College Soccer

Oral Roberts University men's soccer captain and Flint City Bucks player Eugene Quaynor died in a car crash on Wednesday night, according to Abbie de Vera of FOX23 News. He was 23.

"We mourn the loss of ORU Men's Soccer student-athlete, Eugene Quaynor," Oral Roberts Athletics said in a statement on its Facebook page. "Eugene was the epitome of the mission we strive for in our Athletic Department. He was a leader on the field as a captain of the men's soccer team and had a spirit-empowered heart ready to lead and impact the world for Jesus. His infectious smile will be missed all over the ORU campus, but his spirit will live on as we will never forget."

According to the police report, Quaynor's sedan was stopped for a red light when an SUV struck it from behind at a high speed. The sedan reportedly burst into flames upon impact and it is believed Quaynor died instantly.

The Tulsa Police Department is investigating the crash and said the driver of the SUV is suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

Quaynor, a graduate student, had moved from Ghana to Tulsa to play soccer for Oral Roberts.

The defender also played for the Flint City Bucks, a soccer team in the USL League Two based out of Michigan.

The Bucks said in a statement that "in addition to being a true warrior on the pitch, [Quaynor] was always eager to do community service work, free youth clinics and charity events. This fall, he was in the midst of his fourth season with the Golden Eagles and had embarked upon his Master's degree."

"I spent all day thinking of Eugene and I can't think of one time where he wasn't smiling," Tochi Onwuakba, a friend of Quaynor, told Cal Day of NewsOn6.com. "I'm still in shock."

Oral Roberts postponed Saturday's men's soccer home game with St. Thomas following Quaynor's death.

Police in Lawrence, Kansas, arrested Chad Marek on a first-degree murder charge in the killing of his wife, former Kansas women's soccer player Regan Gibbs, according to Chris Conde of the Lawrence Journal-World.

Lawrence police also issued a statement on Marek's arrest:

pic.twitter.com/cjkh4oIePs

— Lawrence Police (@LawrenceKS_PD) May 17, 2022

According to Conde, Marek called emergency dispatchers to say he had killed Gibbs and "God told him to do it." First responders found Gibbs dead at the scene when they arrived. 

Lawrence police said they are investigating domestic violence as a "contributing factor" in Gibbs' death. Her cause of death has yet to be confirmed pending the results of an autopsy, per Conde.

Marek will appear in court on May 24.

Gibbs was a goalkeeper for the Jayhawks from 2015 to 2018, during which time the program reached the NCAA tournament on two occasions.

"Our soccer program is heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Regan," coach Mark Francis said. "She was a tremendous teammate and young woman, and touched so many during her time at Kansas. Regan will always be remembered for the impact she had both on and off the field. We share our condolences to her family, friends and teammates during this difficult time."

Stanford University announced Wednesday that Katie Meyer, a goalkeeper and captain for the Stanford women's soccer team, died Tuesday. She was 22. 

We love you, Katie. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vkrAisQABi

— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) March 2, 2022

The thoughts and hearts of the entire U.S. Soccer Federation are with the family, friends, teammates and loved ones of Katie Meyer. https://t.co/xSuCQJPk1P

— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) March 2, 2022

We join Stanford in mourning the loss of Katie Meyer. Our condolences to her family, friends and teammates. https://t.co/RdQbOxPsC7

— NCAA (@NCAA) March 2, 2022

On behalf of the entire Pac-12 family, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Katie Meyer, along with the @GoStanford & @StanfordWSoccer community of which she was a beloved member.

Katie will be greatly missed and will remain in our hearts.

❤️ https://t.co/UL6UgBrYCX

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 2, 2022

Her cause of death has not been publicly announced, but the university said she died in a campus residence. 

Stanford's vice provost for student affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and athletic director Bernard Muir provided a statement about Meyer:

Katie was extraordinarily committed to everything and everyone in her world. Her friends describe her as a larger-than-life team player in all her pursuits, from choosing an academic discipline she said 'changed my perspective on the world and the very important challenges that we need to work together to overcome' to the passion she brought to the Cardinal women's soccer program and to women's sports in general.

Meyer famously made two saves in a penalty shootout against North Carolina in the 2019 women's soccer championship, helping the Cardinal win the title. 

Can never forget this big mood 🤫🔑 pic.twitter.com/PUCkSxAYxR

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 4, 2020

Devastated to hear the news today about Katie Meyer. All my prayers to her loved ones, @StanfordWSoccer and the entire @GoStanford family.

