Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Women's Soccer	SIUE Athletics SIUE Women's Soccer

Lynda Bowers

February 25, 2008 SIUE Women's Soccer Coach to Step Down          EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's soccer coach Lynda Bowers, the 2007 Great Lakes Valley Conference's Coach of the Year, has announced she will not return to the Cougar sidelines for the 2008 season.          Bowers informed SIUE Director of Athletics Brad Hewitt that she was resigning effective at the end of her current contract in order to pursue other opportunities outside of coaching.          "Lynda has been a tremendous SIUE player, coach and co-worker," said Hewitt. "Her passion and commitment to SIUE Athletics was her calling card to whomever she met. We are very proud of her team's achievements on the field and in the classroom as she has built a top program in the GLVC and recruited quality student-athletes to her alma mater. We wish her and Doug the best."          Bowers was SIUE's fourth women's soccer coach and the first full-time head coach in the program's history. Since becoming head coach on July 14, 2003, Bowers amassed a 65-29-4 record (68.4 winning percentage) in her five seasons. That includes a 45-14-2 record (75.4 winning percentage) in GLVC play.          This past season, Bowers led the Cougars to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional and the school's fifth NCAA Tournament bid. SIUE finished the 2007 season with a 13-5-1 record and an 11-2 mark in the GLVC. SIUE celebrated as Kelly Limpert and Elizabeth Valenti both were named All-Americans.          Bowers also was an outstanding player at SIUE, having been named All-GLVC twice in her career. A 1998 graduate of SIUE, she remains among the top 20 scorers all-time at SIUE.          Hewitt said SIUE Athletics will begin an immediate search as her replacement will be leading the Cougars into the first season of NCAA Division I play.                   -siue cougars-