STAFF
Andrew Kessinger
Program Director, Varsity Head Coach
awkess@att.net
Kessinger was named head coach in 2020 and has a long and strong background in soccer, both as a coach and a player.
He formerly served as the men’s varsity assistant at Ohio Wesleyan University under Hall of Fame coach Jay Martin before becoming director of coaching at Eagles Soccer Club in Upper Arlington. He coached high-school-age girls teams to state and regional championships with the club, coaching many college-level players in the process. He helped oversee the merger of Eagles Soccer with Ohio Premier, giving the program a two-community presence. He holds a USSF National C License and a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Diploma.
Kessinger is a former professional player, having taken the pitch for VFR Baumholder in Germany as well as the Dayton Dynamo and Columbus Xoggz here in the U.S. He was a two-time college All-American and a four-year starter and letter winner at Ohio Wesleyan. His teams earned two trips to the NCAA Division III Final Four, and he was named DIII Player of the Year in 1991. He scored 61 goals, assisted on 32 more, and earned 154 points at OWU, where he is a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in management from the school.
Kessinger was a member of the very first club team in central Ohio (Dingos), where he won a state championship. He also won state and regional titles and earned a spot in the national finals playing for coach Ron Wigg at Club Ohio.
As a high school player at St. Francis DeSales, he was a four-year letter winner and starter and a two-time All-Ohio selection. He was a member of the Stallions’ very first state championship team, was the first soccer player inducted into the DeSales Hall of Fame, and still holds the program record for goals in a season. He was also a standout runner at the school, earning three varsity letters in cross country and two in track. He was two-time state qualifier in cross country and continues to hold the school record.
Kessinger is a Senior Wealth Advisor for Huntington Financial Advisors and a longtime member of the UA community. He’s lived here with his wife and three children for more than 25 years. He continues to be an avid runner, with 20 marathons under his belt, including the famed New York City and Boston marathons.
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Nikki Cox
JVA Head Coach
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Nikki joins the UAGS staff as the programs Head JVA Coach in 2024. Coach Cox previously coached U12 girls for UASA this spring and has formerly coached Youth Soccer during college as well as created both individual and group skills training plans for youth athletes.
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She played D1 soccer at Bowling Green State University as a midfielder/forward. Coach Cox started all 4 years. She also won 4 MAC regular season and tournament championships. While at BG, Nikki was named a 3-time captain!
Coach Cox’s scoring tally while at BG was impressive. She scored a total of 24 goals and recorded 18 assists. Nikki was named an All- MAC First Team Conference selection 3 times, awarded All-Region honors 3 times, & was named a USC Scholar All-American. She is currently playing for the Columbus Eagles in the WPSL and PASL.
Coach Cox graduated college with a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies.
When Coach Cox is not working with UAGS as the Head JVA coach, her day job is working for the Ohio Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.
Outside of work Nikki likes to go on long walks and spending time with family.
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Alyx Zavodny
Junior Varsity Program Assistant
alyx.zavodny@gmail.com
Prior to joining the UA Girls Soccer staff in 2020, Zavodny coached the Bishop Watterson High School varsity squad for eight seasons, leading the team to 83 wins. Her teams earned a spot in the District Final in four of her eight seasons and made the Regional Semifinals in 2013. Bishop Watterson never failed to capture a league championship during her tenure, finishing with a
conference record of 31-1-1.
Before coaching at Watterson, Zavodny served as varsity assistant at The Wellington School for two seasons. She also coached club soccer locally, serving at both Santos FC, where she was girls assistant director for five seasons, and Ohio Premier. A former state and regional ODP coach, she holds a USSF National C License.
Her college playing career included stints at the University of South Alabama and The Ohio State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in educational administration. She completed her teacher licensure program in middle childhood education at Capital University. She is currently working on her doctorate in Special Education with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Zavodny is a Special Education Coordinator for Columbus City Schools. She enjoys mountain biking, running, and spending time with her family. She lives in Sunbury with her husband, Rusty, and their dogs, Lucy and Kaplan.
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Emaly Vatne
Assistant JVA Coach
emalyvat@gmail.com
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Vatne joined the Upper Arlington coaching staff in 2023 as head coach of the program's JVB team. She has 4 years of club coaching experience with Ohio Premier and has also worked as a staff member at many Ohio State varsity women's soccer camps and clinics.
Vatne was a letter winner for 5 seasons at The Ohio State between 2018 and 2022, and accumulated over 80 collegiate appearances with 5 goals and 4 assists. She received The Ohio State Scholar-Athlete recognition all 5 seasons, was a 4- time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, received 2023 Academic All-Region honors, and was named to the All-Big Ten freshman team in 2018.
