RACER SOCCER - Murray State University

BETHACREMAN
Head Coach
8th Season
Barton, 1999
Beth Acreman became Murray
State University’s second
head women’s soccer coach
on April 10, 2006 and is currently
in her eighth season.
The advances the program
has shown in her eight
seasons has been a success
story, as the Racers have
been positioned to compete
for the Ohio Valley Conference
regular-season and
tournament championship,
year in and year out. The
Racers have realized each
goal under Coach Acreman
with back-to-back league
titles. The Racers won
the OVC regular season
championship in 2008 and
won the OVC Tournament
and advanced to the NCAA
tournament for the first
time in 2009.
BUILDING A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM
MSU Soccer is one of the premier programs in collegiate soccer.
Performance on and off the field is emphasized and expected. When
Acreman arrived at Murray State in 2006, she quickly began setting the
foundation for a championship program.
Her first Racer squad made many improvements and finished 5-9-4,
but in the 2007 season, the team jumped to a different level. Murray
State’s 11-8 overall mark and 6-3 record in the OVC set a program
record for most wins in a single season and tied the team mark for
conference victories. Somis Sports named the Racers as the 11th most
improved squad in the nation, and Soccer Buzz tabbed MSU as one of
the teams to watch in 2008.
They were right, because in the 2008, the Racers exploded to a 12-5-3
record and won their first OVC regular-season championship when they
posted their first undefeated home conference season at 4-0. However,
the Racers lost a heartbreaking OVC Tournament semifinal game in a
shoot-out to Morehead State.
The pain of that loss only spurred the Racers to greater things as they
returned to the 2009 OVC Tournament as the third seed. MSU buzzed
through the field and won the title with wins over Eastern Kentucky
(1-0), UT Martin (1-0) and Tennessee Tech (4-0), all by shutout. MSU’s
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4-0 victory in the title game over TTU is an OVC Tournament record for
largest margin of victory. MSU got a taste of the NCAA Women’s Soccer
Tournament when they represented the OVC in a first round game against
Virginia Tech.
ACHIEVING IN THE CLASSROOM
Not only has MSU Soccer achieved great things on the field in the Beth
Acreman era, the Racers are also performing at a high level in the classroom.
In her eight seasons at MSU, Beth Acreman has produced teams that have
ranked among the best in the nation. For each of the past six seasons,
including the 2012 campaign, the Racers have been recognized National
Soccer Coaches Association of America with the organization’s team academic
award.
In the 2007-08 school year, the Racers reached the top when they were
recognized by the NSCAA with the best grade point average in the nation
among all NCAA D-I schools. MSU’s GPA of 3.61 shared the top spot with
Central Michigan University.
In the 2010-11 school year, MSU Soccer had several student-athletes
recognized for their work in the classroom. The National Consortium for
Academics and Sports (NCAS) named nine MSU Soccer players to their
list of academic winners. Another 10 student-athletes from MSU Soccer
were named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. MSU Soccer now has
produced 135 student-athletes that have earned MSU Dean’s List honors
since the program was started in 2000.
ACREMAN BEFORE MURRAY STATE
Acreman prepared for her first job as a head coach at Middle Tennessee.
During her time in Murfreesboro, Tenn., as an assistant coach, the Blue
Raiders compiled a 64-48-7 record, won the 2004 Sun Belt Conference
Championship and broke or tied the school record for wins in a season
four times. During the same time, the Blue Raiders lost just three Sun Belt
Conference matches, going a combined 17-3-5 in league games. Prior to
arriving at Middle Tennessee State, Acreman completed a stint with the UK
Elite Soccer Academy in New Jersey and served as the head coach at the
American Community School in London.
Acreman holds the National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA) Premier Diploma, the highest coaching level of the NSCAA. In
addition, she holds two NSCAA goalkeeping diplomas. She is also a head
coach for the US Olympic Development program and is a course instructor
for Kentucky Youth Soccer.
Acreman is a native of Yateley, England and graduated from Barton College
(N.C.) with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1999. She was a
team captain, three-time CVAC All-Conference performer and an All- South
Region selection. She was a two-sport athlete.
THEACREMANFILE
Year Overall OVC Finish Postseason
2006 5-9-4 2-4-3 8th ---
2007 11-8-0 6-3-0 3rd OVC 1st Rd.
2008 12-5-3 7-1-0 1st OVC 1st Rd.
2009 11-9-2 5-2-1 3rd NCAA 1st Rd.
2010 4-12-4 3-3-2 6th OVC 1st Rd.
2011 7-9-3 4-3-2 4th OVC 1st Rd.
2012 4-13-0 2-8-0 11th ---
Totals 54-65-16 29-24-8
HONORS & ACCOLADES
• Led Racers to first-ever OVC tournament title in 2009
• 2008 OVC Coach of the Year
• Coached 2008 OVC Defensive Player of the Year Tara Isbell
• Coached 2009 OVC Freshman of the Year Danielle McMurray
• Has coached 12 OVC first-team selections, four second-team
selections and six All-Newcomer selections
2013MURRAYSTATEWOMEN’SSOCCER • 7