Will never forget her performance in the 2019 National Championship. 💔 pic.twitter.com/u7yzG6CDDz

— Ashley Adamson (@AdamsonAshley) March 2, 2022

Meyer spoke to Haley Rosen of Just Women's Sports in 2020 about her viral celebration:

That moment meant so much to me because of my journey leading up to it. My reaction came from all the work that went into that championship and all the joy I have for the sport. You're looking at a girl who was cut from her first club team, who didn’t make the U17s World Cup roster a few years ago, redshirted last year. You have all these ups and downs in your soccer career and then you get the big yes, and you know this is exactly what you are supposed to be doing. There's no purer joy.

The redshirt senior from Newbury Park, California, was 34-12-4 in her career as Stanford's goalie, making 112 saves across three seasons with a 0.72 goals-against average and a 0.76 save percentage. 

UCLA women's soccer player Reilyn Turner became the first college athlete to sign a name, image and likeness (NIL) contract with Nike.

Turner and Nike will work with Los Angeles-area nonprofit organizations to "encourage young girls to be active and participate in sports," per ESPN's Nick DePaula.

"I'm so excited to be a part of what Nike is bringing to the future of women's sport," Turner said. "Picking up a ball opened so many doors for me. Playing sports has allowed me to build relationships with people around the world, to go to an amazing school, to be part of a community that means everything."

Today is the day! @Nike has signed their FIRST college student athlete sponsorship. @UCLAWSoccer's own Reilyn Turner (sophomore forward) is now signed. Reilyn will focus on working with Nike to impact existing communities in Los Angeles. Bigger than sport! pic.twitter.com/pUweTa6huH

— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) December 14, 2021

Turner, a native of Lakewood, California, was voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after a 2020 season where she recorded 11 goals, including three game-winning tallies, and five assists across 17 appearances for the Bruins.

The 19-year-old forward added 10 goals with three more game-winners in 20 matches as a sophomore in 2021.

"As an athlete, you're in a position to be a role model, to have a platform to speak up for what you believe in," she said, per DePaula. "I hope to be a role model for those around me and those after me. I want to inspire little girls and little boys to pursue their dreams too."

Turner listed Jackie Robinson, Serena Williams and Michael Jordan among her sports heroes, per DePaula.

"As a Black woman and Mexican American, I think about those who have paved the way for me and how they used their platforms to create so much change, even beyond sport," Turner said. "I hope to be a role model for those around me and those after me."

UCLA previously signed a six-year, $46.45 million contract with Nike to serve as the athletic department's apparel provider last December, so there's no brand conflict.

Turner, who's also played for the U.S. women's youth national teams, should be one of the NCAA's top scorers over the next two seasons.

Several current and former members of the University of San Francisco men's soccer team have been accused of sexual assault and misconduct dating back to 2003. 

Per Priya Desai and Jenny Vrentas of Sports Illustrated, USF administrators have been made aware of "several" allegations involving the behavior of the men's soccer team which the victims and their supporters said contributed to a "culture of rape and terror perpetuated" by the team.

One former student who spoke to Desai and Vrentas said she went to school administrators in 2003 to voice concern about members of the team "filming women without consent in intimate settings with their teammates."

Another woman, a former USF student who was given the pseudonym Ashley to protect her privacy, told SI about waking up "naked in a shower of the communal bathroom in her dorm" at the school in March 2018: 

Her clothes were next to her, but her underwear was missing. She had the taste of semen in her mouth. Disoriented and groggy, she made her way back to her room to lie down and piece together the night before. There was the nightclub where she met two men, one a current and one a former USF men’s soccer player. She had been drinking but remembers going back with them to 'the soccer house,' where a group of players lived and regularly threw parties. From there things become hazy. Her last memory before she blacked out is of sitting on a couch with the two men who brought her there.

According to Desai and Vrentas, one of the players from that night reached out to Ashley "several months later" via social media. She asked him what happened, and he agreed to tell her over Snapchat, "where messages disappear after they have been read."

"Ashley says the player confirmed her worst fear: He had penetrated her vaginally while at the soccer house," per SI. "Ashley told the player she had been blacked out, but she says he simply wrote, 'I know you wanted it...' Horrified, she blocked him from all social media and never spoke to him again."

Desai and Vrentas spoke to current and former San Francisco students, whose accounts "point to a distinct culture of misconduct on the team that spanned three coaches, four athletic directors—though one, Scott Sidwell, was present for the majority of the time—and two school presidents."

Other sexual assault and misconduct allegations have previously been made against the Dons men's soccer team in addition to the accounts shared with Desai and Vrentas. 

