MOLINARY RESIGNS AS HAMPDEN-SYDNEY HEAD SOCCER COACH

Assumes Assistant Post at University of South Carolina

“Bert has been a big asset to Hampden-Sydney College and the athletics department for the last 14 years,” said Bush.  “Thanks to his leadership, the Hampden-Sydney soccer program is now recognized as one of the best in the south at the Division III level, while his recruiting knowledge and skills have benefited the College as a whole.  Bert has also been a team player within the department, serving as tennis coach and also assisting with our basketball program and sports information office in a variety of ways.  He will truly be missed and I wish him the best of luck at South Carolina.”

In eight years at the helm of the soccer program, Molinary posted a 94-57-6 overall record and .600 winning percentage.  His 94 wins and .600 winning percentage both rate as all-time bests at the College, as do his 44 career wins in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Molinary’s clubs won 14 games three times during his eight-year campaign and from 1997 through 1999 the team won 40 contests to rate as the most-successful three-year stretch in Hampden-Sydney soccer history.

“It has been an honor for me to have worked at Hampden-Sydney College over the past 14 years,” said Molinary.  “Hampden-Sydney is where my coaching career began and I feel like I have become a part of the H-SC family and community through the years.  I will miss everyone involved with the College and athletics department, and most of all I will miss my players.  The Hampden-Sydney College soccer team will be in good hands because of the type of student athletes involved with the program and I certainly feel that the program will continue to grow and be a success on the national level in Division III soccer.”

Molinary has been instrumental in landing such talented players as First Team All-American goalkeeper Mike Bizon, All-American Curtis Player and 2002 All-American Chad Quenneville, along with 25 Adidas/All-South selections and 23 First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selections over the last eight seasons.

Before his eight seasons as a head coach, Molinary served as an assistant coach for six seasons. He has been a part of all four of the best teams in school history. In 1998, the team recorded 14 wins for the second consecutive season, posting a new H-SC standard for wins over a two-year period. As an assistant, he played a vital role in recruiting and coaching the 1994 team, which won a school-record 15 games, and the 1992 team, which posted a then-school record 13 games.

A tireless recruiter, Molinary has been primarily responsible for the influx of talent into the Hampden-Sydney soccer program. His recruiting efforts have served as the cornerstone for the program’s resurgence in the 1990’s, and have landed two of the first-ever U.S. National Pool players in H-SC soccer history.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Molinary serves as the Chairman of the ODAC Soccer Coaches Committee, as the South Region Chairman of the NSCAA Men’s Division III All-America Selection Committee and as a member of the NCAA South Region Advisory Committee. He is also active in summer soccer camps throughout the Southeast.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Molinary played two years for former H-SC head coach Mike Reilly at Spartanburg Methodist College. In those two years SMC compiled a 29-5 record and in 1985 reached the Southeast Region Finals of the NJCAA Championships and achieved a final national ranking of No. 7. During his tenure at Spartanburg Methodist, Molinary earned the school’s coveted “Block ‘S’ Award” for his excellence on the soccer field as a freshman and sophomore.

Molinary will join coach Mark Berson’s University of South Carolina program in April.  The Gamecocks are a national power in the Division I soccer ranks as the program has advanced to 16 NCAA Tournaments over the last 25 years and is perennially ranked in the top-25 nationally.

-www.hsc.edu/athletics-