Outrage News Release – www.kalamazoooutrage.com

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

KALAMAZOO, MI – TKO Premier Soccer Club, owner of the Kalamazoo Outrage, has named the head coach for the 2009 United Soccer Leagues PDL season. Heading the men’s PDL team will be former Niagara Purple Eagle standout Mark Spooner.

“I am extremely excited to be taking over the coaching reigns at Kalamazoo,” said Spooner. “I am very grateful for the opportunity I have been given. Although we are a young franchise, my expectations are high and I fully expect to continue the great job that Stu Riddle and his staff did last year. I cannot wait to arrive in western Michigan and get my teeth into what I predict will be an extremely exciting adventure.”

Spooner will try and improve upon the fantastic inaugural season of the Outrage as they made it to the final eight in the PDL playoffs, defeating the Michigan Bucks and Chicago Fire before losing to eventual League champion Thunder Bay Chill.

Spooner comes to the Outrage after spending the 2008 college season as an assistant at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. There he helped the Lancers, in only their second year of DI eligibility, to an 8-8-4 record and the Atlantic Soccer Conference tournament championship. He also mentored freshman goalkeeper Joel Helmick to the ASC rookie of the year and junior midfielder Martin Vickerton to the all ASC first team.

Spooner spent four seasons playing in the Niagara University program from 2002-05 and is one of the most decorated players in the history of the program. Spooner started 65 games and was a four-time All-MAAC and two-time NSCAA All-New York Region selection. He tallied 52 points in his career, which ranks sixth on Niagara’s all-time points list. After the completion of his playing career he went onto coach with the purple eagles for the ‘06 and ‘07 seasons where they compiled an 8-8-4 conference record making the playoffs both years.

Spooner hails from Mickleover, England and prior to coming to the States he spent two years as a youth trainee with the Northampton Town Football Club. In the summer of 2003, Spooner was a member of the Great Britain team that competed in the World University Games in Daegu, Korea falling in the quarter finals to eventual finalists Italy. He is also a two-time Empire State Game gold medalist in 2005 and 2006 with the Western Men’s Open team. In 2006 Spooner graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management and he currently lives with his wife Justine in Chesterfield, Virginia.

The 2009 Outrage season is due to start in mid May. Both teams regular season will consist of home and away games versus the teams in their division. For the men’s side that will be the Cleveland Internationals, Cincinnati Kings, Forest City London, Fort Wayne Fever, Indiana Invaders, Chicago Fire, Toronto Lynx and the Michigan Bucks.

The women that will be the Fort Wayne Fever Women, FC Indiana, Cleveland Internationals, Chicago, West Michigan Firewomen and the Minnesota Lightning. More details on the schedule will be released as they are made available by the United Soccer Leagues. For information on the Kalamazoo Outrage and TKO visit www.kalamazoooutrage.com or www.tkosoccer.org.