Middle Tennessee head soccer coach Aston Rhoden has announced the addition of Chris Cahill to his staff as an assistant coach beginning with the 2012 campaign.

“We interviewed a lot of very quality persons for this position and Chris was able to separate himself from the others throughout the process,” Rhoden said. “He's a very good recruiter and a relentless worker. His experience training high-level players will be an asset to our program. I'm very excited with the addition of Chris to our staff.”

Cahill joins the Blue Raiders after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Evansville, helping the Purple Aces to three-straight wins late in the year and five shutouts last season.

Prior to his stop at the Missouri Valley Conference school, he spent two seasons at Auburn. He was the Tigers’ graduate assistant in 2009 and then a volunteer assistant the following campaign, helping Auburn secure an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

In 2010, Auburn’s NCAA Tournament bid came on the heels of a SEC West Division title. The Tigers were in the same regional pool, in Tallahassee, Fla., as Middle Tennessee that season. He helped coach players to All-America, TopDrawerSoccer.com and All-Southeastern Conference honors during the year.

“I’m excited to be here and get started”, said Cahill. “To have the opportunity to work with Aston and (assistant coach) Allison Whitworth and what they have done for the Blue Raider program is exciting and bodes well for the future.”

Cahill also spent two years as an assistant boy’s coach at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga., prior to accepting the Auburn position. He implemented practice and game plans, assisted in the coaching and conditioning of the student-athletes and oversaw the camp staff and development of the camp curriculum at the school.

Harrison was ranked No. 1 nationally for 12 weeks during the 2008 season, while it captured the 2008 and 2009 regional titles. A half-dozen players from the 2008 squad accepted Division I scholarships after it finished 28-4 overall and 17-1 in region action.

Cahill was a three-year defender for the Georgia Southern men’s team and lettered for the Eagles during the 2005 campaign. During his career in Statesboro, Ga., the program improved dramatically in the Southern Conference standings, rising from near the bottom to a second-place finish in 2006 when it only conceded two goals in seven league matches.

He holds an NSCAA Premier Diploma and is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.