Murray State Selects Beth Acreman As New Head Women's Soccer Coach

Beth Acreman has been selected as Murray State University's new head women's soccer coach, MSU Director of Athletics Allen Ward announced today. Acreman comes to Murray State after spending six seasons as the assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where she helped turn the team into a consistent conference championship contender.

During Acreman's tenure, the Blue Raiders compiled a 64-48-7 record, won the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Championship and broke or tied the school record for wins in a season four times.

Over the past three seasons, Middle Tennessee posted a 38-16-6 mark. During that same time, the Blue Raiders lost just three Sun Belt Conference matches, going a combined 17-3-5 in league games. In 2003 MTSU set a new school mark for wins in a season with 12 and broke that record a year later when the team went 13-4-2 and captured the Sun Belt title. The Blue Raiders tied the 13-win mark in 2005.

“I'm excited that Coach Acreman has decided to become Murray State's next women's soccer coach,” Ward said. “She brings the experience and skills necessary to build our program into a consistent contender for the OVC championship and birth into the NCAA tournament. The future is bright for Murray State soccer with Beth at the helm.”

“I'm excited to be offered this

position,” Acreman said. “Having worked at MTSU I'm very familiar with the Ohio Valley Conference and the teams that we'll be playing. I'm excited about taking the program to the next level and becoming a Murray State Racer.”

Acreman joined the Middle Tennessee program in just its fifth season of existence. In the six years since, she has helped develop a championship program.

In 2003 MTSU turned in its first ever winning conference record, going 5-1-2 and finishing third in the Sun Belt. In 2004, the Blue Raiders went 6-1-1 on their way to finishing first and capturing the conference championship.

The 2005 squad, which was expected to have a rebuilding year after losing three of the top scorers in school history and having new players representing half of its roster, lost just one league match for the third year in a row, finishing in second place with a 6-1-2 mark.

“The Middle Tennessee program mirrors the Murray State program in many ways,” said Ward. “What they have done at MTSU in such a short period of time is remarkable. I'm confident that in time her efforts will produce the same results at Murray State.”

Her duties at Middle Tennessee included assisting with coaching, recruiting, travel, team logistics and all summer camps. Acreman's recruiting area at MTSU included Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. She is familiar with many of the current Racers and with the talent available in those states.

Her strong recruiting ties have helped enable MTSU to land a number of talented players in recent years, including the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Debs Breereton, and the 2004 Newcomer of the Year, Lisa-Marie Woods.

“Coach Acreman is one of the bright, young coaches in intercollegiate women's soccer,” Ward said. “Already having recruiting ties established in our region will immediately pay dividends for our program.

Her working knowledge of the OVC and regional competition will jump-start our program as she builds Murray State into an annual contender for the OVC crown.”

The Yateley, England native has coached 21 All-Sun Belt Conference selections, one Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, two Sun Belt Newcomers of the Year and one Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.

“There is no doubt in my mind that she will do extremely well at Murray State,” said Middle Tennessee State Head Women's Soccer Coach Aston Rhoden.” “I didn't treat Beth as an assistant coach; rather, I treated her as a second head coach. She has done so much in every aspect of our program. She's done a great deal with recruiting, with our budget, as well as on-the-field coaching. She is a big reason and a big part of us being where we are now.”

Academically, during Acreman's tenure at MTSU, the program has had more than 25 Sun Belt Commissioner's List selections and more than 30 Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll selections.

“Beth did a great job of helping turn Middle Tennessee into a well-rounded program,” said MSU Assistant Athletics Director Matt Kelly, who served as the head of the search committee. “MTSU was successful in the classroom and on the field and Beth played a huge role in both. Through a very thorough and exhaustive search process, Beth really rose above a group of very fine candidates. She is best suited to lead our program to the next level.”

In addition to serving as MTSU's assistant coach, Acreman is also a Tennessee Olympic Development Program coach.

“I'd like to thank President Alexander, Mr. Ward, Matt Kelly and the search committee for giving me this opportunity,” Acreman said.

Acreman graduated from Barton College (N.C.) with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1999. She earned a master's degree in health, physical education, recreation and safety from Middle Tennessee in 2002.

At Barton College, Acreman was a two-sport student-athlete, participating in soccer and basketball. On the soccer field, she was a four-year starter and a two-time team most valuable player. She earned all-conference recognition as a junior and a senior and was selected to the all-tournament team three times. She capped her senior season by being named to the all-region team.

Prior to arriving at Middle Tennessee State, Acreman completed a stint with the UK Elite Soccer Academy in New Jersey and also served as the head coach at the American Community School in London.

Acreman holds the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Premier Diploma, the highest coaching level of the NSCAA. In addition, she holds two NSCAA goalkeeping diplomas, which qualifies her to coach all aspects of the team.

Murray State finished the 2005 season with an 8-10-3 record and a 5-3-1 OVC mark. The Racers made their second consecutive appearance in the OVC Tournament semifinals before falling to Samford, the eventually tournament champion, 4-3 on penalty kicks.

Murray State University Athletics

Murray State Selects Beth Acreman As New Head Women's Soccer Coach

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