Georgia Southern University

Statesboro, GA 30460

Georgia Southeast

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Chris Adams

Chris Adams begins his third full season at the helm of Georgia Southern women's soccer in the Fall of 2023, embarking on a journey to help the Eagles defend the first regular season conference championship in program history. Adams was the Sun Belt Conference's Coach of the Year in 2022, the first Georgia Southern women's soccer coach to earn a league coaching honor since 1996.

The Eagles went 8-4-5 overall and 7-1-2 in the Sun Belt during 2022, earning the league's regular season title on the final day of the regular season with a 1-0 win at Georgia State. That capped a remarkable league run that saw Georgia Southern give up just two goals total in ten matches, recording seven shutouts. Georgia Southern allowed just 12 goals all season long for a school-record 0.71 goals against average, besting the previous record of 0.95 set in 2000 and 2012. The Eagles also set a school record for the fewest losses in a season (4), besting the old record of 5 set in 2000 and 2002. During the year, the Eagles put together a scoreless streak that stretched 564 minutes and 35 seconds and covered six straight shutouts, both new records. And the six-match win streak the Eagles ended the 2022 regular season on was the longest since the 2000 campaign.

In addition to Coach Adams' Sun Belt honor, Sade Heinrichs was named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and three Eagles - Heinrichs, forward Elis Nemtsov and goalkeeper Katie Oakley - earned All-Conference honors. The Eagles also cracked the Top 100 in the end-of-year RPI rankings, checking in at No. 98.

In Coach Adams' first full season in Statesboro, the Eagles went 11-7-4 and advanced to the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament final, putting up the most wins (11) since 2014 and the most shutouts (7) since 2012. As a result, Georgia Southern's RPI ascended from 288 at the end of the 2020-21 season to 120 at the end of 2021.

Adams' 2021 squad featured three All-Sun Belt Conference performers in midfielder Marcela Montoya, forward Elis Nemtsov and defender Sade Heinrichs, and five student-athletes earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors during the campaign. Georgia Southern went into the tournament as the No. 4 seed and knocked off Coastal Carolina, 1-0, and ULM, 2-1, to reach the tournament final, where they fell to second-seeded South Alabama by a 1-0 score.

Adams was named the sixth head coach in Georgia Southern women's soccer program history on Nov. 24, 2020. He hit the ground running, coaching the Eagles in three Spring matches in 2021, defeating Stetson by a 2-1 score for his 200th career collegiate coaching victory.

Adams came to Statesboro after serving as the head coach of the University of North Georgia women's soccer for the last18 seasons. During his time at UNG, Adams reached double-digit wins in 11 straight seasons and made the postseason a regular occurrence with six trips to the NCAA Tournament in the past nine years and making the Sweet 16 in 2016.

In the past five seasons with the women's team, the Nighthawks posted a combined record of 86-23-11 with back-to-back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament from 2014-16. In 2017, UNG claimed the top spot in the Peach Belt Conference tournament, after being named co-champions of the regular season. The program achieved the highest ranking in program history, climbing to No. 2 in the NSCAA Division II Top-25 national ranking in 2015.

In 2014, UNG was ranked as high as sixth-nationally during the regular season and finished the year as the highest-scoring team in NCAA Division II with a 3.58 goals per game average, while also leading the nation in total points, total goals and points per game. The Nighthawks made their deepest run to date that season falling to Lenoir-Rhyne in penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Adams joined the UNG coaching staff as the head men's and women's soccer coach in 2003. In two seasons at the helm of the men's program, Adams led North Georgia to a 19-17-2 mark and was named the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Coach of the Year in 2004. He led North Georgia to a third-place finish in the conference and their first NAIA Regional Tournament appearance in program history.

In addition to his collegiate coaching pedigree, Adams also has a successful head coaching experience on the professional level as he led the 2011 version of the Atlanta Silverbacks women's team to the United Soccer League's W-League Championship with a 6-1 victory over the Ottawa Fury.

He began his coaching career in 1995 while an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, where he helped build the first women's soccer team. In the first year of competition, the Lady Bulldogs went 10-5-3 overall and posted a 3-3-2 mark in SEC action. In his three seasons with Georgia, the Lady Bulldogs compiled a 39-19-4 record and 14-8-2 in conference play.

Following graduation, Adams accepted a job at Jacksonville State University as the lead assistant. He returned to the Peach State in 1999 to manage the soccer program at YWCO in Athens. After directing the program for two years, Adams began teaching at Clarke Central High School in Athens, where he coached the boys' and girls' soccer teams.

Adams holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) National "A" License, a USSF National Youth License, and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National License.

The Athens, Georgia, native graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in physical education and health with an emphasis in coaching. He also earned his Master of Science in physical education and health at North Georgia.

Adams and his wife Melissa have two daughters, Gracen and Anna.

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Mallory Sayre

Mallory Sayre enters her second season as an assistant coach for Georgia Southern women's soccer in the Fall of 2023.

As the primary goalkeepers coach, Sayre was instrumental in the Eagles' stellar defensive prowess in 2022 as the team gave up just 12 goals all year, and just two goals in Sun Belt play. The 0.71 GAA set a new school record and the team notched eight shutouts on the year, including six in a row late in the season.

