ELON UNIVERSITY

 The 2009 season saw Elon finish with its fourth straight winning season at 10-8-2. During that year Elon beat ACC Clemson 2-0. Elon had two academic All Americans, three NSCAA regional All Americans, six All Southern Conference players and Chris Thomas was the leagues Freshman of the year. The second Elon player in Powell's time at Elon. 

 2008, Powell led Elon to its first-ever NCAA Division I league title and a perfect 7-0-0 mark in conference play during the regular season. The team boasted a 10-9-1 record, forward Justin Wyatt was named SoCon Player of the Year and Powell was honored as the conference’s top coach, his second such honor in four seasons with the Phoenix. Eight Elon players earned first or second team All-SoCon honors and one player was named to the All-Freshman squad.

In Powell’s five seasons at the helm of the Elon squad, the program has produced 26 All-Southern Conference performers, a conference player of the year and two league freshman of the year. 

In 2007, Powell guided the Phoenix to an 8-7-4 overall record, marking the program’s first back-to-back winning seasons since 1987 and 1988. Elon went 4-3-0 in SoCon play to finish tied for third. Along the way, his team earned ties with North Carolina, Clemson and eventual national champion Wake Forest. The tie with top-ranked Wake Forest provided the Demon Deacons with their first blemish of the season. 

Under Powell’s leadership, the Elon program claimed its first-ever NCAA Division I national ranking in 2006 – appearing as high as 22nd in the Soccer America poll on Sept. 12 after starting the campaign with a 6-1-0 ledger, including a 2-0 victory over then-No. 17 UAB. His team finished the year at 10-8-2 overall, the program’s first winning year since moving to the Division I ranks for the 1999 season.  

In his first season with the Phoenix, Powell led the squad to a 9-9-2 overall record and a 4-2-1 mark in SoCon action, finishing third in the league.  Elon emerged from that campaign with two first-team All-SoCon selections, two second-team all-league honorees, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, three SoCon Players of the Week, two SoCon All-Tournament picks, two NSCAA All-South Region players, one College Soccer News All-Freshman choice and one USL professional player. For his efforts, Powell was honored as the 2005 Southern Conference Coach of the Year.

During Powell’s four seasons at UNCG, the Spartan program posted a 55-26-3 mark and became the nation’s top-ranked program during the regular season in 2004. Powell assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, scheduling and academic development. Powell was honored as one of the top NCAA Division I assistant coaches by College Soccer News and coached three MLS players, one NSCAA Senior All-Star, three All-Americans, one Academic All-American, four All-Region honorees, 22 All-SoCon selections, two conference freshman of the year award winners and one league player of the year while at UNCG.

Prior to joining the Spartan staff, Powell headed the Greensboro College men’s soccer program for three seasons, posting a 50-12-3 ledger. He led the Pride to the NCAA Division III finals in 1998 and Dixie Conference titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000. His program produced a MLS and English Premier League player, two NSCAA Senior All-Stars, three All-Americans, 15 All-Region choices, 25 All-Dixie Conference selections, three league players of the year and two conference rookies of the year. In 1998, Powell was honored by the NSCAA as the South Region Coach of the Year after being named the Dixie Conference Coach of the Year. The Pride finished ranked second in the nation in 1998, eighth in the country in 1999 and 12th nationally in 2000. 

Following a four-year collegiate career at UNC Greensboro, Powell played professionally for the Carolina Dynamo USISL team, the Raleigh Flyers A-League team and the Wilmington Hammerheads USISL team from 1995-1999. At UNCG, Powell helped the Spartans to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1993 and 1994. He was a two-time captain, team MVP and All-South Region selection as well as a three-time All-Big South Conference honoree. Powell became the first Spartan player to score over 100 career points at the Division I level.

Powell is also heavily involved in youth soccer in North Carolina. He serves as a staff coach at the Greensboro Soccer Club and has been a North Carolina ODP head coach for the past six years. Powell also works as a staff coach with the USYSA Region III ODP team and holds a USSF A-License.

Powell graduated from UNC Greensboro in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in leisure studies. He and his wife, Elise, have two young children – Naomi and Caleb.

In each of the last two seasons, at least one Elon goalkeeper has been honored with All-Southern Conference accolades. In 2007, Elon true freshman keeper Clint Irwin claimed all-league honors and Phoenix keepers combined to help lead the program to a school-record four consecutive shutouts. Last year, Irwin and senior Kyle Boerner were both named to the all-conference teams. Irwin had a GAA of 0.90 and stopped 31 shots while Boerner recorded a save percentage of .742. The Phoenix have compiled a record of 18-16-5 over the last two years, posting two consecutive winning seasons and a SoCon regular-season crown in 2008. 

“Joe has worked well with our team and goalkeepers in particular the last couple of years,” head coach Darren Powell said. “Having two keepers named to the All-Southern Conference team for the first time in league history shows how well he has improved our goalkeeping staff. Joe is a very loyal coach who always gives more than is expected of him.”

Crump has also been a North Carolina ODP staff member and goalkeepers coach for Triangle United.  Crump assisted the Region III champions and USYSA National Finalists.

A 2003 UNC Greensboro graduate, Crump played for Powell at UNCG as a three-year starting goalie. Crump holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and is a USSF licensed coach.