WASHINGTON – GW women’s soccer Head Coach Jeremy Williams announced the addition of Kathleen Ngulefac as a redshirt freshman transfer ahead of the 2025 season. Ngulefac joins the Revolutionaries after spending her first season at Kentucky.
 
A native of Snellville, Ga., Ngulefac did not see game action during her rookie season with the Wildcats. After a standout prep career at Parkview High School, Ngulefac was granted a redshirt during her one season at Kentucky and joins the Buff & Blue with four years of eligibility.
 
Prior to collegiate soccer, Ngulefac was a member of the Gwinnett Soccer Association, competing in the ECNL. She was honored as a Girls All-Conference First Team honoree for the 2023-24 season in the Southeast Division. In high school, Ngulefac was a First Team All-Region honoree with Parkview. She also earned Class 7A First Team All-County honors and was named to the 7A All-State Girls Team during her senior season in 2023.
 
Ngulefac joins an incoming class of Revolutionaries that includes Jasmine Black, Anna Cornejo, Caroline Donmoyer, Naomi Kim and Lucy Stenning. She’ll be the only transfer student among the newcomers, with the other five arriving in Foggy Bottom as first-years.
 
Follow GWsports.com this summer for the announcement of GW’s 2025 schedule.

Name: Kira Trexler

High School: Central

Hometown: Martinsburg

Sport: Soccer

Position: Midfield/Forward

College choice: Penn State Altoona

Other colleges considered: UPJ, Saint Francis, IUP, Florida Gulf Coast, West Chester

Why I picked Penn State Altoona: “Penn State runs in my family. Both my parents went there and two of my brothers did as well. I wanted to be a Nittany Lion.”

Coach Randy Trexler: “Kira has been a cornerstone of our team since her freshman year, instantly making an impact and rewriting the Central Lady Dragon record books. I’m thrilled to see her take on the challenges of Division 3 soccer where I have no doubt, she’ll replicate her high school success and leave a mark. Kira’s on-field presence is commanding and Penn State Altoona coaches will experience a quiet confidence from her that motivates peers and drives the team forward. I really wish for her the best success.”

How I got my start playing soccer: “I started playing with my brothers when I was 5.”

Favorite college growing up: Penn State

Other interests: Hanging out with my friends, church events, shopping and pickleball

What getting to play in college means to me: “It’s the next chapter in my journey as a student-athlete.”

Probable college major: Nursing

Parents: Randy and Rhonda Trexler

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Killian Riley has been named assistant coach of the Yale men’s soccer team as announced by Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach.

“We are really excited to have Killian on board as he brings a wealth of experience as a coach at many levels. Not only has he been a head coach, but he has worked for some excellent coaches and mentors that I trust,” Stannard said. “Killian’s coaching focus will be working directly with our goalkeepers, but he will be involved in all aspects of the program. His work ethic, attention to detail, and humility are a great addition to the staff.”

Prior to Yale, Riley spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State University where he specialized in working with goalkeepers. Before joining the Owls, he coached for one season at the University of New Haven. 

From 2014-20, Riley served as the head men’s soccer coach at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa. 

At Thiel, he led the team to their first 3-0 start in program history. He also led his players to holding the team assists record, career assists record, and career shutout record. He had 10 All-PAC Conference Award honorees and 31 All-PAC Honor Roll honorees. He managed all of the operations of the program, wrote detailed practice plans to continue developing players, created a comprehensive recruiting structure to build a bigger and more diverse team, and guided players through their academics by focusing on good study habits.  

Riley also spent some time as a professor of health and physical education while at Thiel. He reconstructed the syllabus for the coaching practicum course making it more focused on field experience. He was able to help students develop their coaching philosophy, create training sessions, deliver those training sessions, and understand performance environment. 

“I am excited and honored to join the Yale Men’s Soccer coaching staff and would like to thank Coach Stannard for the immense opportunity,” Riley said. “I look forward to combining my skill set and work ethic with that of the other coaches and pushing Yale towards success.”

Riley earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Heidelberg University in 2011 where he was a member of the men’s soccer team. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Ottawa University in 2013 where he served as a graduate assistant coach. He helped guide the team to a KCAC Championship and the NAIA National Tournament during his first year with them.  

Walt Whitman, one of America’s greatest poets, spent plenty of time thinking about grass. He is best known for his poetry collection “Leaves of Grass.” In it, he contemplates the “hopeful green stuff,” comparing it to a child, his own disposition, even calling it “the beautiful uncut hair of graves.”

Allen Community College trustees spent a fair amount of time considering the green stuff as well Tuesday evening, as they discussed the sorry state of the college’s soccer field and what to do about it during a special board meeting.

The college paid about $52,000 last summer to have the field sprigged with Bermuda grass. (“Sprigging” a field means establishing turf by planting grass stems, or sprigs, as opposed to seed, into the soil.) Whitman might note Bermuda grass is praised for its ability to resist heat and drought, as well as its capacity to withstand heavy traffic.

Allen trustees just know it’s dead. The whole field of it. And in order to have a soccer program this fall, they need that to change.

The board’s frustration with the situation was obvious. For two consecutive winters now, the soccer field’s grass has failed to survive. Winterkill has left a brown rectangle surrounded by green, and the prospect of having to pay for a second summer sprigging seemed particularly irksome to trustee Corey Schinstock.

“That’s all on us, right?” he asked, examining the price tag. “There’s no guarantee after what happened the last time?”

