– Seven former Slippery Rock University soccer student-athletes and two of the top teams in SRU history will be inducted into the Slippery Rock Soccer Ring of Honor Oct. 12.
The Ring of Honor class of 2019 consists of Alison Hindley, Dana O'Neill, Dave Keller, Jerry Ferrone,
, Robert Marcus and Thomas Hayes as well as the 2005 men's and women's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship teams.
The class will be formally inducted in a ceremony Oct. 12 with a reception starting at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Weisenfluh Dining Hall. The honorees will also be recognized at halftime of the SRU women's and men's soccer team's home games against Clarion and Shippensburg Oct. 12 that are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. respectively.
Now in its ninth year of existence, the Slippery Rock Soccer Ring of Honor has 72 inductees with the inclusion of the 2019 class.
51 years following his final collegiate game, Ferrone still ranks seventh at Slippery Rock in career goals scored (39) and eighth in total points (89).
Ferrone's best season at The Rock came in 1966 when he recorded 37 points on 15 goals and seven assists. His 15 goals still rank eighth on SRU's single-season scoring ledger.
Ferrone helped lead Slippery Rock to four consecutive winning seasons and an overall record of 34-15-5 (.676).
A 1968 graduate of Slippery Rock, Ferrone was also inducted into the Fox Chapel Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Thomas Hayes played soccer at SRU from 1976-79 for Jim Egli.
Hayes was the captain of the 1979 Eastern College Athletic Conference championship team and was a member 1976 PSAC championship finalists. Hayes assisted in guiding The Rock to an overall record of 40-16-3 (.703) during his career.
Hayes scored a goal and had three assists while setting a new career-high with 14 games played in 1979.
Following his graduation from Slippery Rock in 1980, Hayes founded the soccer and basketball programs at his Alma Mater Saint Anthony's High School following two seasons as an assistant coach for The Rock men's soccer program in 1981 and 1982.
In his 32 years of coaching, Hayes led the Saint Anthony's soccer team to six consecutive Catholic League titles, two New York State championships and a 47-game winning streak.
Hayes had equal success at the reigns of the basketball program, leading the team to the 1987 New York State championship. He would go on to spend the 1990 and 1991 seasons as the head men's soccer coach at Washington & Jefferson College.
Alison Hindley played soccer at The Rock from 2007-10.
One of the top offensive players in program history, Hindley ranks fourth in career points (78), goals scored (34) and shots attempted (174). Her 0.42 goals per game is the fifth highest average all-time as well.
Hindley's best year at Slippery Rock came as a sophomore in 2008 when she led SRU with 30 points on 15 goals, the fifth highest single-season total in program history. Additionally, her four game-winning goals in 2008 rank ninth all-time.
Hindley received all-region recognition three times from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in addition to being named to the All-PSAC second team on three occasions.
Following her graduation from Slippery Rock in 2010, Hindley played one season professionally for the Charley Ladies Football Club in England. Hindley then enlisted in the British Army, where she has served since 2014.
2006 Slippery Rock graduate
Dave Keller was a key member of the SRU men's soccer program for four seasons.
Keller was named MVP of the 2005 PSAC championship game after a tremendous defensive effort in a 2-1 win against No. 25 California (Pa.). The victory over the Vulcans gave Slippery Rock its first PSAC championship since 1974.
Over his four-year career Keller tallied 31 points on 11 goals and nine assists. Keller earned All-PSAC honors in both 2004 and 2005 as a second team selection each year. In 2004 he scored six goals and in 2005 he totaled 15 points on five goals and five assists.
He resides in Souderton, Pennsylvania, where he is a partner at the Indian Valley Camping Center.
Robert Marcus was a member of the Slippery Rock men's soccer program from 1959-61.
Marcus compiled several postseason honors during his career. In 1960, he was nominated as an All-American and played in the All-American Bowl. He was also selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game following the 1960 season.
Marcus garnered further recognition for his efforts at SRU when he was selected to play for the United States in the Maccabia Games in Israel.
Following his graduation in 1961, he was a member of the Hedleburg men's soccer team of the Pittsburgh League. He went on to establish soccer and slow-pitch softball leagues in the Harrisburg area.
For his efforts athletically and in the community, Marcus was elected to the Central Pennsylvania Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. He has served as the organization's president since 1984 while serving as the president of the SRU Council of Trustees from 2000-17.
In 2009, Marcus was awarded the NAACP Man of the Year honor for awarding 34 minority academic scholarships to SRU attendees from the Harrisburg area. He assisted former Slippery Rock University president Dr. Robert Smith in raising $34 million to fund the Robert Smith Student Center on the campus of SRU.