Sayre joined Georgia Southern from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, where she served as an assistant coach for two seasons. The NCAA Division II Chargers recorded a stellar 1.00 GAA as a team last season in the competitive Gulf South Conference, which included five shutouts.

Before moving to UAH, Sayre was an assistant coach at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. She spent five seasons with the DIII Stormy Petrels, where she was responsible for the team's goalkeepers and defenders, while also assisting with recruiting, team travel plans and game management.

A former standout at North Georgia, Sayre amassed a 56-17-4 collegiate record as a four-year starter in goal for the Nighthawks, notching a Peach Belt Conference-leading 27 career shutouts and an 0.97 GAA. She graduated from North Georgia with her bachelor's degree in physical education in 2016, and also received her master's degree from UNG in physical education in 2018.

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Matt Sharman

Matt Sharman enters his third season working with the Georgia Southern women’s soccer program as an assistant coach in 2023. Over the last two seasons, Sharman has helped the Eagles record back-to-back school-record GAA marks, including a stellar 0.71 GAA in 2022. He will also assist the Georgia Southern men's soccer goalkeepers this season.

Sharman enjoyed a stellar collegiate career, first playing for Parkland JC and then finishing up at the University of North Georgia. While at Parkland JC, Sharman was an NJCAA DI All-American and the Region 24 Goalkeeper of the Year in 2016. Moving on to the Nighthawks, Sharman was a two-time All-Peach Belt Conference selection as well as a two-time PBC Presidential Honor Roll Presidential Scholar. In two seasons at North Georgia, he compiled a 15-10-3 record with seven shutouts, making 186 saves and recording a 1.54 GAA.

He graduated from UNG with his bachelor’s of science degree in kinesiology in 2020, with a concentration in health and fitness. He completed his master's degree in professional communication and leadership from Georgia Southern in 2023.

Sharman began his coaching career as a club coach for both UFA and Atlanta United in 2020 and 2021. He holds his FA Level 2 Coaching license as well as an FA Futsal License as well as USSF licenses. He also played for LSA Athletico in the NPSL over the summer.

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Wes Anania

Wes Anania begins his second season with the Georgia Southern women's soccer program as a volunteer assistant coach and director of camps in the Fall of 2023.

Anania joins the Eagles from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Ga, where he served as the head coach of the NCAA Division III Stormy Petrels from 2015-21.

Anania was instrumental in building the program to a competitive level on the field and in the classroom. He recruited and coached 6 all-conference selections, and 18 all-conference academics selections. His team was awarded the United Soccer Coaches Team academic award in the fall of 2021. 2019 saw the Stormy Petrels achieve new heights with the first winning season since 2000, while posting the longest win streak to start a season at 7.

Anania came to Oglethorpe after a successful stint with the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, where he served as an assistant women's soccer coach for three years. While there, their teams compiled a total record of 45-13-3 and made the second round of the NCAA Division II championship in 2014 and 2015. They led all of Division II in goals scored (84) in 2014 and he coached three All-Americans, nine All-Region players, and the 2014 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year.

Before that, he served as the head coach at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, from 2009 through 2012. Playing out of the South Atlantic region in Division III, the same region the Stormy Petrels play out of, he led the Hawks to their first-ever Great South Athletic Conference tournament appearance in 2011 and coached seven All-Great South selections and 13 Great South All-Academic honorees.

Anania also served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama, for the 2008 season. During that season, Montevallo reached the NCAA Division II regionals, winning the Gulf South Conference's regular season title and advancing to the final of the conference tournament. The team finished 15-6 overall and 6-0 in Gulf South play that year.

In Ananias’s senior season he was awarded pre-season all-conference honors and finished his playing career second all-time on the career matches list with 65 matches played. In 2004, Anania’s junior year, the Montevallo men’s soccer team achieved many program firsts and set multiple school records. The team still holds Montevallo records for goals against in a single season, 11, and the lowest goals against average for a season, 0.59. During the 2004 season the team was ranked as high as #7 in the national soccer polls going on to win the Gulf South Conference Soccer Championship and receiving the programs first ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The 2004 season also saw the Falcons finishing #23 in the end of year national rankings, another first for the program.

Anania graduated from Montevallo in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology with a concentration in health promotion. While working at North Georgia, Anania earned a Master of Science in physical education in 2014.

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Lee Squires

Lee Squires was named head coach of the Georgia Southern men's soccer team in December 2022. Squires comes to Statesboro from the Greenwood, South Carolina-based school, where he compiled a 100-27-19 record over an eight-year span that included three undefeated regular seasons.

Squires' career at Lander saw him take the program to great heights, including winning several Peach Belt Conference regular season championships (2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022), PBC Tournament Championships in 2017 and 2022, and a Southeast Region title in 2018.

Players Squires coached earned 47 all-conference honors, 24 All-PBC Tournament accolades with two MVP designations, 17 all-region nods, three All-American distinctions, and three Scholar All-American awards. Lander would finish in the top 25 in three seasons, including a No. 5 final ranking in 2018 and 2020.

