Liam Behrens begins his fourth year on the Guilford
sidelines fresh off the program's best season since 1986. Despite the success, Behrens
rounded up 17 new players in 1999, his largest of three straight recruiting classes of 10
or more players. The aggressive recruiting is a key component of Behrens' plan to build
Guilford's soccer team into a regional and national power.
The 11th men's soccer coach in Guilford history, Behrens has a 16-38-1 record in three seasons, including a 9-10 mark a year ago. The Quakers won a school-record four Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) matches last year and returned to the league tournament following a one-year absence. Under Behrens' guidance, Guilford placed two players on the first team All-ODAC squad for the first time in school history in 1999. The Quakers have received three all-league awards in his three seasons as head coach.
Behrens assumed his first collegiate head coaching post just weeks before the start of the 1997 season and guided Guilford to its most wins since 1994. He spent the two previous seasons as the Quakers' assistant coach while serving as the Executive Director of the Guilford College YMCA, a position he holds today. He gained his first collegiate coaching post in 1989 at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), his alma mater, and has over five years of youth soccer coaching experience in Richmond and Greensboro. Behrens holds a Class D coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
A native of Long Island, NY, Behrens starred on the soccer fields of Shoreham (NY) High School and received an athletic scholarship to VCU. He played four years for the Rams and graduated in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and the school’s career assists record (21). He received performance and academic all-star recognition from the Sun Belt Conference and Virginia Sports Information Directors after his junior and senior seasons. A two-time team Most Valuable Player, Behrens helped the Rams to a pair of second-place Sun Belt finishes and earned one of 50 spots in the 1988 Senior Bowl.
Behrens embarked on a professional soccer career with the Hershey Impact of the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA) in 1989 and later played with the Wichita Wings of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He spent three seasons with the USISL’s Richmond Kickers and played on the Kickers' 1995 US Open Cup championship squad. Behrens played with the Philadelphia Freedom of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (USISL) D-III League in 1996 and 1997. He competed in Philadelphia's semi-professional Cosmopolitan League in 1999 and still plays regularly in local leagues.
Behrens and his wife, Lisa, reside in Greensboro.
Guilford's only four-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) soccer player, Dax Baker starts his second season as a Quakers' assistant coach in 2001.
Baker concluded his career in 1999 with 43 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 65 career matches. He ranks second on Guilford's career assists chart and seventh among the program's career points and goals leaders. A center midfielder, Baker earned first team all-league honors in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and second-team laurels in 1997. He led the Quakers with a career-high 14 points (4g, 6a) as a rookie and finished his career as the team's third-leading scorer with 12 points (4g, 4a). Baker received the team's Most Valuable Player Award in 1999.
Baker was a three-time All-Metro 4-A Conference soccer player for Coach Herk DeGraw's Grimsley High School team in Greensboro. He received all-state honors one season and was a two-time all-region pick.
