July 17, 2008

FARMVILLE, Va. - Longwood University fourth-year head men's soccer coach Jon Atkinson has announced the recent appointment of Mark Spooner as the program's new Assistant Coach. Spooner comes to Longwood after serving as the assistant coach at Niagara University for two seasons.

“Mark is a great addition to our program,” said Atkinson.?“We are very excited to have him on board. His experience as both a player and coach are invaluable, and can only serve to make us better.”

While at Niagara, Spooner helped the Eagles to a 6-11-2 overall record and  3-5-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference  during the 2007 season, while posting a 7-7-4 (5-1-3 MAAC) record in 2006. Spooner was a four-year standout for Niagara, playing for the Eagles from 2002-05. Spooner started 65 games and was a four-time All-MAAC and two-time NSCAA All-New York Region selection. He tallied 52 points during his career, ranking him sixth all-time on Niagara's points list. During his senior season, Spooner was named second-team All-MAAC.

During the summer of 2003, Spooner was a meember of the Great Britain team that competed in the World University Games in Daegu, Korea. Spooner is a two-time Empire State Game gold medalist, playing with the Western Men's Open team in 2005 and 2006.

Spooner earned his bachelor's degree in sports management in May 2006.