jonny walker < assistant Coach < 2nd season Memphis native and longtime professional goalkeeping star Jonny Walker joined Coach Brooks Monaghan’s staff in 2009. Walker brings with him more than a decade of record-setting professional experience, including becoming the first American soccer player to establish a successful soccer career in South America (Chile) and completing two different stints in Major League Soccer (MLS).Walker made an immediate impact on the goalkeeping trio of Elise Kuhar-Pitters, Jordan Boyle and Nikki Unland in his first season at the U of M. Helped by a tenacious back line of defense, the goalkeepers combined for a school-record 12 shutouts. With the guidance of Walker, Kuhar-Pitters set the individual shutout record at 11. The Lady Tigers also posted the second-best goals-against average in program history at 0.87, only the third sub-1.00 average in the 15 year history of the program. Kuhar-Pitters also became the first Lady Tiger netminder honored as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Central Team selection. As a professional, Walker was a member of Universidad Catolica’s championship team in Chile’s first division in 2002, and also played in multiple Copa Libertadores tournaments. He finished his South American career with Colo Colo, the only Chilean club to ever win Copa Libertadores.
