January 31, 2005

Courtesy of the Drury Office of Sports Information Springfield, Mo. - (For Release: Upon Receipt)

Marshall Ray has accepted an assistant men’s soccer coaching position at NCAA-I soccer power, Duke University, and will step down from his position as the Panthers’ head men’s soccer coach. As one of three assistant coaches in the Duke University men’s soccer coaching staff, Ray’s duties will focus primarily on scheduling, team training and the scouting of opponents. Ray, who has been the head coach for the Panther men’s soccer program the past two years will begin his duties at Duke immediately. Ray, who served as the Drury men’s soccer graduate assistant prior to assuming the head coaching dutiies in 2003, leaves Drury after two seasons in which his teams had an overall record of 6-26-2 while competing as a NCAA-I independent.

Drury athletic director, Dr. Edsel Matthews, accepted Ray’s resignation. “Marshall has done everything we have asked of him the past two years. He has prepared our men’s team very well for its move into the Great Lakes Valley Conference this coming fall. I understand the opportunity that has come his way and understand why he feels he needs to make this move at this time in his career. We appreciate Marshall’s hard work during his time here and wish him the best of luck in the future.” Matthews added, “We have already started the process of finding a replacement and we hope to be able to announce who will be our men’s soccer coach by early March.”

“I want to thank the Drury administration for the opportunity it has given me," said Ray. "The past four years have been a wonderful educational experience for myself, not only in pursuing my master’s degree but also having the opportunity to coach an outstanding group of young men who I feel have made strides over the past couple of years. I am looking forward to following the team in the future. This was just an opportunity that presented itself and one I did not feel I could not pass up at this point in my career. Duke University is well respected both academically and athletically and I think that this was the next step in my development as a coach. In head coach John Rennie I will be able to learn from an individual who has had 26 years of college coaching experience at Duke University and has been to five NCAA-I Final Fours...including this past season. I will miss the players, the university and the city of Springfield,” he concluded.

Ray, a 2000 graduate of University of Evansville, came to Drury in the fall of 2001 and served two years as the men’s soccer graduate assistant before accepting the head coaching position on Feb. 10, 2003. During the one year between his graduation from Evansville and his coming to Drury, he played for the Nashville Metros, a professional team that competed in the A-league.

For more information contact Dan Cashel in the Drury Office of Sports Information at (417) 873-7222 or Eric Pannell at (417) 873-7374. Or visit the Drury web page at: www.drury.edu