Soccer Notebook
Villafana Abruptly Steps Down as Coach of Top-Ranked St. John's Girls
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008; Page E08
Manny Villafana, coach of the No. 1 St. John's (D.C.) girls' soccer team, resigned from the school Thursday, along with his top assistant, Emily Janns.
St. John's Athletic Director Tom Veith has named Colin Lennon, a goalkeepers coach at George Washington University, as Villafana's replacement, a team member said.
Villafana, in his 13th season at the school, his eighth as head coach, said he would not make a statement until later this week.
"I'm going in to see about taking another position at St. John's" today, Villafana said. "I just felt compelled to resign Thursday. At this point, I told [Veith] that I would take seven days off. I resigned. Whether I go back to St. John's or not, that remains to be seen."
Veith did not return multiple messages left by The Post. Junior varsity coach Mike Scarff led the Cadets (1-1-3) this weekend through the McDonogh tournament, which was shortened because of weather. He also coached yesterday's 1-1 tie against No. 2 O'Connell.
The resignation came as a shock to the team, according to senior defender Bailey Bodell.
"I think he just needed a change," Bodell said. "It was time for him to move on. It was a little bit of a surprise to all of us. He did so much for this program and he recruited so many good girls and we appreciate that."
Bodell said Villafana sent the team an e-mail explaining his decision.
"It's not like a bitter thing at all," she said.
The season looked to be a promising one for the Cadets, who began ranked No. 6 in the country. Last year, they opened the season as the top-ranked team in the country, a first for any St. John's team.
Villafana was a head coach from 1996 to 2001, then stepped down to become an assistant and recruiter for the school, he said. He then resumed his head coaching position in 2005 after Erroll Braithwaite left. Villafana was 87-11-7 in his last four years.
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