To commemorate his work benefiting SRU, Marcus was named the 2005 Alumnus of the Year.
Dana O'Neill was a member of the Slippery Rock women's soccer team from 2010-13.
In four seasons at The Rock, O'Neill compiled the third most wins by a goalie in program history with 40. She also holds the Slippery Rock record for games played by a goalie with 62 in addition to ranking second in career saves (202), second in shutouts (23) and sixth in save percentage (.828).
O'Neill also ranks in the top-five in many single-season categories, including first in goals averaged against (0.20 / 2011), third in save percentage (.952 / 2011), and fifth in saves (82 / 2012).
She achieved several postseason honors in her career including being named a NSCAA Scholar All-American following the 2012 season. O'Neill added first team All-PSAC honors in 2012 and 2013 while also earning a NSCAA First-Team all-region selection in 2012.
As the starting goalkeeper in 2010, 2012 and 2013, O'Neill led The Rock to three NCAA Tournament berths and a PSAC title in 2012. Academically, O'Neill was named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete four times.
O'Neill, a 2014 SRU graduate, resides in Lakewood, Colorado, where she is a health and physical education teacher at the Stargate Charter School. She is also the head coach of the boy's and girl's soccer programs.
Mitch Walters was a member of the SRU men's soccer program from 2007-10.
Walters appeared in 23 games and made 21 starts on the 2009 PSAC Championship team, which compiled a program record 18 wins.
His top offensive season came in 2010 when he scored a career-high four goals accompanied by two assists, earning him an all-region selection at the conclusion of the season. Overall, he played 82 straight games throughout his career and made 49 consecutive starts.
Walters was a two-time All-PSAC selection. He earned first team honors in 2010 and second team accolades in 2008.
Following his graduation from Slippery Rock in 2011, Walters played professionally for the Harrisburg Heat of the Professional Indoor Soccer League.
The
2005 men's soccer team sparked the program's return to glory by winning a PSAC title, recording 12 wins and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The Rock's PSAC championship snapped a 31-year title drought and the 12 victories represented the most wins in a single-season for the program since 1981.
The highlight of the 2005 season was a 2-1 victory against No. 25 California (Pa.) in the PSAC championship game. Gary Saunders and
Jeff Hamley each scored one goal in the win while goalkeeper
Chris Cook made four saves.
Head coach Matt Thompson, who was voted into the Ring of Honor in 2013, was named the PSAC Coach of the Year after guiding a Slippery Rock team that featured All-PSAC selections
Nick Christy, Matt Furlan and 2019 Ring of Honor inductee Dave Keller.
Saunders (seven goals / one assist) and Keller (five goals / five assists) finished the season tied for the team lead in total points with 15. Christy was credited with a team-best six assists.
The 2005 season started a decade-long run for Slippery Rock in which it won four PSAC championships, earned four NCAA Tournament berths and averaged 11.9 wins per season.
An impeccable run at the end of the year transformed the
2005 women's soccer team into one of the top squads in the program's illustrious history.
Slippery Rock started the season with a respectable, but not great, 7-4-2 record before ending the year on a tear with a 6-1-1 record and defeating Kutztown, 1-0, in the PSAC championship game to capture the program's second league title in the last three years under head coach Noreen Herlihy.
SRU combined a dominant defensive effort that included four shutouts with a stellar offensive attack that resulted in 19 goals to post a +15-goal differential over the last eight games of the season. Overall, The Rock allowed the fourth lowest goals per game average in program history at 0.64.
The Rock was led by PSAC West Athlete of the Year Julie Kirwan, who totaled 14 points on three goals and eight assists. The 2005 team also featured first team All-PSAC West selections Meghan McGrath, who scored the game-winning goal in the PSAC championship game, Jen McCormick and Jaime Wilson as well as second team all-conference choices Danielle Cooper and Sarah Mangiarelli.
The trio of McGrath, Mangiarelli and Mallory Neubert combined to score 24 of The Rock's 42 goals while Jen McCormick enjoyed one of the top seasons by a goalkeeper in SRU history. She made a single-season record 123 saves in addition to a 0.58 Goals Against Average, 12 shutouts and a .911 save percentage.
The Slippery Rock Ring of Honor was established in 2011 to recognized the most influential men in women in SRU soccer history. In order for a player to be eligible for induction into the Ring of Honor, they must be a graduate of Slippery Rock University that participated in varsity soccer and must have graduated at least five years ago.
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