UGF hires Yeisley to coach men's soccer

The University of Great Falls has named Joseph Yeisley the new head men's soccer coach, the school announced at a morning news conference Monday.

Yeisley, 29, replaces Paul Zazenski who resigned to take an assistant coaching job at James Madison University.

"We want to build off the foundation that Coach Zazenski left and continue its progress," Yeisley said. "He left the program in a great state with a lot of good individuals and great soccer players. We want to continue on that success, get back to the NAIA Tournament and hopefully win a couple of games at the tournament."

Yeisley comes to UGF from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. He coached the Moundbuilders for three seasons and compiled a record of 13-36-3 while competing in the NAIA Kansas Collegiate Athletics Conference.

"Joseph is a perfect fit for our community, university, athletic department and men's soccer program," said Arunas Duda, UGF's acting athletic director. "He instantly won respect from the players he met with by having a clear vision of the future. This detailed plan included a structured plan for academic and athletic success, but most importantly, caring for his athletes' personal success."

Yeisley takes over a program that finished 17-3 last season and won the Frontier Conference regular-season crown before suffering a heart-breaking loss in the conference tournament championship game.

Last season's UGF squad boasted 19 Academic All-Conference honorees while nine earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition.

"The program has a lot of really great kids who are well-rounded, and I hope to continue to follow in Paul's footsteps in terms of being good on the field, in the classroom and in the community," Yeisley said. "We want to take our community involvement to the next level. We want to be known as a team that puts its neck out for others."

Yeisley graduated from Catoosa (Okla.) High School in 2004. While at Catoosa he played basketball and soccer, and helped the school win its first and only soccer state championship.

He attended Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City where he was a four-year standout in soccer. During his collegiate soccer career, he was a two-time All-Region selection, a two-time Academic All-American, and a three-year captain.

Yeisley graduated from MACU in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and was valedictorian of his graduating class. Yeisley also holds a master's degree in business administration from Southwestern College.

Before coming to Southwestern, Yeisley coached the Norman (Okla.) North High School girls' soccer team a state tournament appearance. Yeisley also holds a USSF "C" National Coaching License.

Yeisley is married to the former Katie Timmer, and the couple has a daughter, Lillian, who will soon celebrate her first birthday.