Board chair Rebecca Nilges affirmed the cost was the college’s burden to bear.

“OK, that’s all I need to know,” said Schinstock. “To me, if my contractor doesn’t stand behind something he put in, I’m not doing it again. Everybody ought to have some skin in the game, in my opinion.”

“My biggest thing is there ought to be some sort of warranty on this,” said Schinstock. “I’m not talking insurance. I’m talking warranty. Any project I’ve ever been a part of with grass or seed, you get a year warranty on it.” He urged the project be put out to bid.

BRETT WIENS of Turf Solutions was on hand to provide context. Based in McPherson, Turf Solutions has managed the college’s soccer, baseball and softball fields since around 2013. Wiens covered a myriad of factors that could explain why the grass died. Too cold. Too wet. Too dry. But after a thorough exploration of the data, even Wiens was left a bit bewildered, saying, “That’s a very long answer to why the field keeps dying. And I don’t know.”

The trustees also heard Wiens discuss alternatives. Artificial turf would cost more than $1 million and last a decade. Bluegrass, which the Royals play on, does poorly in heat and is more expensive. Fescue is probably the best option, but it’s still more expensive than Bermuda grass, doesn’t withstand heat and traffic as well, and can’t be cut as short as Bermuda grass. (The college’s soccer coaches prefer shorter grass.)

After hearing Wiens out, trustee Gena Clounch asked the question on everyone’s mind: “How can you guarantee this won’t fail again?”

Wiens’ answer was simple. He can’t. There are just too many factors at play, he said. The college could purchase a tarp to cover the field during extreme cold, or even apply a layer of sand over the field in the off-season to insulate the grass. They could even winterize the field in August or September to see if that helps. Trustee Vicki Curry suggested the college look into purchasing a tarp in the near future, saying, “We wouldn’t be out all this money if we’d done that in the beginning.”

The options seemed endless. But in the end, the $53,450 price tag of re-sprigging, and hoping for a milder winter, or at least greener grass come spring, won the day. Athletic Director Doug Desmarteau said men’s and women’s soccer departments will dedicate $10,000 each to the cause, and $15,000 will come from the athletics account. Ryan Sigg, the college’s plant operations director, told the board he had enough funds in the maintenance budget to cover the remaining $18,450.

Desmarteau and Sigg noted the college had already allocated around $13,000 for the field’s maintenance, so the sprigging will only result in about $40,000 in additional expense.

Clounch made the motion to move forward, which passed 5-1. Schinstock was opposed.

– The Athletic Department of Bethel Park High School recently held its 16th Annual College-Bound Student Athlete Recognition Reception, honoring 32 seniors who will continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level next year. The event celebrated the dedication and achievements of these student-athletes as they prepare to take their talents to colleges and universities across the country.

The following student-athletes were recognized for their commitment to various sports and institutions:

• Freya Blatz (Women’s Soccer, University of Akron)
• Jack Bruckner (Football, Carnegie Mellon University)
• Audrey Campbell (Softball, Penn State University – Behrend)
• Alyssa Celletti (Dance, University of Louisville)
• Nathan Disori (Men’s Lacrosse, Marietta College)
• Cally Edner (Women’s Swimming, Indiana University of Pennsylvania)
• Giani Esposito (Golf, Westminster College)
• Abby Farrell (Cheer, University of Pittsburgh – Johnstown)
• Grace Ferency (Women’s Soccer, Duquesne University)
• Jackson Friday (Men’s Soccer/Men’s Track & Field, Westminster College)
• Michael Gibson (Wrestling, Seton Hill University)
• Keaira Griffiths (Women’s Track & Field, Point Park University)
• Addison Gurganus (Swimming, Indiana University of Pennsylvania)
• Ethan Higgins (Wrestling, Seton Hill University)
• Noah LeJeune (Baseball, Seton Hill University)
• Keira Mehalko (Women’s Soccer, Mercyhurst University)
• Chela Miller (Cheer, Long Island University)
• Seth Miller (Wrestling, Ohio Northern University)
• Ja’Vaughn Moore (Football, Robert Morris)
• Clancy Orie (Football, United States Naval Academy)
• Sadie Orie (Women’s Basketball, Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
• Jaden Palombine (Wrestling, King University)
• Dylan Paul (Men’s Basketball, Gannon University)
• Ryan Petras (Football, Duquesne University)
• Tanner Pfeuffer (Football, Frostburg State University)
• Trent Powell (Swimming, Indiana University of Pennsylvania)
• Ella Sabatos (Women’s Basketball, Frostburg State University)
• Dylan Schumacher (Baseball, Indiana University of Pennsylvania)
• Aden Stout (Wrestling, Seton Hill University)
• Ryan Walsh (Baseball, Virginia Polytechnic Institute)
• Owen White (Baseball, Allegheny College)
• Allison Wolling (Women’s Golf, Waynesburg University)

Athletic Director Laura Grimm welcomed attendees, followed by remarks from Assistant Principal Nicola Hipkins. Coaches introduced each student-athlete and their college commitments, while a panel of BPHS alumni — Tommy DiRienzo ’20, Lily Gaston ’22, Nathaniel Neal ’20, and Sandra Soltes ’22 — shared insights during a Q&A session titled “Success as a Collegiate Athlete.”

The event underscored the pride Bethel Park takes in its students’ athletic and academic accomplishments, celebrating their promising futures.