CHEYENNE, WY – The Laramie County Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams have hired two new assistant coaches, adding Dimitri Sofias to the men and Maria Grogan to the women.
Sofias joins the LCCC men’s soccer team as an alumnus of the program, competing for the Golden Eagles in 2012 and 2013. During that time, he would score nine goals and add six assists while the team went a combined 28-9-3.
“I am excited to have Dimitri join the men's program,” Head Coach Fernando Perez said. “He understands the team culture and the expectation we have of the student athletes here at LCCC.”
“I’m excited to come back to LCCC and excited to be with the team and continue their years of success,” Sofias said.
Sofias has been working in video production for the past 12 years after attending Colorado State University and spent three years coaching club soccer during that time, going 15-9 over the period.
Also joining the Golden Eagles on the women’s side will be Maria Grogan, who joins the team from South High School in Cheyenne after former assistant Becky Valdez stepped aside after 20 years with the women’s program to pursue other opportunities.
Grogan is a Cheyenne native and has four years of college soccer experience with time as a starter for the Sheridan Generals and for the University of Houston-Victoria. Over her four-year career she started 48 of the 51 games she played in on defense and was a team captain for three of those seasons.
“We’re excited to have Maria join the LCCC program,” Head Coach Lugo Arenas said. “Her playing experience at other institutions will benefit our program with the knowledge she gained.”
After her playing career ended, Grogan returned to Wyoming where she attended the University of Wyoming for a degree in phycology before getting her masters from the University of Northern Colorado in Behavioral Sciences.
“I’m excited for my first experience in coaching college athletics,” Grogan said. “I feel like my experience in college and in Region IX will help bring a positive contribution to the success of the team.”
For the past three years, Grogan has been coaching soccer at Cheyenne South High School and is entering her second season helping coach basketball. She is also a full-time special education teacher for South and is pursuing another master’s in special education.
“Her impact on her students at South High School on the court coaching basketball and on the field coaching soccer didn’t go unnoticed,” Arenas added. “Maria is a role model for those students and what achievements are possible similar to her journey.”
The Golden Eagles have begun practices in full. The men open their season on Saturday, August 19th against Arizona Western College while the women will open five days later on Thursday, August 24th against Salt Lake Community College.