Austin Soccer Foundation

Scholarships

The Austin Soccer Foundation supports academic achievement for our area youth with academic scholarships to graduating high-school seniors who are involved in soccer as players, coaches, referees, trainers or in other roles in the Austin Metropolitan Area*. These awards are exclusive to seniors entering college to further their education. Recipients will be judged based on a combination of factors including need, leadership, academic goals and involvement in the local soccer community.

If you fit this description, please apply for our scholarship! If you are a coach or administrator and know candidates that fit this description, please encourage them to apply.

Awardees are formally recognized at the annual Austin Soccer Foundation Gala each summer. ASF has awarded more than $55,000 in scholarships over the last seven years and we continue to expand this program to reach more students.

Class of ’24 high school seniors who wish to apply for our 2024 awards can download the application here. Applications will close in early March.

* The Austin metropolitan area includes five counties: Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Hays, and Caldwell. 

Past Recipients

2016

  • Sam Carr, Stephen F. Austin High School
  • Cristina Montealvo, Stony Point HS & Round Rock HS

2017

  • Emily Goulet, McCallum High School
  • Merek Byckovski, Stephen F. Austin High School
  • Dayln Gillentine, Liberal Arts & Science Academy
  • Ana Marsh, Liberal Arts & Science Academy

2018

  • Ahmed Mohamed, Eastside HS
  • Isabelle Gillespie, McCallum HS
  • Kayla Geren, Hendrickson
  • Madison Horner, Bowie HS

2019

  • Julissa Dominguez, Reagan HS
  • Matthew Bishop, Stephen F. Austin HS

2020

  • Erin Williams, McNeil HS
  • Ivan Duran Andrade, Crockett HS
  • Alexa (Bri) Hilsenteger, Vista Ridge HS
  • Rodrigo Suarez, Navarro HS

2021

  • Parker Forbes, Cedar Park HS
  • Sophia Reyes, Weiss HS
  • Moss Gillespie, McCallum HS

2022

  • Adriana Martinez, IDEA Rundberg College Prep
  • Edward Alonsi, Bowie HS
  • Alexa Huerta, Ann Richards School
  • Alex Bethke, Lake Travis HS

2023

  • Evelyn Albanese, Crockett HS
  • Ella Ruff, Dripping Springs HS
  • Ali Elhagehassan, Liberal Arts & Science Academy
  • Isabelle Detrich, Bowie HS
Austin Soccer Foundation

Lifetime Achievement Awards

The annual Austin Soccer Foundation gala provides an opportunity to celebrate significant achievements and contributions through the game of soccer.  Awards include recognition of ASF scholarship award recipients, the Austin American-Statesman players and coaches of the year, and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include:

Angela Kelly – born in Scotland, Ang Kelly emigrated to Ontario at an early age and during her playing career with Canada earned 29 international caps including starting every contest in the midfield for Canada at the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Sweden. During a remarkable four-year college career at the University of North Carolina, the Lady Tarheels compiled a record of 97–1–1, winning four NCAA Division I National Championships and garnering Kelly recognition as a first-team All-American in 1994. Transitioning to coaching, Kelly started as a graduate assistant coach at North Carolina after her playing career, then joined the University of Tennessee as an assistant coach and later became the head coach in 2000. In 2011, Kelly became the head coach of women’s soccer at the University of Texas, where she has guided the Longhorns to numerous NCAA tournament appearances and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2017.
Ismail Elfath – Ismail is one of only 4 FIFA international referees representing the United States in world competitions. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin in 2006, Elfath began a successful career in corporate IT sales. He also rose through the ranks as a soccer referee, making his debut in 2005 and reaching the professional level in 2011. He now has more than 200 professional matches to his name. His success as a referee was recognized with high profile matches such as the 2015 MLS All-Star match, the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup Final, and 2020 MLS Referee of the Year. In August 2016, Ismail made football history as he was the first referee ever to use VAR in a professional match.
Nick Barbaro – Nick has promoted international, national, and local soccer in the Austin community for over 30 years. He started the Austin Chronicle with friends in 1981 and was a founder of South by Southwest in 1987. Nick began writing the weekly Soccer Watch column in 1985 to provide readers with information he had gathered on the World Cup qualifying campaign. Since then, he has covered every aspect of Austin soccer: from our collegiate teams to supporters group watch parties, from rec tournaments to professional teams. And when he is not in the stands cheering for our local teams, he can still be seen playing central defender for Labor Crew in the Austin Coed Soccer Association.
Wolfgang Suhnholz – Wolfgang’s numerous accomplishments include winning two national championships with Bayern Munich and an NASL Championship, being selected as 1976 Soccer Bowl MVP and 1st team All-NASL, winning 1988 USYSA South Texas Coach of the Year, serving as U-16 Men’s National Team Assistant Coach (1996-1999), Head Coach of Austin Lone Stars professional soccer team (1997-1999), U-20 Men’s National Team Head Coach (1999-2001), Head Coach of the 2004 US Club National Champion, and being selected as 2008 USL PDL Coach of the Year.  He is currently continuing his legacy of giving back to the community by coaching youth with the Georgetown Force.
Nigel Bowman – Nigel has been a builder of Austin soccer at the youth, rec and pro levels for over 40 years. He coached the Westlake Chaparral Soccer Club, leading the ‘70 Chaps to the U-19 state runner-up (1988-89) and ‘79 Chaps to the U-12 State Championship (1990-91). He coached with South Texas ODP (1985-90) and was commissioner for the SAYSA rec program (1995-2000). Nigel joined Austin Thunder FC in 1985, pioneering a club structure that resulted in many AMSA titles and state championships. He has served on the AMSA executive committee since 2012 and is currently the Senior Commissioner. As player/coach for Austin Thunder FC in the Lone Star Soccer Alliance professional league (1987-91), Nigel won the 1989 Championship with victories over Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas.
Pancho Martinez – Founder and builder of Austin Millennium Soccer League which has served the Austin soccer community for more than twenty years by providing men’s, women’s, and youth leagues. They are the largest amateur soccer league in central Texas and through Pancho’s efforts he has provided a space for families a place to gather, celebrate and play the beautiful game. “Football brings us together.”
Brian Young – In 14 seasons as Men’s Head Coach at St. Edwards University, Coach Young has the program’s highest winning percentage with a record of 150-87-28. He has led the team to five conference titles, four consecutive NCAA tournaments, and 12 NSCAA/Adidas Team Academic Awards while developing 14 All-Americans and 83 All-Conference players. Brian has been recognized as Conference Coach of the Year on five occasions and NSCAA South Central Region Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2016. In six years as an assistant at Brown University, he helped the team to four Ivy League championships.  Playing at the University of New Hampshire, Brian received All-Conference Tournament honors in 1993 and 1994 prior to paying professionally in the USISL from 1995-1997.
Linda Hamilton – Honored in May 2022 as an inductee in the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Linda was also recognized as the 2022 Austin Soccer Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. She currently serves as Southwestern University Head Women’s Soccer Coach and continues to influence and aid the community through her service. She played collegiately at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina, earning All-America status and all-conference honors all four years being named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1988. Hamilton was a member of the United States National Team, with 82 caps culminating with a World Cup win in 1991 and third place finish in 1995. She has been an ambassador for US Soccer and continues to shares a love and impact of the beautiful game to advance advocacy and inclusion efforts.