Air Force Academy

Dec. 15, 2010

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force women's soccer coach Larry Friend announced the hiring of Kiha Sutta as assistant coach. After spending the 2010 fall season as a volunteer assistant due to the birth of her new son, Perry, Sutta was recently promoted to full-time status, replacing Capt. Dono Kneuer.

From 2007-10, Sutta oversaw the town of Parker's soccer programs, totaling of over 3,000 players, and building working relationships with Real Colorado, One Soccer Schools, and Footability.

Sutta (formerly Kiha Thomas) coached at USC from 2006-07, leading the Trojans to an 11-5-5 record and an appearance in the final eight of the NCAA championships. Prior to her time at USC, Sutta was at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, where she served as an assistant coach for three seasons and was the interim head coach starting in November 2005.

A native of Aurora, Colo., Sutta played collegiate soccer at Northern Colorado. A 2003 grad of UNC, Sutta was a standout forward who holds the UNC all-time assists record (33) and stands No. 2 in career goals (47) and points (127). In 2002, she was named Verizon Academic All-District VII and to the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-Region First Team. She also was named to the NSCAA All-Central Region Team and All-North Central Conference Team in 1999, 2001 and 2002.

After closing down her successful playing career at UNC, she was a captain for the Fort Collins Force in 2002 and served as an assistant coach in 2003. She also was a head coach for the Youth All-Star program. From there, she joined the St. Edward's staff for three seasons, where the Hilltoppers posted a 32-23-4 record while Sutta was on the staff from 2003-05. St. Edward's also won its first-ever Heartland Conference title in 2004.

"We are excited to bring Coach Sutta into our program full time," Friend said. "She connected well with the team as a volunteer coach last Fall. She brings a lot of energy and experience to our staff."