NORMAL, Ill. – Former Carson-Newman women's soccer assistant coach Sarah Tompkins has been named the goalkeeping coach for the Illinois State Redbirds of the Division I Ohio Valley Conference.

"Sarah has a successful background as a player," ISU coach Eric Golz said in the school's release. "That segued into her coaching experience with Carson-Newman, which is a program that has been successful at the national level. She's been involved in all facets of the program, from coaching to recruiting to administration. She is bringing vital experience to the table."

Tompkins becomes an assistant coach under the reign of Golz, who was his second season at the helm of the program. Last season, the Redbirds finished the year 6-10-2 and ended the season with a loss to Loyola in the first round of the MVC Women's Soccer Championship.

Tompkins was an assistant to Richard Moodie for two seasons at Mossy Creek with the Eagles winning 22 contests during her tenure. This season, the Eagles won the SAC regular season and conference tournament titles and advanced to the Southeast Regional Championship before falling 4-1 to the Columbus State Cougars. C-N won 19 matches in 2015, which were the second-most in school history. Under Tompkins's tutelage, freshman goalkeeper Jessica Fratiure (Hebron, Ky.) finished her debut campaign with a school record 19 wins and the second-lowest goals against average with an average of 0.86.

Tompkins spent two seasons in the Orange and Blue before transferring to the University of Tennessee – Martin. As a sophomore, she recorded the sixth-most saves in a season with 125 and ranks fifth in the record books with 143 career saves. In 2011, she was named second team All-SAC. With the Skyhawks, Tompkins appeared in the NCAA Tournament as a redshirt junior and won back-to-back OVC championship teams.

Carson-Newman has begun a search to find Tompkins's replacement. 

-CN-