head men's soccer coach," said White. "He is a very knowledgeable, experienced coach. We feel very fortunate to have acquired a coach from a program of the caliber of UNC Greensboro. Coach Powell understands our university mission and possesses the personal values and character that make him a good fit for our program and our university. We look forward to our work together."