As the soccer coach at Furman in the late 1990s, Brian Lee heavily recruited in the Atlanta area, trying to sway some of the Southeast’s best prospects to play in Greenville, S.C. for the Paladins.
While recruiting in urban Georgia, Lee became acquainted with several high school coaches, including Parkview High School’s up-and-coming coach Todd Yelton.
“[Lee] used to recruit the Atlanta regions heavily when he was the coach over at Furman,” Yelton said. “We met casually through that and became friends through that and things just took off from there.”
With aspirations of also becoming a collegiate coach, Yelton applied for a vacant position at Samford in 2002 where he turned to his friend Lee for help.
“[Lee] was actually a reference for me when I applied for the job here at Samford,” Yelton said.
Now more than 10 years since they first met, with Lee now the coach at LSU and Yelton in his fifth season at Samford, the two friends will be on opposite sidelines in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night at 7 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla.
“We talk on a regular basis, probably around four or five times a week,” Yelton said. “We probably drive our wives crazy, because by the time we get home we’re already on the phone again. We know when we get that look from our wives that it’s probably time to hang up.”
LSU (11-4-7) comes into its first-ever NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection following the school’s first SEC Western Division Championship.
“It’s really satisfying, especially being here for four years and finally getting a chance to go to the post-season,” said senior Caroline Vanderpool. “This is something we’ve worked for as a team since the end of last season. We’ve put in a lot of hard work for this, and we deserve it.”
The Tigers have been a high-powered offensive team all season led by sophomores Malorie Rutledge, Michelle Makasini and Rachel Yepez, each of whom were named All-American selections earlier in the week.
Lee said he is proud but not surprised of his trio, which has combined for 51 of LSU’s 125 points this season and 27 of the Tigers’ 42 goals.
“[Winning awards] has been the expectations of our coaches and the expectation of the players since they have decided to come join the program,” Lee said.
Against Samford, Lee said his team will need to be prepared to face an offensive-minded Bulldog team that has scored 20 goals in their past eight contests.
“They’re a very good two-way team,” Lee said. “Things won’t be easy on the attacking end for us, and [Samford will] be very good on the counter attack also. [Yelton] is a very hard worker on the recruiting trail and their talent level isn’t what you’d think it should be at a [small school like] Samford. They have got some very talented kids.”
The Bulldogs (15-4-1) also come into the field of 64 as an at-large selection from the Ohio Valley Conference.
Samford was defeated in penalty-kicks in the semifinals of its conference tournament by Southeast Missouri leaving its NCAA Tournament status in limbo.
“This is our first time having to be in that situation,” Yelton said. “The last time, we knew we were in. We knew it would be very close for us, so we definitely had some nervous energy for sure.”
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by freshman Lauren Cook and sophomore Amber Cress who each have 21 points this season.
The winner of Friday’s match will face the winner between Florida State and Kennesaw State on Sunday.
Despite so much being at stake for each program, both Lee and Yelton said Friday’s match will likely not be the only time the friends will have to square off in a high-stakes match.
“When LSU hired [Lee], they absolutely got it right,” Yelton said. “When you look at the state of the program when he got there and how much progress he has made in such a small amount of time, it’s really remarkable.”
Lee also had high praise for Yelton’s future as the coach of the Bulldogs.
“He is an avid recruiter, and he is a great coach and a great person,” Lee said. “When he took over at Samford, [that program] was probably one of the worst programs in the country. So to now get an at-large NCAA bid speaks volumes to the job he and his staff have done down there.”
—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]