PC United Team History

"First Ladies" of Pulaski County

February 19th, 2007

For years the Pulaski County girls have been an expected win for any River Ridge District foe, but look for things to change!  Girl’s soccer is improving leaps and bounds in Pulaski County.  With the influx of bright new coaches at the high school last season, there have been exponential improvements across all elements of the girl’s game.   Varsity Coach Billy Williams, his assistant and J.V head coach Chris Blackburn, and assistant John Trussler, are putting the team on the right track.  Endless hours of dedication from these gentlemen are starting to pay off.

Beginning just a week or so after the end of the school year, the majority of players met twice a week for pickup games at Dublin Lions Field.  They did this all summer on a strictly voluntary basis.  There is a lot to be said about the dedication of these girls AND their parents for bringing them from all over the county.  Stemming from this, the coaches have provided the girls an opportunity to form a brand new U18 travel team under the Radford Soccer Club named PCUnited.   This team consists of many PCHS Lady Cougars and others not affiliated with the high school team.  Many thanks go out to the Radford Soccer Club for allowing Pulaski County to form under their club. 

The coaching staff for the 2006 PCUnited team is as follows: Head Coach Billy Williams, Asst. coach/Team Mgr. Chris Blackburn, Assistants: John Trussler, Mike Myers, and Dale Stephens.  As a team, the girls have done very well in their debut season in club soccer.  In the Blue Ridge Classic League Blue Division, they finished 2nd overall and won their flight hands down.  Haley Stephens and Ashley Frazier both scored hat tricks (3 goals each) in the SAME game which is most likely a Pulaski County Girls Soccer record!!  The team played an 8 game schedule and finished 6-1-1 for a total of 19 points and scored 23 goals!

Yet another opportunity is being offered by these coaches for the girls of Pulaski Co.  Coach Stephens has entered 2 teams to play in the Blacksburg Indoor Soccer League.  The "Gold" team is coached by Billy Williams/John Trussler and the "Burgundy" team by Dale Stephens.  In their debut indoor season both teams played in the semifinals with the Burgundy team winning the playoff championship.  By playing the indoor season, these girls are now playing year round!  This is something their high school competition has had available for years.  It is the coaches’ belief that with these opportunities as “feeder” programs, the quality of our Lady Cougars will drastically improve!  

None of this would be possible if it weren’t for the desire and dedication these girls have to the game, their teammates, and their coaches!  And hey, let’s not forget about the parents for supporting their daughters by sacrificing their time and money.   The coaches would like to express their gratitude to the families who have come together to make this all possible.  And they would like to invite the community to come out and cheer on PC United in the fall at the Dublin Lions Field and the Lady Cougars this spring at Dobson Stadium!  

Article by: Dale Stephens