BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – St. Francis College Brooklyn women's soccer head coach Justine Lombardi officially announced the additions of assistant coaches, Sarah Harmon, Matthew Anderson, Ellis Riley, and goalkeeper coach Katie Turner on Tuesday morning.
Riley, an English native, comes back to Brooklyn Heights by way of the central United States. Once a graduate assistant on the coaching staff of the Hastings College women's soccer team, Riley was elevated to interim head coach between February and May 2019. Apart of the program for two full seasons, he was also the goalkeeper coach in 2017. While coaching his keepers during the respective season, they would rank 8th among NAIA programs in the country in shutouts.
"Ellis [Riley] balances me out. He keeps me calm and excels in areas that I am not as strong in. His role, aside from keeping me sane and organized is day-to-day operations, recruting, and everything in between. He is my right hand man." noted Head Coach Justine Lombardi
Being a part of the Hastings College coaching staff, Riley and his head coach would see numerous awards that included the 2018 GPAC Coaching Staff of the Year Award. He also helped develop a pair of All-Americans in 2018.
Before his tenure in Nebraska, the English native began his American journey at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota, where he earned his bachelor's degree in sport management and played soccer for the Jimmies as well. Following his four-year degree, Riley moved south to Hastings College and earned his master's degree in physical education.
Turner, a Cedar Park, TX native, comes to Brooklyn Heights by way of Houston Baptist University. Familiar to the pitch, Turner played four seasons for the women's soccer program in the Western Athletic Conference. During her junior season, she recorded a 2.17 goals-against-average with one shutout. Following double-digit appearances in 2017, Turner would follow suit with a 0.90 average during her senior season.
"Katie specifically works with our goalkeepers, but has a big role in all the day-to-day operations as well. She is young and motivated and has so much to offer this group." said Coach Lombardi.
In addition to her studies and performing as a goalkeeper for the Huskies, Turner was a student-assistant in the university's athletic department. She coordinated social media for the university's team and events, along with mentoring her fellow student-athletes.
Turner graduated from Houston Baptist University with a bachelor's degree in Government and minored in history and philosophy.
Anderson, an English native, comes to Remsen Street by way of The Kings College in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. While serving as their assistant coach, a pair of his student-athletes would garner the conference's Rookie and Player of the Year awards, and the United State Collegiate Athletic Association's Player of the Year award. Anderson also brought the team to the playoffs for the first time in school history, as well as their first appearance in the national tournament.
"Matt is constantly learning about the back-end of NCAA compliance and regulations. He has high aspirations of taking on his own college program some day. He has a lot of soccer knowledge to bring to the table, and is mainly responsible for planning and executing practice sessions and analyzing game film for us. As well as the opposition." stated Coach Lombardi.
Before The Kings College, Anderson was the junior varsity boys' soccer head coach for the 2017 season. During his tenure in Connecticut, the English native would lead his team to a winning record for the first time in five seasons.
In addition to assisting Lombardi at St. Francis College Brooklyn, Anderson is the senior head coach and assistant coaching director at Brooklyn City F.C., where he is in charge of the U12 boys and girls, and the U14 boys.
Harmon, a Manasquan, NJ native, comes to Brooklyn Heights by way of conference-foe Mount St. Mary's (MD) as a former student-athlete having graduated in May 2019 with a bachelors in criminal justice and sociology. Harmon started in 33 of 58 games played in while scoring three goals and tallying three assists in her four-year career in Emmittsburg. During her time at the Mount, Sarah would place herself in the history books, as she would score the game-winning goal against Bryant in the 2018 season to send the Mountaineers to the NEC Tournament for the first time in 21 seasons.
"Sarah is an absolute rock-star. She is going to grad school in the fall, but as a recent NEC soccer grad from Mount St. Mary's (MD), she couldn't resist the opportunity to stay involved with the game. Sarah is our director of operations and without her, the team might starve and have to stay in different motels on away trips." joked Coach Lombardi.
As a natural-born athlete, Harmon would letter in varsity basketball and lacrosse at Bishop George Ahr in Edison, NJ. During her tenure in high school, she was recognized as MSG Varsity's All-State award in New Jersey. She also led her team to their first-ever state championship, while winning their respective division in back-to-back seasons. Harmon also played for the Elite Club National League's Match Fit Academy FC.
Currently, Harmon is attending St. John's University in Queens with aspirations of obtaining her masters in homeland security and criminal justice leadership.