While at Lander, Squires was named the first head coach for Greenville FC, where he compiled a 9-9-7 record in two seasons. Twelve of his players from GVFC would go on to sign professional contracts, including a player who was drafted into the MLS.

Before Lander, Squires was the head coach of Lees-McRae College, where he went 40-29-7 in four seasons. L-MC participated in the 2011 Division II NCAA Tournament, Squires' first season, after winning the Conference Carolinas West Division and finishing as runner-up in the conference tournament.

Since 2011, Squires has also served as the assistant coach for the North Carolina Olympic Development Program and was the head coach for the 2011 HSA Force '98 in Premier UK Soccer.

Squires, a native of Sheffield, England, played collegiate soccer at Lees-McRae, where he was a three-year captain and is still the program's all-time leading scorer with 67 goals and 149 points in his four seasons. As a player, L-MC won the Conference Carolinas regular season championship every season and the conference tournament in three of his four seasons there. The team appeared in four NCAA tournaments and finished as national runner-up in the 2009 Division II NCAA Tournament.

The Conference Carolinas Player of the Year in 2008 and 2010, Squires was an NSCAA All-American in 2007 and 2008, and a Daktronics All-American in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He was also named the conference tournament MVP in 2007 and was selected to the conference all-tournament team in 2008 and 2010. He earned Academic All-Conference honors in 2011 and 2012.

He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and was a member of the Sigma Beta Delta Business Honors Society. Squires received a Master's degree in sport administration from Arkansas State University.

He played for the United Soccer League's Premier Development League, representing the Ocean City Nor'eaters in 2008 and the SC United Bantams in 2012.

Squires is married to the former Sadie Williams and they have a daughter Isabelle, as well as a son, William.

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Joe Moulden

Joe Moulden enters his second season as the school's first-ever second assistant coach in 2023. Moulden joined the Eagles in a volunteer position in 2020.

In 2022, Moulden helped steer the Eagles through the newly re-formed Sun Belt Conference, a conference that featured two NCAA Tournament participants. Moulden also oversaw the student-athletes academically and helped the team achieve a 3.29 GPA in Fall 2022, the sixth-consecutive semester the Eagles have posted a 3.0+ in the classroom.

In 2021, Moulden helped guide the Eagles through a top-55 ranked schedule, facing several nationally-ranked teams through the season. In MAC play, four of the six matches the Eagles played featured a team that was either nationally-ranked or recieving votes in the national rankings.

Moulden joined the Eagles from Butler University, where he wrapped up a stellar four-year career for the Bulldogs in 2018. The defender and team captain as a senior started 76 matches over his four seasons and earned second-team All BIG EAST honors as a junior in 2017, as well as All-BIG EAST Tournament honors and Third-Team Great Lakes All-Region honors by the United Soccer Coaches. During his time at Bulter, the Bulldogs would go on to win the Big East twice and had two NCAA tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet 16. A native of Bolton, England, Moulden earned his bachelor's degree in human movement, health science and education from Butler in 2019 and earned his Master of Science in Kineseology in May 2022 from Georgia Southern.

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James Smith

James Smith enters his first year as an assistant coach for the Eagles men's soccer program in 2023. Smith was hired as an assistant coach for the Georgia Southern men's soccer team in January of 2023.

Smith arrives from Lander University, where he was Squires’ assistant coach for the previous season. In 2022, Smith helped lead the Bearcats to a Peach Belt Conference tournament championship and a NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. The Bearcats finished with a 12-3-6 overall record and went 8-1-3 in PBC play.

Prior to his second stint at Lander, Smith was part of the creation of Carolina Velocity FC, a youth soccer organization based out of Raleigh, N.C. Smith was responsible for player development while with the organization. During this time, Smith was a part of Greenville FC from 2018-2019, where he was coached by Squires.

In 2017, Smith was hired by Lander for his first stint with the Bearcats. Smith helped the squad achieve a 13-4-3 record, including an undefeated mark in PBC play at 6-0-1. Lander would win the PBC Tournament and make a run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before falling 3-2 in double-overtime to Young Harris.

Prior to 2017, Smith served as a graduate assistant at ETSU, where he earned his masters in Kinesiology and Sports Science with a concentration in Exercise Physiology and Performance. Smith was a two-year GA with the Buccaneers after playing his final year of eligibility at ETSU in 2015.

Smith scored seven goals with five assists for a total of 19 points at ETSU, earning First Team All-SoCon honors and earned SoCon Player of the Month in September 2015 after scoring four goals and a pair of assists. Smith started and played in all 19 matches for ETSU, which including upset wins over #15 Kentucky and UNCG in the SoCon Tournament.

A four-year starter for Lander head coach Lee Squires at Lees-McRae from 2011-14, Smith started 60 matches and tallied 53 career points with 17 goals and 19 assists. He earned All-Conference, All-Region, and First Team Academic All-American honors at Lees-McRae.

Smith also spent three seasons in the Premier Developmental League, playing for the Carolina Dynamo from 2013-14 and GPS Portland Phoenix in 2015.

Smith earned a bachelor's in sports science from Lees-McRae in 2014.