Redhawks football elects five captains

The Southeast Missouri State football team has elected five captains for the 2008 season. All are seniors.

Quarterback Houston Lillard and wide receiver Mike Williamson will captain the offensive unit, while the defensive captains will be linebacker Nick Stauffer, tackle Nick Ketelsleger and cornerback Kendall Magana.

"It was a very close vote and I think the team did a good job in identifying the leaders on our team," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said in a release. "This group will represent our team and university very well."

In other Southeast football news, sophomore quarterback Steve Callanan recently left the squad.

Callanan saw limited action last season as a redshirt freshman, completing 16 of 35 passes for 136 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Callanan and junior college transfer Dustin Powell were competing to be Lillard's backup, a role that Powell now assumes.

Baseball assistant hired

Southeast baseball coach Mark Hogan announced Monday that Rick McCarty will join the program as pitching coach.

McCarty replaces Jeff Dodson, who recently became the head coach at North Dakota.

McCarty, 28, has five years of coaching experience, all coming at NCAA Division II Delta State. He was a graduate assistant for two years before directing the pitching staff the past three seasons.

Under McCarty, Delta State's pitching staff ranked among the Division II leaders in several categories. He coached two region pitchers of the year, four All-Americans and 19 all-conference selections.

In his five seasons at Delta State, McCarty was part of a program that made two Division II College World Series appearances and won the national championship in 2004.

"Rick is an excellent addition to our coaching staff," Hogan said in a release. "He coached several very successful pitching staffs while at Delta State, which is a perennial power in Division II.

"We are excited for him to begin working with our pitchers starting in the fall."

McCarty played collegiately at Murray State, which like Southeast is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

A 2003 Murray State graduate, McCarty was the Thoroughbreds' closer for two seasons. His eight saves in 2001 are tied for the school single-season record. He had two career wins against Southeast.

Soccer wins exhibition

The Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team concluded an unbeaten exhibition schedule Sunday with a 2-0 victory against the University of Missouri-St. Louis at Houck Stadium.

The Redhawks used goals by Ashley Runion and Stephanie Kulavic to finish exhibition play at 3-0.

Runion scored off a pass from Casey Kraft in the first half, while Kulavic headed a corner kick from Nicole Bussman into the net in the second half.

Redhawks goalkeepers Jessica Beckham and Rachel Harrington combined for the shutout. The pair faced just four shots and Beckham made the only save.

Southeast outshot UMSL 14 to 4.

Southeast opens its regular season at home Friday against Saint Louis University in a 7 p.m. contest.