Hawks hire Matt Cooper to lead men’s soccer program

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon athletic director Mike Turk announced the hiring of Matt Cooper as head men's soccer coach on Friday.

Cooper spent the past nine seasons as an assistant coach at the Division III level.

"We are extremely pleased that Coach Cooper has agreed to become our head men's soccer coach," Turk said. "We are confident he is the right man to lead our program and build on the momentum that has been established. This is a good day for Huntingdon College and for our men's soccer program."

Cooper, a 2006 graduate of Randolph-Macon College, spent the past nine seasons as an assistant coach at Hampden-Sydney College. Working under head coach Josh Laux, the Tigers' all-time winningest coach, Cooper was a part of 91 wins from 2006-2014, seven winning seasons and a school-record 16 win-season in 2009.

"This is a great opportunity and I'd like to thank President J. Cameron West, Coach Turk, Vice President Jay Dorman and all of the other faculty and staff I met with during my visit," Cooper said. "This will be my first head coaching position and I am excited to lead this young and talented team.

"With this program, I believe the tools are there for success. We just have to get over the hump and take it to the next level. I'm looking forward to getting started and putting in the hard work to help this program be successful in the USA South."

Cooper comes to Huntingdon after a short stint at his alma mater. He was hired as an assistant at Randolph-Macon earlier this spring when Laux, also a Randolph-Macon graduate, left Hampden-Sydney to become the Yellow Jackets' head coach.

Cooper replaces Matt Williams, who recently accepted a Division I assistant coaching position at the University of Memphis.

The Hawks were 2-10-5 last season and 1-6-3 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Huntingdon went to overtime in seven games, including double overtime in five games.

"I believe we have a good core group of guys," Cooper said. "These guys played seven overtime games last year and tied five of them. We are going to work to turn those ties into wins.

"We're going to be a hard-working, disciplined, organized and fit team. Playing conference games on back-to-back days is tough, but I want us to be a team that can play at the same level both days."

As a player, Cooper was a four-year starter for Randolph-Macon. He was a three-time All-Conference selection in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, two-time Regional All-American and a two-time Virginia Sports Information Director's All-State selection.

Cooper and his wife Anne have a son, Heath Ryan Cooper, who was born Aug. 4, 2014.