Brian Wall enters his ninth season at the helm of the Hood men's soccer program as the Blazers begin their first season in the Middle Atlantic Conferences.

On Feb. 4, 2012, Wall became one of the newest inductees into the Mount St. Mary's University Sports Hall of Fame. As a player at the Mount, Wall was a four-year starter as a central defender and served as a team captain during his junior and senior seasons. He earned All-Northeast Conference honors and All-South third team honors in 1995 and 1996. Upon his graduation in 1998, he earned the John M. Kolon Award for academic and athletic excellence.

In 2006, during the team's inaugural season in the Capital Athletic Conference, the Blazers faced a challenging schedule but managed to defeat teams such as Frostburg State University and McDaniel College. The team faced top-seeded York College (Pa.) in the first round of the CAC playoffs, falling only 3-0.

Losing just two seniors from 2006, Wall returned seven recruits from his initial season in 2004 who were the first to complete four years with the program. The 2007 squad posted a record of 5-13 and 1-7 in the CAC.

In 2008, Wall and the Blazers went 4-12 and went 1-7 in the CAC. Then in 2009, Hood recorded a mark of 3-13 overall and 1-7 in the CAC.

In 2010, Wall's Blazers owned a 7-9 record and defeated two CAC teams (Marymount University and Wesley College) for the first time in program history. In addition, forward/midfielder Chris Mendez '12 became the first player in program history to be recognized as an all-CAC honoree with his selection to the second team.

In 2011, Hood started out strong and was unbeaten in four of its first five games, but the Blazers were bit by the injury bug at many key positions in their starting lineup and went on to finish with an overall mark of 3-10-1. Goalkeeper Will Lane '13 was named to the all-CAC second team following a stellar junior campaign.

The soccer program got underway in 2004 with Wall--formerly the boys' soccer coach at nearby Damascus (Md.) High School--leading the way. In their first season of competition, the Blazers took on several national powers, including NCAA Division III Final Four participant Salisbury University, and laid the foundation for the program.

In 2005, Hood posted an impressive turnaround, finishing 8-4-1 after its 1-12 inaugural season. The 7.5-game improvement tied for the third-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division III from 2004 to 2005. Hood matched its win total in 2006, compiling a mark of 8-10-1. The Blazers also posted a 1-6-1 record in CAC contests.

Wall, who holds a National Soccer Coaches Association of America ‘B' License and a U.S. Soccer Federation Class ‘C' License, served as an assistant at the Mount from 1998-2000 and was responsible for recruiting and monitoring the academic progress of team members. In addition, he helped increase the men's soccer team's fundraising revenue by 70 percent and implemented change management techniques to increase team motivation and performance. Wall assisted under the renowned Mark Mettrick, who is now the men's soccer head coach at NCAA Division I national power Loyola University (Md.).

Wall earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance in 1998 and a master's degree in finance in 2000, both from the Mount.

He has served as a business technology teacher at Damascus since 2001.

Conor Prachar '12 returns to his alma mater as an assistant coach for the 2012 fall season. 

A native of Neptune, N.J., he appeared and started in 60 career games as a defender for the Blazers. He scored his first career goal his freshman year against Lancaster Bible College and amassed two goals and two assists in his career for six points. He captained the team his junior and senior years and was selected to the CAC all-academic team. Prachar was also inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma national athlete honor society and received the Kim Servedio Award for selflessness, sincerity and optimisim at the annual senior athletic banquet.

Prachar received his bachelor of arts degree in management and will pursue a master's degree in business administration at Hood.

Former Brunswick High School head coach Kenny Putnam joined the Hood College men's soccer coaching staff for the 2012 fall season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

A native of Jefferson, Md., Putnam served as the head coach of the Brunswick Railroaders from 2005-11. This past fall, Putnam was heralded as coach of the year by two associations, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and the Maryland Association of Coaches of Soccer (MACS). The 2011 Frederick County coach of the year guided the Railroaders (13-2-2) to the Antietam Conference championship for the second time under his leadership (also in 2006). In addition, after his squad captured the 1A North regional championship in 2009 and 2010, the Railroaders went on to advance to the state semifinals in 2009 and the state finals in 2010.

Putnam has coached the U4-6 and U13-17 teams of the FC Frederick Soccer Club since 1999. His coaching career also includes stints as an assistant coach at Frederick High School (2000-04) and Tuscarora High School (2004-05).