ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University Vice President for Athletics Bill D'Andrea on Tuesday announced that Julie Davis Carlson has resigned as Head Women's Soccer Coach for the Trojans, while Assistant Coach Sarah Jacobs will serve as Interim Head Coach.
"Julie Carlson did an exceptional job as our head women's soccer coach," said D'Andrea "She also served our athletic department in a variety of administrative duties during her tenure. She will surely be missed not just by her student-athletes but from her day-to-day contributions to our athletic department."
Carlson led the Trojans to a 15-15-4 mark in her two seasons at the helm of the program, including an 11-9-1 mark in South Atlantic Conference play and a pair of appearances in the semifinals of the SAC Tournament. She also served as the Senior Woman Administrator and as the administrative liaison for AU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Under her tutelage, defender Kristin Herbert was selected as the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year and earned All-Region and Third-Team All-America honors. Over the past two seasons, the Trojans saw an All-America honoree, a pair of All-Southeast Region selections, seven All-SAC honorees and four players were named to the conference all-tournament teams.
"I would like to thank President Whitaker, Bill D'Andrea, and the entire Anderson Family for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to serve as the Head Women's Soccer Coach and Senior Woman Administrator," said Carlson. "My experience at Anderson has been very valuable to me both spiritually and professionally. I have truly enjoyed my time working with so many talented and committed student-athletes. I especially want to thank the women's soccer team for their commitment to building a faith-based winning culture. They have given me so many wonderful memories to take with me and made this decision most difficult. I have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to coach and mentor them, along with past alumni, who will no doubt be successful young women."
Carlson is slated to join the Clemson women's soccer program as the Director of Operations and will organize, direct and coordinate the program's administrative operations involving event game-day management for home and visiting teams, along with game-day video, travel accommodations, scouting, academic support, on-campus recruiting and camps.
She arrived in the Electric City after two seasons with the Clemson women's soccer program, during which time the Tigers notched 27 wins and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including an overall 14-4-2 record in 2015 – marking the Orange and Purple's most successful regular season since 2002. CU also claimed second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings that season and earned its first NCAA Tournament win since 2007.
She also served an eight-year head coaching stint at Jacksonville State (2005-13) after tackling the challenge of building the Virginia Military Institute women's soccer program from scratch in 2002 and serving as the Keydet's head coach from 2002-05.
Jacobs is finishing her first year with the Trojans after playing collegiately at Clemson (2008-11). The native of Greer S.C., was named the Tigers MVP in 2010 and after exhausting her eligibility at Clemson, Jacobs extended her playing career by joining the Carolina Elite Cobras in Greenville, S.C. After several stops in the professional ranks, Jacobs was a member with the FC Dallas, Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), in Frisco, Texas.
Jacobs holds her USSF National "D" License and has served in a variety of roles in several different soccer organizations, including camp coach, youth coach, club administrator and assistant varsity coach. She earned her bachelor's degree in Mathematics Teaching from Clemson while earning a Masters of Education from Anderson in 2013.
"We are excited that Sarah has been willing to accept the added responsibilities a leading the team through the spring season," added D'Andrea.