Reigning NCAA Division II national coach of the year Jen Fisher is leaving Metro State to return home to Fort Collins and become head coach of the Colorado State softball team, CSU athletic director Paul Kowal- czyk announced Friday.
Fisher replaces Mary Yori, who resigned Thursday night after 10 seasons to pursue other career opportunities. Fisher was a three-sport star at Rocky Mountain High School before playing softball at Creighton and Colorado Mines. Fisher started her collegiate coaching career at Otero Junior College in La Junta, where she won seven consecutive Region IX championships and coach of the year awards before being hired by Metro State in 2008 to resurrect the softball program that had been dormant since 1990.
Fisher’s Roadrunners won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles in just her second season, which they repeated earlier this spring, and earned a berth in the Division II College World Series.
AFA kicker on Groza watch list.
Air Force junior place-kicker Erik Soderberg was one of the 30 players named to the watch list for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s top kicker. Soderberg was a second-team all-Mountain West Conference selection last season, making a MWC-best 1.69 field goals per game, which ranked third in the nation.
• Adams State sophomore kicker David Van Voris was named to the watch list for the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the top kicker in D-II. Van Voris led Division II with 1.89 field goals per game.
Bears down Cowgirls in opener.
Danielle Birdsall scored both goals to lead the Northern Colorado women’s soccer team to a 2-1 win over host Wyoming in the season opener for both teams.
Birdsall converted a cross from Olivia Deadmond in the 32nd minute, and her shot in the 50th minute bounced off the goalpost and went in the net.
