Barber named Huntingdon head women’s soccer coach

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon athletic director Mike Turk announced Emily Barber as the Lady Hawks' new head women's soccer coach on Thursday.

Barber finished the 2014 season as the interim head coach.

"Emily is a person I am familiar with and have confidence in as a leader," Turk said. "With the relationships she has forged with the players, I am confident that continuity will help the program continue to move in the right direction."

Barber has spent four seasons with the women's program during two stints at Huntingdon. She was an assistant coach in 2007 and 2008 and returned before the 2013 season.

"Emily Barber achieved amazing success coaching the premier high school women's soccer program in Alabama, and I am confident she will make an equally outstanding mark in the collegiate Division III ranks at Huntingdon," Huntingdon President J. Cameron West said. "From her work in both the high school and club soccer worlds in Alabama, she knows the state soccer community inside and out. I could not be more pleased with this addition to our head coaching staff."

Barber said she is excited about the future of the program.

"I'd like to thank President West and Coach Turk for the opportunity to continue working with these girls," Barber said. "I think we have a good group right now and I'm excited about the future. With the girls we have and the addition of some new faces next season, I think we can continue to improve and move in the right direction."

Barber played collegiately at Auburn University Montgomery, where she was a team captain, scholar athlete and member of the Dean's List.

Following her first two seasons of coaching at Huntingdon, Barber coached with the Montgomery YMCA and FC Torjager. She spent four seasons as the head coach of the Montgomery Academy girls soccer team, earning All-Metro Coach of the Year honors three times. She led the Eagles to an 82-9-2 record, two Class 1A-4A state titles and one state runner-up finish.