Soccer Coach Manoj Khettry Enjoying His New Home Women’s Soccer Schedule
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fter a stray April afternoon thundershower interrupted the Stetson-ETSU softball game this past spring, the student-athletes, coaches and maintenance staff sprang into action to get Patricia Wilson Field dried out and game-ready. What the spectators didn’t expect to see, and what likely went unnoticed by most, was new women’s soccer head coach Manoj Khettry also jumping in to help the cause. He carried heavy bags of “Turface” to the diamond, helped spread it around to soak up errant puddles of water, and he did it all with a smile on his face.
#HootyHoo
“From the moment I began learning about Stetson, I knew it was a special place,” Khettry said after his appointment back on March 27 as the third head coach in program history. “I was so impressed with the vision of the future of Stetson and Stetson Athletics that I knew I wanted to be a part of what they were creating.” So Khettry immersed himself in Stetson Athletics. In addition to chipping in at Patricia Wilson Field, he was watching and cheering on the Hatters from the balcony of the Stetson Athletic Training Center when the women’s lacrosse team won its first game in program history on April 14, and he has built a great rapport with the football coaching staff. Khettry has been known to frequently send his players over to the other side of the Athletic Training Center to cheer on the gridiron gang during scrimmages, and he has found it extremely helpful to pick the brain of head coach Roger Hughes as a way of learning and growing as a coach. “I’ve really enjoyed the support, obviously the facilities, and how we are set up for success here at Stetson,” Khettry said of what he enjoys the most about his new gig. “The people surrounding the program have been awesome.”
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Date # Opponent Time/Result AUGUST 16 Fri. # Armstrong Atlantic 6:00 pm 19 Mon. # Saint Leo 7:30 pm 23 Fri. Embry-Riddle 7:00 pm 25 Sun. Troy 1:00 pm 30 Fri. Florida International 7:30 pm SEPTEMBER 6 Fri. at Georgia Southern 7:00 pm 8 Sun. at South Carolina State 1:00 pm 13 Fri. at UCF 7:00 pm 20 Fri. at Eastern Michigan 4:00 pm 22 Sun. at Detroit 1:00 pm 27 Fri. * North Florida 7:00 pm 29 Sun. * Jacksonville 1:00 pm OCTOBER 4 Fri. * at Lipscomb 8:00 pm 6 Sun. * at Northern Kentucky 12:00 pm 11 Fri. * USC Upstate 7:00 pm 13 Sun. * ETSU 1:00 pm 18 Fri. * at Kennesaw State 7:00 pm 20 Sun. * at Mercer 1:00 pm 26 Sat. * Florida Gulf Coast 5:00 pm NOVEMBER 2 Sat. A-Sun Quarterfinals TBA 8 Fri. A-Sun Semifinals TBA 10 Sun. A-Sun Finals TBA # - Exhibition * - Atlantic Sun Conference match All times Eastern and subject to change Home matches in Bold
Now that he has settled in, and made himself at home at Stetson, Khettry’s eyes are on his team, and the very specific goals he has for his program. “My ultimate goal is to create a program where players strive for excellence and achievement,” he said. “That’s not just on the field. It’s also off the field. We want to produce young women who are confident, responsible, disciplined, committed student-athletes. I want to empower them so that when they leave here they feel like they can accomplish anything in their lives.”
August-September, 2013