Coach Vitalis “Odi” Otieno enters his fifth season as the head coach with lofty expectations for the upcoming 2007 season. The Panthers are coming off a productive year in which they went 12-9-0 and finished third in the SLIAC Conference. The Panthers also made it to the conference playoffs where they lost in the semi-finals 2-1 in a thrilling and dramatic encounter against Greenville College. The Panthers are eager to get back on the pitch and take aim at the conference championship which has eluded the panthers since 2001. The Panthers graduated five seniors and will be pressed to replace the leadership provided by that group. On the flip side, the Panthers return the core of the team from last season, which will hopefully make for a fluid transition into 2007. With a recruiting class firmly in place, the Panthers bring in a good blend of offensive punch and tough defensive mettle to go along with an already balanced bunch.
Otieno was a two-year letterman and a two-year ABC-League selection at the Principia Upper School. In college, under the tutelage of coach Seth Johnson, Otieno was a four-year starter, a captain, four-year team MVP, a conference MVP, four-year All-Conference first team, and a three-time All-Midwest region player. Otieno also holds the Principia scoring and points records and ranks second in career assists. He also spent two seasons playing varsity basketball at Principia College.
After college and some professional tryouts, Otieno played for several MLS feeder clubs in Northern California. An opportunity to reunite with Coach Johnson brought him back to Principia as an assistant coach from 1997 through 2000. Otieno currently holds both an NSCAA National and Advanced National coaching licenses. He is also a USSF B licenced coach. He also serves as the sports information director.
Assistant Coach: Mike Hufstader
Coach "Huffy" is in his first year of coaching at Principia. He is a recent graduate of Northwood University, where he received a degree in Entertainment, Sports, and Promotions Management. While he was at Northwood, Hufstader was a four year starter, two year captain, and two time all conference player. As a player, Mike was a goalkeeper which brings another coaching element to the team.
Mike has had brothers, parents, cousins, Aunts and Uncle attend the college and now he is excited be here at Prin.
