| Second Year
at Neutral Site
Messiah College (Pa.) won the 2004
men's championship and Wheaton (Il.) captured the women's crown.
"Having been involved in several
recent tournaments, I can say that the 2004 tournament--hosted by Greensboro
College--was a tremendous experience by comparison for our student-athletes,"
said Dave Brandt, coach of '04 men's champion Messiah College. "Greensboro
provided a first class stadium and playing surface, the best accommodations
we've ever had in NCAA playoffs, and excellent organization throughout.
Win or lose, the final four in Greensboro in 2005 will be exceptional for
the teams fortunate enough to be involved."
"Greensboro provided an outstanding
experience for our student-athletes, which is the most important thing,"
said Mike Mooney, chair of the NCAA Division III men?s soccer committee.
2005 Tournament:
A Team Effort
Greensboro College is the host institution
for the championships, but many other people and organizations are responsible
for hosting the event. "This announcement is great news for our community,"
Bush added. "Winning this bid will be an added economic boost during the
Thanksgiving weekend. We have the opportunity to showcase our city and
its fine facilities at a prominent championship. Once again, it will be
a team effort. The sports commission welcomes the opportunity to work with
Greensboro College, the NCAA, the Greater Area Convention and Visitors
Bureau, Carolina Dynamo, and the Greensboro Youth Soccer Association."
"We're glad the NCAA recognized the
effort we put forth at the 2004 championships," said Strable. "We are elated
with the result, but we want to tweak a few things so that the 2005 event
will be an even greater success."
Macpherson
Stadium at Bryan Park
The 2005 soccer championships will
be held at Macpherson Stadium, the crown jewel of the Bryan Park Soccer
Complex. The soccer-specific venue has been home to the Carolina Dynamo
of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) for the past four seasons.
Macpherson Stadium offers permanent
covered seating on its south side for 1600 spectators. Four hundred of
those are molded plastic box seats. Fans are sheltered under the venue's
European style roof. The soccer complex also includes surrounding fields
that will be used for practice the day prior to the championships. Event
organizers will again add additional bleachers to the field's north side,
as well as other amenities.
The Greensboro Youth Soccer Association
and the Dynamo built Macpherson Stadium jointly. Named after Geoffrey Macpherson,
the late father of Dynamo owner Neil Macpherson, the venue is lauded for
its top-quality natural grass playing surface.
In addition to the Dynamo and the
Lady Dynamo, the stadium hosts local colleges and youth teams. In 2003,
the Dynamo was the regular season champion of the D-3 Pro League. Last
year the club will moved to the USL's Premiere Development League.
Greensboro
College Pride Soccer
The Greensboro College men's soccer
program qualified for ten straight (1993 to 2003) and 13 overall NCAA Tournaments.
GC men's soccer has recorded 13 straight seasons with ten or more wins.
The Pride women have reached the NCAAs in 2002 and 2003.
In 2002, GC hosted its conference
tournament at Macpherson Stadium. In 2003, The Pride played two regular
season games and hosted a tournament at the venue. For the second straight
year, The Pride and cross-town rival Guilford College will play a soccer
doubleheader at the venue (Sept. 21).
-About Bryan
Park
The planning for Bryan Park, which
began in the 1960s, was to create a family-oriented recreational facility
and golf complex. In 1970, Greensboro voters approved a $950,000 bond to
develop the site. The park was dedicated in May of 1971 to Joseph and Kathleen
Bryan in honor of their interest and support of the community,
Bryan Park offers more than just
a top-notch soccer complex. The site offers two 18-hole championship golf
courses; picnic and park facilities; beautiful Lake Townsend; the Jim Batten
Soccer Training Facility; and the Precision Golf School?headed by Greensboro
College Golf Coach Robert Linville,
The address for Macpherson Stadium
is 6105 Townsend Rd., Brown Summit, N.C., 27242. Bryan Park is located
approximately 11 miles north of Greensboro's downtown in the Northeast
section of Guilford County. The soccer complex is easily accessed off Highway
29 and Summit Ave.
Other Quotes
About Greensboro Hosting the 2005 Finals...
"The Division
III women's soccer final four hosted by Greensboro College and the city
of Greensboro was by far the best soccer final four event ever. The
caliber of the facility and the attention to detail by Kim Strable and
the host committee gave the event a sense of signifiance that was previously
missing when host sites were selected at the last moment. For
example, the opening banquet featuring all eight men's and women's teams
who were in the finals gave a spotlight to the
accomplishments
of these special teams was fantastic. Greensboro has set the bar
extremely high."
-From Wheaton
Athletic Director Tony Ladd
"I thought
the whole experience for our players was first rate. They loved the stadium
facility and it was a deserving focal piece for the weekend. The hospitality
provided by Greensboro was all first class. We were all excited to hear
that the championships would again be back at the same site as 2004.
-Scott
Frey, Messiah College Women's Soccer Coach
"Greensboro
College and the City of Greensboro did a fantastic job pulling off the
2004 men’s and women’s championships! We appreciate their hard work
in organizing everything from the wonderful housing accommodations, the
Thanksgiving Day team banquet, to the game-day festivities. It was
nicely done and their hard work certainly made a lasting impact on our
team, our parents and our fans…great job!"
-From Wheaton
head coach Pete Felske
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