NEWS NEWS

SeaLions Appoint New Head Coach
Wednesday Mar 31, 2010
The San Diego SeaLions (WPSL) announced the appointment of former Women's US National Team member, Jen Lalor-Nielsen to the position of head coach, along with two assistants, San Diego Sockers player, Sean Bowers, and Former Chinese National Team Captain, Ouying Zhang.

"We are very fortunate to have Jen at the helm this season", said SeaLion General Manager, Amie Becker. "Jen has played at every level of the game, and brings extensive coaching and training experience to the team. A former SeaLion herself, we will miss Jen on the field, but we're honored and proud to have her on the sidelines leading us to a WPSL championship."

A San Diego native, Lalor-Nielsen  was born in Chula Vista and started playing soccer at the age of five. Known for her speed and ball control, she earned a full ride to Santa Clara University where she is now a member of the hall of fame. Nielsen played for the US Women's National Team from 1992 to 1995, and has also played professionally in Japan, Denmark and Sweden. She played in the WUSA for three years with the New York Power and the San Diego Spirit. 

Currently, Jen and her husband Bo own and operate JB soccer, a soccer-specific training company. Jen just finished her fifth season as Head Girls Varsity Soccer Coach at Poway High School, and has also just come off of a season as assistant women's soccer coach at Miramar Community College.

Jen has chosen Miramar's head women's soccer coach and current San Diego Sockers defender, Sean Bowers and Former Chinese National Team captain Ouying Zhang as her two assistant coaches.

Also a native San Diegan, Bowers has a rich history in the sport as both a player and coach. He is still an active player, and member of the 2009/2010 PASL North American Champion San Diego Sockers. He was a 2002/2003 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) All-Star, and the league's Defender of the Year with the Baltimore Blast. Bowers is a 3-time MISL Defender of the Year. He also played 4 years in Major League Soccer (MLS) with the Kansas City Wizards from 1996-2000, and was a two-time Defender of the Year. Bowers has also been a member of the U.S. National Futsal Team from 1996-2004, earning 36 international caps.

Bowers began his coaching career at California Baptist University as assistant coach for the women's soccer team from 2003-2005. He was named Head Coach in 2006, and led the Lancers to the Region II playoffs. The very same year, Sean led the San Diego SeaLions to the WPSL Final Four.  Sean is currently Head Women's Soccer Coach at Miramar Community College, and Assistant Professor in the Exercise Science Department.

Ouying Zhang was born and raised in Heibei, China. She played 15 years with Heibei Province Club, where she tallied 90 goals in 175 games. Ouying captained China's 1999 and 2003 World Cup and 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams. In the 1999 World Cup, she played 61 minutes in the final against the USA, and converted a penalty kick in the now-famous shoot-out.

The WUSA's San Diego Spirit acquired the Chinese striker in 2002 as Discovery Player. In the first of two seasons with the Spirit, she notched a team-high five points vs. New York. Ouying joined the San Diego SeaLions in 2006 under head coach Sean Bowers, where she was named to the WPSL Final Four National All-Tournament Team. In 2007, she scored 5 goals and was named First Team All-WPSL. Ouying is currently head coach of the women's junior varsity soccer team at Poway High School, and is also a coach with JB Soccer. She holds a level "C" coaching license from Beijing Sports University, as well as an Honorary BS Degree in Sports.

"I am excited to have both Sean and Ouying assisting me this year", said Lalor-Nielsen. "Sean is a fantastic teacher of the game, and we've developed a great rapport coaching together over the years, and we possess a similar coaching philosophy, which makes it a perfect fit. Coach Ouying is a fantastic player and coach and brings a lot of knowledge and experience from captaining the Chinese National Team as well as playing professionally in the United States for the WUSA's San Diego Spirit. We have been long-time teammates, having played together on both the San Diego Spirit and San Diego SeaLions. We also currently coach together at Poway High School and she works for us at JB Soccer. I'm very confident that the three of us will work well together and bring something positive to the team, maybe even a trip to Texas for the championships."