As a talented high school soccer player, this Overton High School and Nashville area standout was highly recruited by Western Kentucky and UAB. Fortunately, Head Soccer Coach Phil Neddo had seen Ben Sohrabi while working some summer camps. Sohrabi saw some of his hometown standouts like Randy Evans, Pat Haggerty, and David Fletcher flock to the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. After visiting MC’s campus and getting a feeling of a caring and close knit community, 2009 Wall of Fame inductee Ben Sohrabi committed to becoming a Fighting Scot.
In 1988, Ben’s freshman season, the Scots went 16-3-1 during the fall. The chemistry of knowing the players and the confidence that the program was going to grow kept the young Sohrabi motivated. “I was disappointed that we did not have a conference championship to compete for but key wins over regional standout Emory University made our season,” stated Sohrabi.
Ben’s sophomore season brought change to Maryville. Coach Neddo resigned and a young Coach with Tennessee Wesleyan roots came in to take over the program. Coach Pepe Fernandez was a breath of fresh air to the talented Scots and all the players in the program were excited about the direction of the program. MC went 11-6-2 with key wins over Methodist, Carson Newman, Lynchburg, and Rhodes. Like the Rock brother of this inductee class,Ben played along side of his brother Ali while scoring four goals and directing five assists on the season. As a sophomore, Ben finished fourth on the team in total points with 13.
As a junior, Sohrabi lit up the nets for another four goals as the Scots went 15-4-1. A 1-0 shutout over Vanderbilt highlighted MC’s efforts. Ben deposited four assists on the year and remembers beating Greensboro on the road and claiming their tournament championship by the score of 2-1.
1991 saw Sohrabi share captain duties with Patrick Hagerty. This senior midfelder touched the back of the net on nine occasions and assisted in six other Scots goals to help MC to a 9-5-2 mark. Sohrabi scored a pair of goals and added an assist against Belmont University. He scored during MC’s shutout win over LMU. Ben assisted in Ali’s goal against Centre and added a pair of goals against Asbury. Ben’s efforts earned the Nashville native 1991 NSCAA/ Umbro All-South honors following the season.
At the end of his playing days his legacy as an unselfish leader were evident in his career numbers. He finished as a Scot with the 4th best season in assists with nine in 1991 and ranks 6th in career assists with 22.
Ben went on to play semi-pro soccer for six seasons while also serving as executive director of the professional Metros in the U.S. Indoor Soccer League.
After assisting Coach Fernandez in the development of the soccer program in 1993 and 1994, and developing his coaching skills as the head women’s soccer coach at Lambuth University in 1994-1995 this 1992 Scots’ Soccer graduate became the sixth women’s soccer coach at Radford University on April 10, 1996, earning his first Highlander win with a 9-1 rout over Chattanooga. I guess once a Highlander….always a Highlander! During his 13 seasons on the sidelines for Radford, Ben has claimed three Big South Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. With such accolades as a pair of Big South Coach of the Year honors, and two-time Virginia SID Coach of the Year titles, let’s honor this special Scots Soccer standout. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the best “Highlanders” on the pitch, 2009 MC Wall of Fame Inductee, Ben Sohrabi.
