Former Western Carolina standout Heather Dittmer joins the 49ers women's soccer coaching staff. |
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Heather Dittmer Joins the 49ers Women's Soccer Coaching Staff
June 11, 2008
Charlotte, NC - Charlotte 49ers women's soccer coach Jon Lipsitz announced the hiring of former Western Carolina standout Heather Dittmer as an assistant coach. Dittmer joins fourth-year assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Sari Rose on the 49ers women's soccer coaching staff.
"I am excited about having Heather Dittmer join our coaching staff," Lipsitz said. "During our pregame preparation for our game against Western Carolina last season, I remember telling our players about her that she was a player that played with a great deal of intensity and passion. I really like the qualities that she possesses as a player and a person. To be able to watch her have an opportunity to take what she has learned as a player and continue to grow as a young coach is exciting for me."
Dittmer finished her stellar career at Western Carolina with 15 goals which is tied for the fourth highest in the program's history. She also finished fifth in the program's history with 39 career points. As a junior, she earned first-team All-Southern Conference and North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association All-State honors. As a sophomore, she was the first player in Western Carolina history to earn Soccer Buzz "National Elite Team of the Week" honors.
She played two years with the W-League's Cocoa Expos from 2006-07. In 2006, she led the Expos in goals while leading them to a third place finish in their inaugural season in the W-League. While playing for the Expos, she was camp director for the Cocoa Expos Sports Center for two summers.
She also spent the spring semester of her senior year at Western Carolina as the junior varsity women's soccer coach at Smoky Mountain High School in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
The Marietta, Georgia native graduated in May from Western Carolina with a degree in Business Administration and Spanish. She was a member of the TIAA-CREF academic team as well as the Southern Conference honor roll at Western Carolina.
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"I am very excited about becoming a part of the 49ers women's soccer program," Dittmer said. "I look forward to being a part of the 49er family."
Dittmer joins a 49ers women's soccer program that won a program-record tying 16 games and captured the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships last season en route to the program's third-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 49ers welcome back 19 letterwinners and eight starters from last season's A-10 championship team. Those 19 letterwinners along with another highly-touted recruiting class that consists of 12 talented newcomers will take the field for the first time at perennial national power North Carolina, Friday, August 22.
