March 2, 2010
CHICAGO - UIC head men's soccer coach Sean Phillips announced on Tuesday, March 2 that Aleksey Korol, who was a member of the Flames' coaching staff during three consecutive NCAA tournament runs from 2006 until 2008, will return to UIC as the team's top assistant coach.
Korol rejoins the Flames after serving as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Indiana University, last season and helped the Hoosiers advance to the Round of 16.
"It is with great excitement that UIC Soccer welcomes Aleksey back to our staff," said Phillips. "His contributions to the program during the 2006-2008 seasons were immense. Aleksey's ability to relate to players and maximize their development was evident in his time here at UIC.
"I look forward to working with Aleksey as my right hand man for the next several years."
Korol served as the second assistant coach at UIC from 2006-2008, helping the Flames advance to the NCAA tournament each year. While Korol was on the Flames' staff, UIC compiled a record of 38-13-17 and made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Sweet 16, including an unprecedented Elite Eight run in 2007.
Along with the 2009 Round of 16 appearance with Indiana, Korol has been on the staff of three consecutive Sweet 16 sides.
"This is a great opportunity for me," said Korol. "It is exciting to be back at UIC. I want to thank Sean, [athletic director] Jim Schmidt, [athletic administrators] Tonya McGowan and Denny Wills and everyone in the UIC athletic department.
"I look forward to working with Sean and our boys to get UIC Soccer back to its winning ways in 2010 and beyond."
In his first stint with the Flames, Korol was charged with the development of UIC's attacking players, and his tutelage was evident each season.
In 2008 UIC featured one of the nation's best offensive players in Baggio Husidic, who grew into a play-making force while Korol was on staff during his entire three-year college career. Husidic posted 24 points, including nine goals, en route to NSCAA/adidas First Team All-American honors. He was also named Horizon League Player of the Year, Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year and an All-Horizon League First Team pick.
UIC had four players scored five or more goals and three with five or more assists as the Flames won the league regular season title and advanced to the Round of 16 in 2008.
2007 was a season to remember for the Flames, and Korol assisted in making that campaign historic. The Flames won the league tournament title and eliminated three ranked teams on the road to finish one match shy of a berth to the NCAA College Cup. Leading the charge was All-American Pavle Dundjer and league tournament MVP Cesar Zambrano, both offensive standouts under Korol's watch.
Led by All-American striker Tonci Skroce, the Flames entered the national soccer scene during Korol's first season in 2006 by catapulting up the national rankings and capturing the league regular season title for the first trip to the NCAA tournament in six seasons. UIC advanced to the Round of 32 and set the stage for the Flames' rise as an NCAA soccer power.
Korol established himself as one of the greatest players to ever don an Indiana kit. A 1999 All-American and Soccer America's Player of the Year that same season, Korol scored 57 goals and assisted on 35 others for a career point total of 149, the fourth-most in Indiana history, from 1996-99. He won two national championships while playing for the Hoosiers before embarking on a Major League Soccer career that included stops with the Dallas Burn and the Chicago Fire.
