Basalyga Names Harper and McDonald as Assistant Coaches

2015 BGSU Women's Soccer Schedule

Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green State University women's soccer head coach Lindsay Basalyga has announced the additions of Marsha Harper and Cian McDonald as assistant coaches for the Falcon women's soccer program for the upcoming 2015-16 season.

"I couldn't be happier with the staff we have in place heading into our 2015 season," Basalyga stated. "We have a diverse skill set between the three of us which will help push the program forward both on and off the field. To have two assistants who have played in NCAA Tournaments (Marsha- Division I NCAA Tournament and Cian- Division II NCAA Tournament) is such a great, relatable standard for our current players. They both have high personal bars and have similar core values that will complement our process really well."

Both a leader on and off the field during her career at both the University of Florida and South Florida, Harper joins the Falcons after serving as the assistant coach last season at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La.

"Marsha comes from a great pedigree having spent time as a player under two fantastic coaching staffs at UF and South Florida," continued Basalyga. "Her mindset to continue to grow and learn as a professional, along with her strong background in exercise science and a year as an assistant at Northwestern State made her a perfect fit."

In her lone year on the sidelines at NSU in 2014, Harper helped the Lady Demon soccer program continue to grow throughout the season, which concluded with three wins over their final four games.

The Denver, Colo. native was a student-athlete for the Florida Gators before she transferred to South Florida in 2011 to finish her soccer career and earn her degree. When Harper was at Florida, she earned the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports-Scholar Award and the Southeastern Conference Community Service Award. She was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll from 2008-10.

While at USF, she was named as the team's captain from 2011-13, and also served as a member of the Bulls' student-athlete advisory committee. Listed as a forward and defender, Harper tallied two goals and four assists in 47 games with South Florida.

Harper earned both her bachelor's degree in applied science and her master's degree in exercise science at South Florida.

After her playing career was over, she volunteered as an assistant coach in the spring and assisted with phases of the USF program with a focus on fundraising. During the spring, she also served as a staff coach for the Future 50 Soccer Camp where she helped coach girls in their development and tactical soccer skills. In the summer following, she helped the FC Tampa Rangers Soccer Club as the developmental director for the U13 club and an assistant coach for the U14 and U9 clubs.

Harper also has two stints in personal training. The first was in the summer of 2011 when she was a personal training intern at Fitness Solutions Tampa and the second in the summer of 2013 as strength and conditioning intern at USF. As an intern with the Bulls, she worked with football, men's and women's soccer, softball, track, cross country and volleyball.

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to join a BG women's soccer program that has cultivated and created something very special," Harper said. "I want to thank Lindsay for this opportunity and the rest of the Bowling Green community for receiving me with such a warm welcome! I cannot wait to engulf myself in all of the various BG values and traditions, and meet the rest of the Falcon Family!"

McDonald comes to BGSU after playing the last four years on the pitch at Northern Kentucky under head coach John Basalyga, a former BGSU student-athlete and the father of BGSU women's soccer head coach Lindsay Basalyga.

"I've been fortunate enough to have watched Cian play for the past four years under my dad at NKU," added Basalyga. "His passion for the game, incredible work rate, and personality will be a great balancing point in the office and with our players. Having transitioned from Division II to Division I as a student-athlete, he knows what it takes to embrace and grow through challenges."

For the Norse, McDonald played in 69 games, starting in 57 contests, including all 20 games as a senior in 2014. Originally from Ireland, McDonald totaled 10 goals and 10 assists over his four-year career at NKU. After battling back from an injury filled season as a junior in 2013, McDonald led the team with five goals and four assists in 2014 as a senior, when he was named to the All-Atlantic Sun Second-Team. He also earned a spot on the 2014 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team and the Dayton Flyer Classic All-Tournament Team in his final season for the Norse.

Prior to his time as an intercollegiate student-athlete at Northern Kentucky, McDonald was a 2011 graduate of Templeogue College in Dublin, Ireland. He was also a key member of the Shelbourne FC U-17 team.

"I'm extremely grateful to Lindsay for giving me this opportunity to get into coaching," McDonald said. "I'm going to gather as much information as possible from everybody around me, particularly the coaching staff, as well as the players and everybody else I come into contact with. I'm looking forward to learning from Lindsay, who not only has a lot of experience as a coach, but was also a top flight player at Maryland. I'm excited to be a part of a program like the BGSU women's soccer team and look forward to helping the Falcons along this rebuilding phase and pushing BGSU on to the next level. Lindsay has high expectations and I am eager for her to push me to succeed at this level."

The Falcons will kick-off the 2015 season with an exhibition game at Pittsburgh of the ACC on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh, Pa. BGSU's season opener is slated for a 7 p.m. ET start time at home in Cochrane Stadium versus Chicago State on Friday, Aug. 21. The home opener is one of 10 home matches for the women's soccer team on the season.

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