After creating a meme about the toxic culture of the men's soccer team at USF, former student Will Midence, who graduated in 2019, made a post on Instagram that contained a series of images demanding the university investigate and hold accountable the men's soccer program amid the accusations of sexual assault.

"Over the last four days what I thought would be a satirical meme has turned into an open letter and virtual protests to @usfca through my Instagram account demanding justice for the survivors of alleged sexual assault from the University of San Francisco’s men’s soccer team," Midence wrote in the caption on the post. 

The school commissioned an independent investigation in the wake of Midence's post. 

Per the results released by the investigators on Jan. 11, it was determined that 11 members of the men’s soccer team "engaged in sexual misconduct and disrespectful behavior toward women and/or LGBTQIA individuals over the past decade," but such behavior "is not pervasive among members of the USF men’s soccer team.”

The report also stated, "consistent with its policies and procedures, USF responded to reported instances of sexual misconduct involving the soccer team and held accountable any soccer players and coaches found responsible for violating USF’s sexual misconduct policies."

Desai and Vrentas noted they spoke to five women, including Ashley, who didn't talk with the investigators hired by the school. Each of the women they talked with "shared personal accounts from that time period of sexual misconduct or harassment by a men’s soccer player."

Former San Francisco soccer player Manny Padilla was suspended by his professional team, New Mexico United, in July 2020 when he was named in a Change.org petition as part of Midence's advocacy. 

Per official documents obtained by Gabriel Greschler of the San Francisco Examiner, Padilla was found to be in violation of the school's sexual misconduct policy in 2015 after fellow USF student Julia Casciano accused him of forcing himself onto her "while requesting sex and groping her inside a dormitory room."

Padilla remained on the Dons soccer team amid the school's ruling. He was given probation and a deferred suspension, while attending mandated counseling and a no-contact order that forbade either him or Casciano from having any contact with each other.

Casciano appealed the initial sanctions, requesting that he be expelled from the university and accusing him of violating the no-contact order by having a third party approach her on his behalf. 

Per Desai and Vrentas, former USF athletic director Scott Sidwell "continued to allow [Padilla] to be featured and promoted in their media" despite knowing the university had found him responsible for sexual misconduct. 

Sidwell remained at San Francisco through the end of the 2018-19 basketball season before resigning to accept a position at Penn State's athletic department. 

New Mexico United eventually released Padilla on July 25, 2020, after the 2015 case came to light. 

In response to requests from Desai and Vrentas for interviews with current and former administrators, a university spokesperson provided the following statement as part of a 15-page response to questions from the two reporters: 

USF takes all allegations of sexual assault very seriously, including the deeply troubling stories shared by survivors. We thank the individuals who have courageously come forward and shared information with USF's Title IX team and with the independent investigators. We also understand and respect the decision of those who opt not to share their stories with investigators.

Desai and Vrentas noted that "sentiment was repeated frequently throughout" the spokesperson's replies, though "there was also a note of defiance" as the reply pointed to the school's investigation findings that "the number of sexual misconduct incidents within the men's soccer program over a decade does not represent a pervasive culture."

The University of San Francisco hired Katrina Garry as its new deputy Title IX coordinator in April. 

Four players on the Western Michigan women's soccer team filed a federal lawsuit Monday in an effort to fight the school's vaccine mandate for student-athletes.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports reported Emily Dahl, Hannah Redoute, Bailey Korhorn and Morgan Otteson argued the mandate violates their Christian beliefs. They each applied for religious exemptions in an effort to avoid being removed from the team but were denied, so they responded by reaching out to the Great Lakes Justice Center.

Per Eisenberg, the Great Lakes Justice Center has a reputation for "challenging the legality of public health restrictions" during the COVID-19 pandemic and filed this lawsuit in an effort to prevent the players from being removed from the team until the case is heard.

"Prohibiting unvaccinated members of the teams from engaging in practices and competition is the only effective manner of accomplishing this compelling interest," the school said in a statement, per David Eggert of the Associated Press.

Western Michigan does allow student-athletes who do not want to be vaccinated to remain enrolled in the school and on scholarship because the university as a whole does not have a vaccine mandate even though students who are not vaccinated are regularly tested.

According to Eisenberg, the players said they would wear masks and get tested regularly if they were allowed to remain with the team.

"When asked how getting vaccinated clashed with his clients’ Christian beliefs, [attorney David] Kallman cited the passage of the bible that states that human bodies are 'temples of the Holy Spirit' and should be treated as such," Eisenberg wrote.

Eggert noted that the pope has called vaccines safe and effective while encouraging religious people to get vaccinated.

