Women's Soccer Head Coach Sharif Saber Signs Contract Extension Through 2027 Season
7/29/2023 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate Chancellor Dr. Bennie Harris and the Upstate Athletics department are excited to announce that women's soccer head coach Sharif Saber has signed a contract extension through the 2027 season. Â
Associate A.D. for Student-Athlete Enrichment and Senior Woman Administrator, Sarah (Gildersleeve) Jones was ecstatic about the contract extension saying, "It was an absolute no brainer to extend coach Saber's contract and we are thrilled to have a coach of his caliber leading our women's soccer program for years to come. Sharif has made an immediate positive impact at USC Upstate in his short tenure thus far and he has positioned his program to be a true championship contender in the Big South Conference. He leads his program in a way that supports his young women holistically and seeks to make each student-athlete stronger both on and off the field. Congratulations to Coach Saber and I look forward to continuing to partner with you to advance your program forward under your leadership!"Â
Saber was tabbed to lead the Spartan Army in December of 2021 after four seasons as the head coach at the University of Mount Olive (Mount Olive, N.C.), where he led the program to two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, two Conference Carolinas regular season championships, and two Conference Carolinas tournament championships.Â
In his first season as the Spartans' head coach, Saber made history multiple times including helping the program get its first ever win over High Point, achieving a .647 winning percentage which is the best winning percentage in the programs Division I era., downing six Big South opponents which is the most conference wins in the program's D1 era, and finishing the season with the most post-season honors in program history including of Big South Freshman of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Big South Coach of the Year. Under Saber's oversight, five Spartans also worked their way into the USC Upstate women's soccer history books in categories such as assists, shots in a single game, shots in a season, game-winning goals, saves, wins (for a goalkeeper), shutouts in a single season and goals against average. Â
As well as the team's on field success, the Spartans posted a 3.55 team GPA to help the Upstate athletics department earn the highest department-wide grade point average ever with a cumulative 3.30. Seven individual Spartans finished with a perfect 4.0, which tied volleyball for most individual 4.0s. Â
Coach Saber graduated two seniors following the 2022-2023 school year and retains nine of his 11 starters from last season. The 2023 season is around the corner with the now 29-woman roster set to play nine home games and eight conference matches, four of which are set to be played at Spartanburg Regional Field at County University Soccer Stadium. The first exhibition match is slated for Monday, August 7th at 6:00 p.m. against UNC Greensboro.Â
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