U.S. Soccer announces 2019 National Referees
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) — The U.S. Soccer Referee Program named this year’s 83 National Referees at the Federation’s annual National Camp in Bradenton, Fla. in January. The National Referee certification is the highest level licensed directly by U.S. Soccer. In addition, the Federation announced 122 former officials who will serve as national referee coaches in 2019.
“U.S. Soccer is proud of all who attended our annual National Camp and we wish them well for the 2019 season,” U.S. Soccer Director of Referee Development Rick Eddy said. “These officials can now officiate professional leagues, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, national amateur leagues and international club games. I’d like to give special thanks to our instructors for the National Camp, including Dr. Christina Fink, Director of Sports Psychology for Philadelphia Union Youth, Kari Seitz, FIFA Senior Manager of Refereeing and Esse Baharmast, FIFA Instructor. We also were happy to welcome 2018 FIFA World Cup referees Mark Geiger, Jair Marrufo and Corey Rockwell.”
The 83 newly-minted National Referees are eligible to officiate professional matches across the United States, including Major League Soccer, the United Soccer League, and the National Women’s Soccer League. The certification is one step below the world’s highest level, FIFA, which allows referees to officiate international matches and FIFA competitions. At the Referee Program’s National Camp, National Referee candidates go through rigorous physical testing, extensive classroom work, video analyses and practical field sessions.
The referees that earned their national badge this month started at the grassroots level, working youth games as Grade 9 or 8 officials. At Grade 7, referees can start to officiate adult soccer before progressing to become Grade 6 State Referees. National Referees are certified from the national pool of Grade 5 State Referees.
Referee coaches are former officials that work to build the future of the Referee Program by helping to educate and guide the next generation of referees. Selected by the U.S. Soccer Referee Program, referee coaches will evaluate and coach officials in games at elite regional and national events across the country in 2019.
2019 National Referees and Referee Coaches by State Association Affiliation
(Referee Coaches Indicated in Italics)
Alabama
Amanda Ross (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Klaus Staefe (Huntsville, Ala.)
Arizona
Bennett Savage (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Richard Heron (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Brandon Marshall (Mesa, Ariz.)
Arkansas
Jared Peeler (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Cal North
Elijio Arreguin (San Francisco, Calif.)
Sarah Cortez (Roseville, Calif.)
Chris Elliott (Roseville, Calif.)
Andrew Hanks (Fairfield, Calif.)
Stephen McGonagle (Concord, Calif.)
Turan Ozdemir (Daly City, Calif.)
Victor Rivas (Berkeley, Calif.)
Jennifer Benett (Foster City, Calif.)
Matthew Buckman (Fair Oaks, Calif.)
Vicente Cortes (Berkeley, Calif.)
Tarek Khan (Granite Bay, Calif.)
Nathan Lacy (Elk Grove, Calif.)
Ali Mohebbi (Brentwood, Calif.)\
Veronica Perez (Sacramento, Calif.)
Robert Sabella (Antioch, Calif.)
Scott Weyland (Bonny Doon, Calif.)
Tim Weyland (Lafayette, Calif.)
Cal South
Mark Allatin (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Reyna Fonseca (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Timothy Ford (Long Beach, Calif.)
Melissa Gonzalez (Anaheim, Calif.)
Eduardo Jeff (Lakewood, Calif.)
Michael Radchuk (Corona, Calif.)
Ramy Touchan (San Diego, Calif.)
Alan Black (Carlsbad, Calif.)
Thomas Bobadilla (Artesia, Calif.)
Kia Dehpanah (San Diego, Calif.)
Ali Hacock (Simi Valley, Calif.)
Kelly Mock (Encinitas, Calif.)
Colorado
Jacob Herold (Westminister, Colo.)
Adam Zarrin (Denver, Colo.)
Esfandiar Baharmast (Golden, Colo.)
Rudy Bettmann (Lakewood, Colo.)
Jose Corro (Wheat Ridge, Colo.)
Chuck Locke (Grand Junction, Colo.)
Scott McCaslin (Arvada, Colo.)
Concacaf
Brian Hall (New York City, N.Y.)
Connecticut
John Collins (Ridgefield, Conn.)
