JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Men's Soccer coach Stephen Lyons announced the additions of two new members of his coaching staff on Thursday with graduate assistant Lukas Grosse-Puppendahl and volunteer assistant Joe Boyd.
These latest additions mark the second and third for Lyons' staff this week after announcing that David Baisden will move into the Assistant Coach role for the reigning SAC regular season champions.
A 2016 graduate from Davis & Elkins, Grosse-Puppendahl was a four-year defender for the Senators, serving as the team captain for two seasons. Through 65 matches played, he tallied 19 goals with a pair of assists. A three-time All-Great Midwestern Athletic Conference selection, including first-team honors in 2015 and 2016, he was tabbed the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and was a part of a Senators squad that won GMAC Regular Season titles in 2013 and 2016.
"Lukas brings a huge amount of experience to our staff, and I am looking forward to welcoming him to Mossy Creek," Lyons said. "His received multiple awards both athletically and academically at Davis & Elkins, so he knows what it takes to be a successful student-athlete."
Academically, the Haltern am See, Germany-native was lauded NSCAA Scholar and CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2016. He graduated from Davis & Elkins with a Bachelor's degree in Management and Marketing.
Beyond his playing career, Grosse-Puppendahl takes on the new role after playing semi-professionally with both Tus Haltern am See and Spvgg Erkenschwick throughout the past four years. He previously served as a youth coach for ETuS Haltern for four seasons, as well.
"He has coached and played at an extremely high level and has furthered his coaching education by earning his UEFA B license," Lyons said. "His extensive recruiting background could potentially help the program going forward. His professional attitude and drive to be successful will fit very well with the coaching staff and the players."
As for Boyd, he makes a quick turn back to Carson-Newman after closing out his career with the Eagles just last season.
"I know how passionate Joe is about the program and wanting it to be successful, so we are very pleased he decided to join us this season," Lyons said. "He has an incredible attachment to Carson Newman and will be another valuable addition to the coaching staff.
"His understanding of the returning group also helps him get a head start of areas to improve and I know he has already been getting things ready for season. He shows a high level of maturity and is committed to learning and developing his skills."
The former netminder takes on the new role for his alma mater after being a part of the team for four seasons. During his career, the Nottingham, England native made 16 starts in 20 appearances in front of the net with a 9-7-1 record. He grabbed 80 saves throughout his career with a .762 save percentage. His 1.34 goals against average stands as the sixth-best in program history for a career.
Boyd was tabbed an All-South Atlantic Conference Honorable Mention as a freshman and started his sophomore campaign as an All-SAC Preseason Second Team selection. He played for an Eagles squad that made the SAC Tournament three-straight seasons, was ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation -- the highest ranking the program had seen since 2015 -- and won the conference's regular season title in 2019.
Carson-Newman has finished in the top three of the conference table in two of the last three seasons. It attained its first 10+ wins season last year with a 10-4-3 record, the first for the program since 2015 when it went 15-3-2.
