Lakewood, NJ- Georgian Court University and Head Coach James Moore are proud to announce that Olympic Gold medalist and United States National Team standout, Tasha Kai, has joined the GCU soccer staff as a volunteer assistant for the 2010 season. 

 Kai who is currently starring for the reigning Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Champion, Sky Blue, will join the Lions at the completion of the professional season in September. On the addition of Kai to the program, Coach Moore stated, “We are extremely excited to add Tasha to our staff; she will bring a whole new perspective and energy to our program. Her ability to work with and teach our offensive players will be invaluable as they continue to improve. The team is thrilled to able to learn from a player who has competed at the highest level.” 

Along with assisting on the game-winning goal in the 2009 WPS Championship game, Kai won an Olympic Gold Medal while representing the United States during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She was also a member of the United States World Cup team in 2007 that competed in China and finished in third place.

On being named to the GCU staff Kai commented, “I got to know a bunch of the players as they finished up the 2009 season and I enjoyed talking about the game with them. They had a ton of questions about playing at the level I compete at so I thought it would be cool to get even more involved. This is a way to give back to some younger athletes and help them achieve their goals. When I approached Coach (Amy) Stainton (GCU assistant coach), about the idea of coaching on a volunteer basis, the response was very positive and now I’m ready and excited to get started.”

In 2009, the Lions shared the regular season CACC Title and competed in their second CACC Conference championship game before falling 1-0 to Holy Family University. The squad is looking to rebound from that tough loss in 2010 and the addition of Kai should be a step in that direction. 

Tasha Kai's Career Accomplishments:

Professional 2009 Season:
Started 16 of 18 matches for Sky Blue FC. 
Assisted the game-winning goal in the 2009 WPS Championship.
Was the leading goal scorer for Sky Blue FC with 6 goals and added 1 assist.

International:
Captured the gold medal with the USWNT at the 2008 Olympics.
Scored the game-winning goal against Canada in extra-time of the quarter-finals to advance into the medal rounds.
Played in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.
Made her full Women’s National Team debut at the 2006 Algarve Cup in Portugal.
US U-21 National Team leading scorer in 2004 with 12 goals.
 
College:
First player (University of Hawaii) in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) history to earn three Player of the Year awards.
Owns the WAC career shots record (446) and is second in goals (72) and points (162).
WAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year - first player in conference history to accomplish this feat.