Sin Hang Lai (Norwalk, Conn.)
DC-Virginia
Danielle Chesky (Arlington, Va.)
Matt Franz (Richmond, Va.)
JC Griggs Jr. (Chesterfield, Va.)
Jonah Kind (Washington D.C.)
Jeffrey Skinker (Arlington, Va.)
Max Smith (Washington D.C.)
James Conlee (Fredericksburg, Va.)
Paul Rapalski (Springfield, Va.)
Mort Sajadian (Lynchburg, Va.)
Don Torrenti (Poquoson, Va.)
George Vergara (Chesterfield, Va.)
Chuck Watts (Woodbridge, Va.)
Delaware
David McKee (Wilmington, Del.)
Eastern N.Y.
Ernie Constantine (Bethpage, N.Y.)
Jared Simons (Astoria, N.Y.)
Thomas Snyder (Lagrangeville, N.Y.)
Arthur Chip Reed (Scarsdale, N.Y.)
Paul Rejer (Mahopac, N.Y.)
Sandra Serafini (Bahama, N.C.)
Lee Suckle (Garden City Park, N.Y.)
Sharon Wheeler (Rensselaer, N.Y.)
Brenda Wright (Rock Tavern, N.Y.)
Eastern PA
Craig Lowry (New Holland, Penn.)
Ed Marco (Havertown, Penn.)
Michael Piercey (West Chester, Penn.)
FIFA
Kari Seitz (Zurich, Switzerland)
Florida
Matthew Miscannon (Orlando, Fla.)
Tori Penso (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Jasmine Peralta (Melbourne, Fla.)
Natalie Simon (Sarasora, Fla.)
Trent Vanhaitsma (Lake Worth, Fla.)
Brendan Barry (Davenport, Fla.)
Dennis Engers (Fernandina Beach, Fla.)
Timothy Geis (Sarasota, Fla.)
Merritt Guthrie (Clearwater, Fla.)
Nami Imaizumi (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Jozsef Michna (Jupiter, Fla.)
Kermit Quisenberry (Deland, Fla.)
Gregory Watson (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Georgia
Sergii Demianchuk (Acworth, Ga.)
Patrick Baker (Marietta, Ga.)
Bob Heilmann (Acworth, Ga.)
Brian Marshall (Evans, Ga.)
Lawrence Rodrigues (Marietta, Ga.)
Illinois
Art Arustamyan (Wheeling, Ill.)
Adam Behrens (Chicago, Ill.)
Ethan Buege (Naperville, Ill.)
Greg Dopka (Elk Grove Village, Ill.)
Rebecca Pagan (Chicago, Ill.)
Rachel Smith (Chicago, Ill.)
Ryan Cigich (Chicago, Ill.)
Tim Deters (Elk Grove Village, Ill.)
Rick Eddy (Chicago, Ill.)
Richard Huber (Quincy, Ill.)
Michael Kennedy (Palos Heights, Ill.)
Abbey Okulaja (Chicago, Ill.)
Pedro Trejo Jr. (Chicago, Ill.)
Ben Trevino (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Iowa
Justin Mack (Grimes, Ia.)
Eric Wood (Cedar Rapids, Ia.)
Shane Smith (Knoxville, Ia.)
Kansas
Ryan Cook (Belton, Mo.)
Jon Freemon (Olathe, Kan.)
Kentucky
Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein (Lexington, Ky.)
Tony Crush (Louisville, Ky.)
Brian Darling (Louisville, Ky.)
Aaron Hernandez (Mount Washington, Ky.)
Maryland
Ben Pilgrim (Silver Spring, Md.)
Jason Cullum (Baltimore, Md.)
Robert Fereday (Laurel, Md.)
Bryan Roslund (Potomac, Md.)
Massachusetts
Michael Dee (Newtonville, Mass.)
Randall Kelley (Belmont, Mass.)
Ian McKay (Cambridge, Mass.)
Kristin Sundberg (Worcester, Mass.)
Angelo Bratsis (Norwood, Mass.)
Dilvo DiPlacido (Westwood, Mass.)
Kara Honthumb (North Dartmouth, Mass.)
Scott Kachmarik (Dedham, Mass.)
Peter Kokolski (Groton, Mass.)
