2020 Knoxville Lady Force Roster & Coaches

Knoxville Lady Force Roster
(updated 5/8/13)

1.    Jennifer Lee, Midfield, Oak Ridge, TN (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
2.    Martha Hall, Forward, Knoxville, TN (Furman University)
3.    Sarah Gawthrop, Forward, Chattanooga, TN (Tennessee Tech University)
4.    Morgan Gruenenfelder, Midfield, Sweetwater, TN (Carson Newman College)
5.    Kiah Allen, Forward/Defender, Knoxville, TN (University of North Carolina at  Greensboro)
6.    Deanna Dawson, Center Back,  Chicago, IL (Tennessee Wesleyan College)
7.    Samira Khan, Forward, Luton, England (Tennessee Wesleyan College)
8.    Abby Fannin, Forward, Pickerington, OH (Tennessee Wesleyan College)
9.    Chelsea McCarty, Forward, Louisville, KY (Bellarmine University)
10.    Tessa Piety, Midfield/Defender, Knoxville, TN (Maryville College)
11.    Rebekah Ramstack, Center Back/Midfield, Wichita, KS (King University)
12.    Casey Shanklin, Forward/Midfield, Knoxville, TN (King University)
13.    Devon Shanklin, Midfield, Knoxville, TN (King University)
14.    Heidi Steiger, Center Back, Chattanooga, TN (King University)
15.    Marbel Egwuenu, Goalkeeper, Nigeria(Lee University)
16.    Laura Thacker, Center Back, Norwich, England (Lee University)
17.    Leah Wilson, Goalkeeper, Chattanooga, TN (Lee University)
18.    Erika Miller, Outside Back, Knoxville, TN (University of Arkansas)
19.    Kathryn Culhane, Outside Back, Knoxville, TN (University of Tennessee)
20.    Morgan Brandon, Outside Back, Oak Ridge, TN (University of Tennessee-Martin)
21.    Ashley Eddelman, Defender , Kernersville, NC (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
22.    Brittany Soto, Defender, Atlanta, GA (Birmingham-Southern College)
23.    Josie Rix, Midfielder, Chattanooga, TN (University of Alabama)
24.    Ashley Naumoff, Defender, Lenoir City, TN (University of Alabama Birmingham)
25.    Skylar Brewer, Forward, Knoxville, TN (University of Tennessee-Chattanooga)
26.    Hannah Steadman, Goalkeeper, Kinnelon, NJ (University of Tennessee)
27.    Brandi Greenwald, Forward, Rome, GA (Shorter University)

 

Head Coach:

Fields Brown (fbrown@knoxvilleladyforce.com)
Will serve as the Lady Force’s head coach for the 2020 Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) season and is look to build on the 2012 Lady Force season in which the team finished 2nd in the WPSL Southeast Conference.  Before coming to the Lady Force in 2012, Brown was the assistant head coach for the Georgia Revolution of the National Premier Soccer League and assistant director of coaching at Rockdale Youth Soccer Association in Conyers, Georgia.  Brown was also the women’s soccer assistant coach at Wofford College from 2005 to 2009. He currently holds the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Advanced National Diploma and NSCAA National Diploma.

Coaching Experience

-Associate Director of Coaching, Knoxville F.C Crush, August 1st-Present
-Assistant Director of Coaching and Academy Director, Rockdale Youth Soccer Association, June 2009-July 2011
-Associate Head Coach of Georgia Revolution, of the NPSL, January 2011-July 2011
-Assistant Women’s Coach, Georgia State University, August 2009-May 2011
-Assistant Women’s Coach, Wofford College, August 2005-June 2009
-South Carolina ODP, January-May 2009

Education and Coaching Education

-Obtained National Soccer Coaches Association of America “Premier” Diploma, “Advanced National” Diploma, and “National” Diploma
-Obtained Master’s of Arts in Teaching from Converse College in August 2009
-Graduated from UNC-Wilmington with Bachelor’s of Arts in History in May 2005

Director of Community Outreach / Assistant Coach:

Tom Gerlach (tgerlach@knoxvilleforce.com)
Tom played soccer at Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, TN, and he later played semi-professional soccer with the Knoxville Impact. He was the assistant women’s coach at Tusculum college in ’94-’95. As a high school coach, he was nominated as National Coach of the Year in 2004, and 2006 by the NSCAA.  At Christian Academy of Knoxville, his boys’ team won 6 A/AA Tennessee State Championships in 2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09 and was runner up in 2008.   This record still holds as most consecutive state championships in any division.

Tom has recently stepped down from high school coaching to join the Charlotte Eagles (Missionary Athletes International) as the Director of International Youth tours leading high school mission trips to Brazil.  Along with assisting the Lady Force, Tom is also on staff as Director of Community outreach using soccer to enrich and develop community relations in and around the city.  He has started the “Kick’n Back” foundation that recycles gently used soccer gear to give to low income communities around TN.

Tom is married to Jodi and has 2 children.

Assistant Coach:

Katy Stigers (kstigers@knoxvilleladyforce.com)

Katy is entering her second season as an Assistant Coach for the Lady Force. She was responsible for building the Virginia Intermont women’s soccer program in its reincarnation in 2011/2012 and currently serves as the Head Women’s Coach at VIC.

Coaching Experience: Stigers has been coaching others almost as long as she has been playing the game herself. Professionally, she has coached for club teams and at camps in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri. She served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 2002. She holds a USSF “C” license and is a member of the NSCAA and USSF coaches’ associations.

Playing Experience: She was a four-year starter at King College in Bristol, TN for coach Matthew Yelton (currently head coach at 3-time national champion Lee University). In 2001she was an NSCAA All-American and NAIA All-American and Academic All-American. Stigers was the only NAIA women’s soccer player named to both lists in 2001.  As a captain, she led her team to the Region XII Tournament appearance finals in the program’s fifth year of existence. She was a three-time all-conference selection for the Tornado.

Education: Academics have always been a high priority for Coach Stigers. She graduated from King College with a double major in History, and Political Science (BA magna cum laude), and earned an M.A. in Urban Affairs with distinction from Saint Louis University (St. Louis, MO) in 2007. From 2007-2011, Stigers has completed course work towards a Ph.D. in political science at Emory University.

Personal: She is married to Peter Stigers, operations director at Washington County Habitat for Humanity. They have two children (Nell, 5, and PJ, 3).

 

Interested players should contact Head Coach, Fields Brown or GM Jason Goss.