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GODFREY – With the help of Trailblazers men’s and women’s soccer, both alumni and current players, Lewis and Clark Community College dedicated the Tim Rooney Stadium Aug. 11.

L&C Athletic Director and Head Men’s Basketball Coach Doug Stotler served as emcee for the event.

“Tim Rooney set the bar very high,” Stotler said. “It’s a bar not only recognized by Lewis and Clark, but one recognized regionally, nationally and internationally.”

About 200 people attended the emotional dedication event at 11:30 a.m., bookended by women’s and men’s soccer alumni exhibition games at 10 and noon.

Among those in attendance was Pete Sorber, Rooney’s former soccer coach at St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley.

The program included remarks from L&C President Dale Chapman, Telegraph Sports Editor Pete Hayes, L&C Athletic Director Doug Stotler, L&C Men’s Soccer Coach Ryan Hodge and Rooney himself. It ended with the dramatic reveal of new signage on the field’s scoreboard, sporting the stadium’s new name.

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“It’s really nice of Dr. Chapman and the board,” Rooney said. “It’s really just because we’ve had good players. The players have done all the work and I’m getting all the credit.”

The L&C Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name the field in Rooney’s honor at their Dec. 12, 2017 meeting.

Rooney began coaching men’s soccer at L&C in 1986 and started the women’s program in 1993.

In his career, he’s topped more than 800 wins with both teams combined and remains the winningest women’s soccer coach in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) history since 2012.

His career with the Trailblazers includes NJCAA National Championships with the women’s team in 1999 and 2008, NJCAA Women’s Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2008, NJCAA Men’s District Coach of the Year in 2015, and NJCAA Women’s Region 24 Coach of the Year in 2015. Rooney was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009 and the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2010. He entered the L&C Athletic Hall of Fame with the induction of the 1999 women’s championship team.

Rooney retired from coaching full time after the Trailblazers’ 2017 season but returns this season to coach the women’s team.

For more information about Trailblazer Athletics, visit www.lc.edu/athletics. View more photos from the event at https://flic.kr/s/aHsmgGUZEf.

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