Erich Simmons (Atkinson, N.H.)
Rachel Woo (Auburndale, Mass.)
Michigan
Adrienne McDonald (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Carlos Folino (Sterling Heights, Mich.)
Igor Reznik (Bloomfield, Mich.)
Minnesota
John Krill (St. Louis Park, Minn.)
Ismir Pekmic (Victoria, Minn.)
Troy Cohrs (Northfield, Minn.)
Stephen Olson (Minnetonka, Minn.)
Bob Petersen (Blaine, Minn.)
Artem Sher (Plymouth, Minn.)
Mississippi
Matthew Thompson (Jackson, Miss.)
Missouri
Shane Kennard (Republic, Mo.)
Matt Rodman (St. Louis, Mo.)
Shane Butler (Imperial, Mo.)
Holly Hollingsworth (Grover, Mo.)
Ali Saheli (Columbia, Mo.)
Nebraska
Matthew Seem (Bellevue, Neb.)
New Jersey
Luis Arroyo (Lakewood, N.J.)
Zeno Cho Gyuho (Palisades Park, N.J.)
Tyler Wyrostek (Woodridge, N.J.)
Gregory Barkey (Succasunna, N.J.)
Albert Calise (Oceanport, N.J.)
Brian Fenlon (West Creek, N.J.)
Arkadiusz Prus (Tampa, Fla.)
Barry Towbin (South Plainfield, N.J.)
North Carolina
Kevin Broadley (Charlotte, N.C.)
Gustavo Solorio (Stanfield, N.C.)
Ben Wooten (Salisbury, N.C.)
Ernie Fisher (Fayetteville, N.C.)
Kenneth George (Jacksonville, N.C.)
Mark Kadlecik (Durham, N.C.)
Kim Oberle (Durham, N.C.)
Abbas Piran (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Jon Wilson (Apex, N.C.)
Ohio North
Jeffrey Mellen (Uniontown, Ohio)
Ohio South
Cory Richardson (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Eric Tattersall (Leesburg, Ohio)
Rizal Milliken (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Oregon
Ryan Jung (Beaverton, Ore.)
Michael Allen (Portland, Ore.)
Joshua Patlak (Portland, Ore.)
Penn. West
Ross Kleinstuber (Edensburg, Penn.)
Charles Murphy (Pittsburgh, Penn.)
Rhode Island
Amilcar Sicaju (Pawtucket, R.I.)
South Carolina
Skye Arthur-Banning (Pendleton, S.C.)
Tennessee
Leland Grant (Nashville, Tenn.)
Walt Heatherly (Miami, Fla.)
David Lakin (Bartlett, Tenn.)
Andy Moss (Nashville, Tenn.)
Texas North
John Dearmond (Fairview, Texas)
Joel McKell (North Richland Hills, Texas)
Tony Obas (Dallas, Texas)
Kaili Terry (Carrollton, Texas)
Ian Chapman (Plano, Texas)
Jim Mills (Frisco, Texas)
Nasser Sarfaraz (Celina, Texas)
Texas South
Francisco Bermudez (Selma, Texas)
Diego Blas (Huntsville, Texas)
Marco Vega (El Paso, Texas)
Jeremy Weed (Houston, Texas)
Jeff Kattawar (Austin, Texas)
Harlan Matthews (Katy, Texas)
Masoud Rasti (Universal City, Texas)
Richard Triche Jr. (Spring, Texas)
Utah
Brad Jensen (Cottonwood Heights, Utah)
Paul Scott (Draper, Utah)
Washington
Joshua Haimes (Seattle, Wash.)
Baboucarr Jallow (Seatac, Wash.)
Cephas Quartson (Poulsbo, Wash.)
Philippe Dor (Kirkland, Wash.)
Sandy Hunt (Burlington, Wash.)
Ray Moffatte Jr. (Spanaway, Wash.)\
Mohammad Zarrabi-Kashani (Woodinville, Wash.)
Western N.Y.
Kevin Barci (Ontario, N.Y.)
Steve Montanino (Rochester, N.Y.)
Wisconsin
Chris Ruska (Wausau, Wisc.)
Margaret Domka (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Jonathan Meersman (Delavan, Wisc.)
