By Michael Butler

Tuskegee University is launching a new soccer program in the fall. Tallassee head soccer coach Matthew Tarpley will be their head coach.

Tarpley has gone 39-11-7 in two seasons as head coach at THS. His 2024 squad reached the Class 5A semifinals. This is his fifth year overall with the program.

“I plan to continue teaching here at Tallassee,” Tarpley said. “I’ll be around to help next spring.”

As for this season, which starts next week, Tarpley will continue coaching all three programs: varsity boys, varsity girls and junior varsity.

“Tuskegee has wanted to expand their footprint for a while in athletics. Soccer is the fastest growing sport in the country. It materialized with me taking over the men’s program.

“Tuskegee has been great. They understand I’m committed to Tallassee. We’ve got a great group of kids and are excited about our season. I want to focus on that. I’ll spend some of my spare time working on Tuskegee stuff. For the moment, the Tigers here are my first priority.”

Tarpley has been busy regardless. In addition to the Tallassee job, he has served with Faulkner University as recruiting coordinator and with the Auburn Soccer Club as the academy director.

“My family is used to it and have been very supportive. It’s just a continuation. We’ve got a ton of seniors, so it feels kind of like a last hoorah for them with me. We’ve had a lot of success. I look forward to that continuing in the future.”

This year’s boys’ squad will be minus one key cog. Irvin Delfin has graduated. Delfin was a three-time all-state player during his time with the Tigers.

“Irvin was a special player. He was a goal-scoring machine. At times, we had a tendency to watch. When you’ve got a player that good or talented, you just give him the ball and see what he’s going to do. I think we’ll probably play better soccer. We’ve got plenty of talent on the field. It’ll be a different brand or style.

“On the boys’ side, we’ve got 11 seniors. A handful of those have been solid contributors for a handful of years. Yuren (Rodriguez) and Ricky (Murillo) have been starters for four years. Lewis Moseley may be the most talented kid we’ve ever had at Tallassee. He is so technical. He’s a whiz on the ball.

“Preston Parker (and) Chris Romero are amazing midfielders who can see the field. Francisco Diego may be the fastest kid at Tallassee High School. That kid is something special. Kamari Buckhannon is a monster in the back on defense.”

This will be the fourth season for the girls’ program. Last year’s team won nine games.

“They’ve progressively gotten better every year and increased their win total every year,” Tarpley noted. “We’ve got nine seniors who were ninth graders when we started. Tonya Alvarez could play on the boys’ team. She is that good.

“Aubrey Paggett, Yuridia Otero, Jara Munoz, Isabella Lara, Autumn Barker… these girls have been playing a lot of soccer. They’ve grown and developed in the program. We’re looking for them to contribute in a big way.”

The varsity boys went 19-6-3 last year but missed the playoffs. It will not be easy again this year with three area opponents in the Class 4A rankings. Tallassee is No. 7 in the preseason poll.

“We’ve got the toughest area in the state,” Tarpley stated. “St. James is No. 3. Trinity is No. 4. Catholic is No. 8. I don’t know if I did the boys a favor, but we’re going to play the No. 1 team in the state, Westminster Oak Mountain, defending state champs. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

Tallassee opens the season on Monday, Feb. 9 at New Brockton with varsity boys and girls games. The Westminster game will be on Feb. 13.

The home opener will be Feb. 17 versus Brewbaker Tech, the Tigers’ first game on the new turf at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium. Tallassee played all its games on the road last season while the stadium underwent upgrades.

2026 Schedule