Prior to Ohio State, Vatne played club soccer for the Michigan Hawks and was a part of the 2017 Under-17 ECNL National Championship team. She also has 8 international career appearances and 2 international goals between the Under-16 and Under-18 U.S. Youth National Teams.
Vatne holds a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Master of Science in Kinesiology. Currently, she is a PhD student, studying Kinesiology with a graduate minor in Statistical Data Analysis, and works as a graduate research associate and sport scientist with Ohio State's Human Performance Collaborative and Ohio State Athletics.
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Edson Ramirez
JVB Head Coach
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Before joining UAGS, Ramirez served a short stint as head coach of Columbus Academy Girls Soccer at the high school level and held various roles within the Umbrella of Soccer Field Academy (CEFC/CDPP/CCSC/SIA) at the club level.
Originally from Mexico but deeply ingrained in the culture of Columbus since the age of five makes Columbus feel like home. A graduate of Saint Francis DeSales High School. Ramirez briefly pursued studies in business and psychology at Miami University. Having played club and high school level in Columbus, his immersion in the central Columbus soccer scene fostered a connection to the local soccer community.
Currently coaching the U15 and U16 ECRL girls at Ohio Premier. He also has experience coaching boys' teams within the club soccer with various boys' teams to multiple US Club and Super Y National Finals under the SFA umbrella. He currently holds USSF “D” (in the process of completing C), La Liga 1/2/3, and grassroots licenses. With experience coaching boys and girls of various ages (5-23 years old) and competitive levels, he places a distinct emphasis on fostering individual player growth within the framework of elite team training settings.
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Mackenzie Brunke
Goalkeeper Coach
mackenzie.brunke.2019@owu.edu
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This will be Mack’s second year with the UAGS staff as goalkeeper coach, returning after taking a year to coach at the college level with Ashland University last season. Mack has been coaching for five years; four at the high school level, one at college, five with Columbus Goalkeeper Academy, and four at Ohio Premier with the goalkeepers.
Mack had a successful playing career at Ohio Wesleyan University where she was a four year letter winner and starting goalkeeper. Mack was a four year All-Conference selection, three year All-Ohio selection, and an All-Region selection. She was also a captain for her junior and senior years. Mack is in the record books with being in the top three for most saves in a career. Mack has coached goalkeepers of all ages, from beginners to All-State players to professional athletes.
Mack graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education in 2019, and now teaches in the Olentangy Local School District as a 3rd grade ELA teacher. She just graduated from Ohio University with her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction to be the best she can be for her kids. When she’s not on the soccer field or in the classroom, you can find Mack reading books, at a yoga class, or walking her dog with her fiancé Justin.
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Josh Haverick
JV Assistant Coach and UAGS Social Media
josh.haverick@gmail.com
Haverick joined the program as a goalkeeper coach in 2020 and was named JV assistant the following season. A former high school and college club team keeper, he previously coached the Upper Arlington High School JVA boys team and spent five years as coach of the Jones Middle School seventh and eighth grade teams.
Haverick began playing for a select team while growing up in California. After moving to UA as a middle schooler, he played at Hastings and the high school before earning the starting keeper role on the varsity squad as a junior. After graduating in 1992, he played for the club team at Ohio State University.
Haverick is a property manager and realtor for Wagenbrenner. He and his wife Ericka reside in Upper Arlington with their daughters Naomi and Reese.
Sarah Wall
Assistant Coach
swall10@gmail.com
Wall has been a member of the UAGS coaching staff since 2020 after a decade-long hiatus to pursue her medical education. She previously coached U-10 and U-12 girls teams in the NCSL Eagles Soccer Club (now part of Ohio Premier). She was also a longtime staff member of the Summer Soccer School camps in Upper Arlington and the Barnes Soccer Academy camps at Ohio Wesleyan University, where she served as assistant director. She holds a USSF National E License.
A three-time All-American, two-time Academic All-American and four-time Conference Player of the Year at Ohio Wesleyan University, Wall helped lead her team to an NCAA Division III National Championship in 2002. She continues to hold the North Coast Athletic Conference record for career assists and the school records for career assists, assists in a season, points in a game, and goals in a game. She was named to the conference All-Decade team in 2012 and was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Hall of Fame in 2016. During her college career, she also played semi-professionally for the Columbus Shooting Stars in the W-League, earning All-Conference honors.
