Wisconsin Soccer Central

Two months ago, Marc Baumbach joined the UW-Green Bay men's soccer program as an assistant coach. On Wednesday, he was put in charge of the Phoenix for the 2014 season, six days before the team starts practice.

Baumbach was named Green Bay's interim head coach for the upcoming season, stepping into the role after Dan Popik resigned following two years at the helm.

A full national coaching search will be conducted after the season, according to a school news release. Baumbach will be the program's fourth coach in the past five years.

Popik stepped down last week and accepted a position as a director for the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh, N.C. The 35-year-old former pro goalkeeper posted a 9-17-7 overall record with the Phoenix, who went 7-7-3 overall last fall.

Baumbach spent the previous five seasons as the men's coach at NCAA Division III Buena Vista in Storm Lake, Iowa, compiling a 22-63-1 overall mark. He also was an assistant in the men's and women's programs at Luther (Iowa) from 2001 to '07.

Division I men's teams can start practice next Tuesday, and Green Bay is scheduled to play host to Division III St. Thomas (Minn.) in an exhibition game Aug. 20. The Phoenix open the regular season Aug. 29 at home against Grand Canyon.

• UW-Milwaukee senior midfielder Laurie Bell and Marquette junior forward C. Nortey are among the 32 players named to the men's Preseason Watch List for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the top individual award in college soccer. Bell, who had 13 goals and four assists in 20 appearances for the Panthers in 2013, was one of the 15 semifinalists for the Hermann Trophy last fall. Nortey led the Golden Eagles with 10 goals and added two assists in 21 matches a year ago as he had a return after missing a full season recovering from knee surgery. This year's semifinalists will be announced late in the regular season, then the field will be pared to three finalists and the winner will be announced Jan. 9.
• University of Wisconsin midfielder Rose Lavelle, a regular for the U.S. Under-20 women's national team and last year's Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year, was named to the third team of the TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Preseason Best XI. Lavelle had six goals and seven assists in 19 appearances in 2013.
• Both Marquette teams earned spots in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Preseason Top 25 polls released Wednesday. The Golden Eagles (13-6-2 last fall) are ranked 12th in the men's poll, which also features UW (14-5-2) at No. 21 – UWM was among the other teams receiving votes. Marquette (18-4-0) is ranked 15th in the women's poll.