Our Staff
Stephanie McArdle
Stephanie began the programs that evolved into Beyond Soccer, growing it from its grassroots--12 girls on the first travel team--to a year-round, sports-based youth development organization, serving 2,000 kids. Steph, who captained the Michigan Women’s Soccer Team for 2 seasons, recognizes the power of sport to lift kids out of difficult situations. She’s a Massachusetts Youth Soccer Board Member and champions field development efforts that "level the playing field" for more kids. Recently, Stephanie decided to go back to school and pursue her Executive Master’s Degree in Public Service & Nonprofit Management at Texas A&M. Stephanie is also committed to advancing the Lawrence Sports Alliance, which is a group of likeminded sports leaders in Lawrence who want to make sports more equitable. When she is not working or studying, she loves spending time with her rescue pups, Ace and Dega, plus her families 6 other rescue dogs!
Fun Fact: Steph’s high school nickname, "Noonie" stuck with her in college & many still call her "Noon" today.
Johnny Noel
Johnny Noel handles the day-to-day functions, including bookkeeping, field, and equipment maintenance, human resource management, and CORI submissions. He is also looking forward to a more significant role overseeing and spearheading capital campaigns that could bring better, creative, multi-use playing spaces to the City, including use of the new Pavillion Field at Riverwalk (pictured here!). A UMass-Lowell graduate, Johnny also holds a master’s degree from the University of South Alabama. His competitive high school and college sports experiences advanced his passion for coaching, including jr hockey league participation. Johnny also answered a statewide referee shortage by becoming a certified High School and youth league referee 8 years ago. On Saturday mornings, after his regular check-ins and pep talks, you will find Johnny on a soccer field mentoring youth through his refereeing duties, which, by his example, is becoming a growing leadership pathway for our high school-aged players.
FUN FACT: Johnny and his older brother were both born on a Wednesday evening at 5:32 pm!
Oriagna Richards
Oriagna, a 2020 Saint Anselm College graduate with a degree in Psychology, was on our first Bulldogs team in 2010, twelve (12) years ago! She also played club soccer for St. A’s! Fast forward to 2023, and she now lives outside of Detriot, Michigan where she works for us remotely as our PT Communications Manager, as well as in a new Administrative role in the health care field. This was after she continued to pass along her love for sports with Beyond Soccer in immeasurable ways. Oriagna become a constant fixture in our #LeadershipThroughSports efforts, joining us most summers for important behind-the-scenes planning and organizing as part of our first cohort of youth hires. She helped us bring our first camps to the City, like the Annual Sport & Wellness Academy that started in 2011. She has also contributed to other components of our year-round work, like developing BeyondFit & Balanced with a special emphasis on mental health. Oriagna also coached the Bradford Christian Academy Girls Varsity Soccer team for two seasons. We’re so proud of "Ori" and excited to see what her future holds and are thankful she still keeps us organized, from MI!
Chris Marin
Chris Marin, our first Director of Soccer Development has always wanted to pay forward the opportunities he was given in life through soccer. Chris, the oldest of 9 brothers and sisters from El Paso, Texas, began playing soccer at age 5. His extensive coaching and youth development through sports experiences, including his experience as a Peabody Youth Soccer referee, a Salem YMCA after-school counselor, Varsity Assistant Coach at St. Mary’s in Lynn, Salem State College Goalkeeper Coach, North Shore United Soccer Club Coach, and Director of Coaches in Danvers, have prepared Chris to step up for Beyond Soccer and the Lawrence community. He credits soccer and those who pushed him to stick with it over the years as critical, constant positive influences in his life, always steering him in the right direction, which he is doing daily on fields and courts throughout the City. (See him pictured above last fall, dressed up for a special Halloween city league event. It is hard to pry Chris off of the fields and is always going the extra mile for kids!)
