Major League Soccer club D.C. United has acquired former University of Charleston standout Rob Vincent on permanent transfer from the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League.
Vincent, 25, was the 2009 West Virginia Conference Freshman of the Year and 2010 Player of the Year during a college career that included four conference championships with the Golden Eagles. Vincent also spent two seasons with the West Virginia Chaos, scoring 11 goals in 23 appearances spread across the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
A native of Liverpool, England, Vincent signed with the Riverhounds for the 2013 season. During his time in Pittsburgh, he scored 24 goals from his usual left midfield position and was named to the USL's All-League first team in 2015. Vincent holds a United States Green Card and will not take up one of United's international roster spots.
D.C. United plays Mexican club Queretaro F.C. in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League matchup on Feb. 23 at Estadio Corregidora in Mexico before the return leg on March 1 at RFK Stadium in Washington. The club opens its MLS season on March 6 against Los Angeles Galaxy at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
nnn
UC FOOTBALL: Three University of Charleston football players earned Don Hansen All-America honors, the Don Hansen selection committee recently announced.
Senior corner Torie Wagner was named to the second team, while junior punter Brett Benes was named to the third team and redshirt junior offensive lineman Justin Johnson earned honorable mention.
Wagner finished the season with 57 tackles, 44 solo, with seven pass breakups. Benes, who also earned AFCA All-America and Associated Press Little All-America second-team honors, averaged 43.7 yards per punt and put 14 of his 48 punts inside the 20-yard line. Johnson helped block for an offense that ranked 16th in Division II with 241.3 rushing yards per game and 24th nationally with 465.1 yards per game.
The Don Hansen All-America team is named for longtime small college football advocate Don Hansen, who published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.
nnn
MEC BASKETBALL: The first edition of the Atlantic Regional rankings were released with the top three consisting of Mountain East Conference programs on the men's side, led by No. 1 Wheeling Jesuit (22-1).
West Liberty (22-2) comes next at No. 2 and Fairmont State (21-3) is ranked No. 3. Concord and Notre Dame are also in the rankings at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. The top eight teams in the final regional rankings earn bids to the NCAA Tournament.
On the women's side, a pair of MEC teams are also ranked, with West Liberty (21-3) coming in at No. 3 and Wheeling Jesuit (21-3) at No. 5. The Atlantic Region is comprised of the MEC, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
nnn
WEST VIRGINIA GOLF HALL OF FAME: Recommendations are now being accepted for the eighth class of the West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame.
Nominations can be sent to the West Virginia Golf Association, 2115 Charleston Town Center, Charleston, WV 25389. The current members of the Hall of Fame include William Campbell, Sam Snead, Ed Tutwlier Jr, Harold Payne, Denny Shute, Pat Carter, Julious Pollock, Fritzi Stifel Quarrier, Stuart Bloch, Sally Carrol, Larry Martin, and Steve Fox.
nnn
TRACK AND FIELD OFFICIALS: Track and Field officials are being recruited for the new Olympiad 2016-2020. For more information, contact Paul Gilmer at 304-389-1982 or PJGilmer@aol.com.
nnn
SAFE SPORTS TRAINING: All certified and youth coaches may take a "Safe Sports" training clinic at 1 p.m. Sunday at Laidley Field. If you attend the session, you will have met the requirement of completing the course. If you do not attend the session, you can take the course online.