A four-year varsity starter at UA, Wall earned Academic All-Ohio honors as a senior in 2001. She was also a three-time All-Conference selection and earned a spot in the Central Ohio All-Star Game her senior year. She was a member of the very first NCSL Eagles Soccer Club team and was named to the ODP State Team in 2000-01.
Wall is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology at The Ohio State University. She specializes in blood and marrow transplantation. She earned her medical degree from the University of Toledo College of Medicine, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Riverside Methodist Hospital, and completed her fellowship training in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Ohio State. She also holds a Master of Public Health degree from Ohio State.
She lives in Upper Arlington with her husband, Brett, and their three children, Jack , AJ, and Mason.
Michela Paradiso
Assistant Coach
Paradiso joined the staff as a volunteer assistant in 2020, helping coach the team she once starred for.
A former Ohio State standout, Paradiso was a four-year letterwinner and two-time captain for the Buckeyes, concluding her tenure in 2015 ranked fourth in career assists. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, she helped lead the soccer Bucks to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen her senior season.
As a prep player for the Golden Bears, she earned a varsity letter in each of her three seasons, graduating in 2012 with 72 goals and 29 assists. Her teams won three District titles and remain the only UA squad to earn a spot in the state Final Four. Individually, she was a three-time OCC Player of the Year, three-time ThisWeek Super 12 captain, three-time All-State selection, and a NSCAA High School All-American.
Paradiso played her youth soccer with Eagles Soccer Club and Ohio Premier, winning a club state championship with current UA head coach Andrew Kessinger.
A summa cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, she’s currently a dermatology resident at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She continues to work closely with OSU student-athletes as co-founder of Athletes in Medicine, a program that mentors undergraduates interested in pursuing medical careers. She lives in Upper Arlington with her family and her English Mastiff, Guido.
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Natalie Horner
Assistant Coach
Born and raised an Arlington kid, Black and Gold runs through Horner's Veins and to her roots. She graduated from UAHS in 2008 and now has made her way back to her stomping grounds where she resides in Clintonville and works in Upper Arlington.
Formerly, she was the assistant coach at Capital University in 2015 and 2016. She has helped coach youth soccer with various clubs both here in Columbus and in Chicago. Horner took a break from coaching for the last 10 years, focusing on her career in wealth management.
A 4 year varsity letter winner with UAGS, captaining the team her Junior and Senior years. During her time the team won numerous conference and district championships. Despite suffering a season ending injury her senior year, she still left a mark on the program. You will see her in the record books for steals (145) and assists. All-State teams, Central Ohio all-star team, All-conference first team, NSCAA/adidas all-region team, The Columbus Dispatch Super 12 team, Two-time district champion and Two-time conference champion.
Horner began her college career at the University of Michigan where she made the Big Ten All-Freshman team and received the U-M Athletic Academic Achievement Award. She played in all 19 games, making 19 starts her Freshman year. She red shirted her sophomore year after transferring to the University of Kentucky where she graduated with a bachelors of science in Accounting and minor in international business. She started and played every game at UK, when healthy. Her senior year she played every minute of every game but one. She was captain of the team her Junior and Senior year where she lead the program to new heights in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
Post college, Horner played professionally in the NWSL with the Chicago Red Stars where she had the honor of living and playing at the highest level she ever had, alongside National team stars like Julie Ertz, Christen Press. Her journey in Chicago included helping the WPSL Redstars team win a National title. Natalie fully retired from soccer in 2015 earlier than desired due to injuries.
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Madison Baker
JVB Assistant Coach
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Madison Baker's journey in soccer began in the heart of a small town, where she kicked her first ball at the tender age of 4, sparking a lifelong passion for the sport.
Throughout her high school years, Baker proved her dedication on the field as a standout varsity player, earning the distinction of a four-year varsity starter.
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Taking her talents to the collegiate level, Baker pursued her soccer career at Bluffton University, where she not only excelled athletically but also demonstrated her commitment to academic excellence. Over three impactful years, she earned recognition as a scholar-athlete, a testament to her unwavering dedication both on and off the field.
With a deep-seated belief in the power of mentorship, Baker found joy in giving back to the soccer community, whether through coaching youth camps during summer breaks or assisting with her former high school's practices.
Now, as she embarks on her coaching journey with UAGS, Baker is eager to impart her knowledge and passion to the next generation of players, guiding them both on and off the field.
In her free time, she enjoys playing and taking her dog Milo on walks, exploring Columbus, and spending quality time with her loved ones.