Joe Crump Named Assistant Soccer Coach
April 26, 2010 | Soccer
April 26, 2010
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Joe Crump, who spent the past three seasons with the men's program at Elon, has been appointed assistant coach at East Carolina University according to an announcement from head soccer coach Rob Donnenwirth Monday.
Crump, who will assume a direct coaching role with the Pirate goalkeepers, succeeds Josh Green as an assistant for the Pirates.
"Everyone who has been associated with Joe has praised his ability to train goalkeepers," Donnenwirth said. "The first thing I noticed about Joe is that he is a student of the game and is passionate about goalkeeping. We are very excited to have him join our staff."
In Crump's three years at Elon, at least one goalkeeper was honored with All-Southern Conference accolades. In 2007, true freshman keeper Clint Irwin claimed all-league honors and Phoenix keepers combined to help lead the program to a school-record four consecutive shutouts. A year later, Irwin and senior Kyle Boerner were both named to the all-conference teams. It was the first time in SoCon history that two goalies from one school earned all-conference honors the same season. Irwin had a 0.90 goals-against average and stopped 31 shots while Boerner recorded a .742 save percentage.
Crump capped his tenure with the Phoenix in 2009 by guiding Irwin to a First-Team All-Southern Conference selection. Irwin and the team collected 10 shutouts during the season, tying the school record set by the 1987 and 1988 squads. Irwin also moved into a tie for first place on the Elon career ledger with 19 clean sheets to his credit.
The Phoenix compiled a record of 28-24-7 during Crump's three seasons while reaching the 10-win plateau twice. Elon had a winning record all three campaigns and went 15-5-0 in Southern Conference action, including a 7-0-0 mark in 2008, when the Phoenix claimed the regular-season crown.
"I would like to thank Coach Donnenwirth and the athletic staff for this opportunity," Crump said. "Joining this program and the ECU athletic department is truly an honor. Expectations here are high, and I look forward to working with the coaching staff, team, alumni and community in an effort to reach and exceed those expectations."
In addition to his collegiate experience, Crump has been a North Carolina Olympic Development Program staff member and goalkeepers coach for Triangle United. He assisted the Region III champions and USYSA National Finalists.
A 2003 UNC Greensboro graduate, Crump played for Elon head coach Darren Powell at UNCG as a three-year starting goalie. Crump holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and owns a United States Soccer Federation "B" license.