Likewise, evidence has shown that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is safe, effective and the best protection against severe disease and hospitalization. A recent study from the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (h/t CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen) found that those who are not vaccinated are five times more likely to get COVID-19 and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized or killed as a result of contracting the virus.

Eisenberg highlighted the "massive blow" on the field losing these four players would be, as Korhorn is tied for the team lead in goals, Otteson is an all-conference forward, Dahl is a starting defender and Redoute is a key player off the bench.

Western Michigan is 2-2 to start the season with wins over Detroit Mercy and IUPUI and losses to Michigan and Louisville.

Cincinnati women's soccer player Ally Sidloski died Saturday after her body was found at East Fork State Park in Clermont County, Ohio, in an apparent drowning.

She was 21.

"I am absolutely crushed for the Sidloski Family, our soccer team and the University," head coach Neil Stafford said in a statement. "There's no words for dealing with a tragedy on this scale. Ally was such a pillar of everything that's right about our program. A great student, gritty and resilient player and a phenomenal human being—this is an immeasurable and unspeakable loss. Our hearts go out to her family and friends, and we will lift them up with our fond memories of Ally."

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Sidloski fell into the lake after hanging off a swim platform attached to a boat. Her body was found around 1 a.m. Sunday morning. 

We are saddened by the tragic loss of @GoBearcatsWSOC student-athlete Ally Sidloski. Our thoughts are with the Sidloski family, the Bearcats soccer community, and all who knew Ally.

📝: https://t.co/4nzOVdh8jy pic.twitter.com/Pgq7Tm9ccr

— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 23, 2021

Sidloski sat out the 2020 season because of injury but was an Academic All-AAC honoree in 2019.

In high school, she starred at Strongsville and was a three-time All-Greater Cleveland Conference selection.

The University of Louisville has dismissed three players from its men's soccer program and suspended three more after the athletes were found to have held a party last weekend resulting in 29 positive cases of COVID-19, per the Louisville Courier-Journal's Cameron Teague Robinson.

The outbreak forced both men's and women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball programs on campus to temporarily shut down workouts. Kentucky had previously limited large gatherings to no more than 10 persons, per Teague Robinson. 

Each of the students dismissed from the program had prior team violations, according to a release from the university. 

"I'm extremely disappointed in these young men and particularly with the three that have been dismissed," men's soccer coach John Michael Hayden said. "They have demonstrated with their actions now and previously that they do not echo the culture of this program. Our student-athletes are held to a high standard of conduct as representatives of our program and university."

Contract tracing conducted by the university found last Saturday's party—organized by the men's soccer players—as the source of the outbreak. Students across the athletic department began testing positive for the virus the following Monday. 

All those who contracted or were exposed to the virus were immediately placed in quarantine. 

Teague Robinson notes Louisville has paused workouts for both the men's basketball and swimming programs at different points over the summer because of positive tests for the coronavirus, however, this marks the first time cases have spiked as the result of an off-campus event. 

Added Director of Athletics Vince Tyra:

"I fully support John Michael's decision. It is clear that these student-athletes did not meet the code of conduct of the university or their team. Ignoring the safety protocols issued by federal, state and local officials, as well as the athletic department, is unacceptable and dangerous. Their history of actions are not in alignment with the values of this university and athletics department." 

The school has not released the names of the players disciplined. 

 

Former UCLA head men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo pleaded guilty Monday to accepting $200,000 in bribes in exchange for helping two students get into the school by falsely labeling them as recruits.

According to Alanna Durkin Richer of the Associated Press, Salcedo was paid $100,000 in exchange for helping Bruce and Davina Isackson get their daughter into UCLA by saying she was a soccer recruit. He also accepted $100,000 from admissions consultant Rick Singer for helping the son of Xiaoning Sui get into UCLA as a fake recruit as well.

Salcedo admitted to being part of the bribery scheme that saw several high-profile parents, including well-known actors, pay out bribes to people at major universities across the country in exchange for getting their children into the schools.

Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman and Full House actress Lori Loughlin are among the parents who have admitted to wrongdoing in the case.

Salcedo is one of six coaches who have pleaded guilty as part of the case, while three other coaches are currently fighting the charges.

The 47-year-old played soccer collegiately at UCLA before going on to play in MLS as a defender for the L.A. Galaxy, Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire and Tampa Bay Mutiny. He also made three appearances for the United States national team.

Salcedo was promoted from assistant to head coach at UCLA in 2004 and served in the position until 2019, when he resigned amid the scandal.

Salcedo officially pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge, and the judge will decide at a later date whether to accept Salcedo's plea deal.