SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Lindsey Boldt and Mary Rea have been hired as assistant women's soccer coaches at USC Upstate announced today by head coach Renee Lopez.  Boldt joins the staff after a two-year stint at Gardner-Webb University, while Rea joins the Spartans after one season at Converse College.

"I am very excited to add both of these ladies to help with our program," said Lopez.  "Both know the game very well and are going to be positive influences on our players as we begin building Upstate into a competitive team in the A-Sun."

Boldt spent the last two seasons at Gardner-Webb pursuing her master's degree in Sport Science and Pedagogy.  While on the Bulldogs staff, she was responsible for goalkeeper training and game preparation as well as making sure all student-athletes met academic requirements.  She also assisted with both the training of the defense and recruiting.  Boldt has also spent time as a high school assistant coach and working at various youth and summer camps.

A four-year letterwinning goalkeeper at the University of Iowa, Boldt was a two-time recipient of the team's Most Inspirational Award (2005 & 2006) and also earned All-Big Ten Academic honors in 2006, 2007 and 2008.  She also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors in 2007 before graduating in June of 2008 with a major in both Communication Studies and Sports Studies.

"Coach Boldt not only has experience as a collegiate goalkeeper at Iowa but the additional experience that she gained while coaching at Gardner-Webb will help us turn our program around," added Lopez.

Rea joins Upstate after one season as an assistant coach at Converse.  Prior to her stint at Converse, she was the junior varisty head coach as well as a varsity assistant coach at Mauldin HS during the spring 2009 season.  Her junior varsity squad finished the season undefeated, while the varsity team won the South Carolina State 4-A Championship.  In addition to coaching at Upstate, Rea will continue her duties as the Director of Player Development with the Carolina Futbol Club in Spartanburg. 

Rea, a four-year starter at Wofford College, served as a team captain during her senior season in 2008.  She earned defensive MVP honors as a freshman in 2005, team MVP accolades in 2007 and was recognized for her efforts in the classroom with all-academic honors in 2006.

"Coach Rea knows the Spartanburg area well as she was a four-year player at Wofford and gained valuable experience through her coaching and administrative duties at Converse.  I am excited to have her on our staff as we begin the rebuilding process."

The Spartans will begin the 2010 campaign with a pair of exhibition matches against USC Sumter (Aug. 13) and Converse (Aug. 18) before beginning the regular season on Aug. 20 with a home match against Charleston Southern.