University of Maine-Fort Kent men’s soccer coach and athletic director Bill Ashby has added to his duties.

Ashby has been hired to coach the Maine Sting, a men’s soccer team in the National Premier Soccer League Northeast Division which will play in Bangor this spring and summer.

The UMFK men’s soccer team can relax – Ashby said his coaching duties with the Maine Sting won’t get in the way of his work with the Bengals.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ashby said with a laugh. “This is a part-time gig, just a couple of weeks.”

The Sting, along with the Maine Tide, which is a team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, will both play at Husson College’s Boucher Field in Bangor. Team president Cheryl Stokes announced this summer she would bring the teams to the area.

Ashby got involved with the Sting through Seth Brown, the team vice president of soccer operations who is also the Husson men’s soccer coach. Brown assisted Ashby in one of his coaching stints in North Dakota. The two had been talking for 6-7 months about Ashby joining the Sting.

“[Brown] asked his old coach to help him out a little bit,” said Ashby, who plans to remain in Fort Kent with a few days a week in Bangor for practices and games. “… With semipro soccer, all I have to do is show up and coach. The general manager takes care of everything else.”

Ross Salovich is the team GM.

Brown said the team wants as many local and Maine connections as possible, which made Ashby’s hire a natural fit.

“I’ve known Coach Ashby for many years,” said Brown, who also played under Ashby at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine. “He’s someone I really trust and know, and I know he understands the type of player we want to bring in. He’s a very well-respected coach.”

A Lubec native, Ashby was the men’s and women’s soccer coach at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine and coached the men’s teams at Husson and UMaine-Machias before leaving the state for the University of Mary (North Dakota) and Brescia University (Kentucky).

He took over the UMFK program in 2006.

In his two years at UMFK, Ashby has guided the Bengals to a 34-4 record, two Sunrise Conference championships and a berth in the NAIA national tournament’s Sweet Sixteen this year. He holds a premier license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and a national youth license from the United States Soccer Federation.

He was named the Sunrise Conference Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

The Sting and the Tide will hold open tryouts March 29 at Husson College. The Sting begin their season May 27 when they host the AC Diabolos. Home games will be played Saturdays and Sundays and the 10-game regular season will run through July.

“We’re looking for hard-working, talented players who can be good role models for the team and for the people who show up to watch us play,” Ashby said.

Brown said about 40 men from both inside and outside the U.S., and players from all over the country, have inquired about tryouts. The team expects that number to double as the tryout date nears.

There are no age restrictions for players.

The Tide will announce its new coach around Dec. 25. The team is speaking with five candidates.

For information on the open tryout, call Seth Brown at 207-512-0689, email seth@atlanticsportsgroup.net, or visit www.mainesting.com or www.mainetide.com.

Jessica Bloch may be reached at jbloch@bangordailynews.net or 990-8193.