GREAT MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
2014 Men’s Soccer Preview and Preseason Coaches’ Poll
The 2014-15 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer season is much anticipated as the G-MAC enters into its second year, giving all the teams in the conference experience at facing each other in head-to-head action.
After an inaugural year of unknowns with members joining the G-MAC from a variety of conferences and regions, the teams within the conference established themselves last season surprisingly in line with the preseason predictions. The 2013 preseason favorite, Davis and Elkins, emerged as the top regular season team, earning the top overall seed, but feel in the championship game to preseason number two Cedarville in a dramatic overtime shootout.
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Interviews with Cedarville's Brett Faro and senior Jarrett Kersten
In 2014, the coaches have placed the preseason target on the defending champion Cedarville University, while Davis & Elkins ranked second in the preseason poll and will look to finish what they started last year. Cedarville earned four first place votes and two second place votes on the six ballots, compared to three first place votes and three second place votes for D&E (note: coaches cannot vote for their own program on their own ballots).
Trevecca once again ranks third, earning the two second place votes remaining and four third place votes. Salem International climbs up to fourth, jumping Alderson Broaddus who dropped to fifth in the poll, while Kentucky Wesleyan and Ohio Valley round out the seven team coaches’ preseason conference ranking.
NOTES FROM CAMPUS:
Alderson Broaddus University: The Battlers had to fight through a difficult 3-13 season overall and a 2-7 record in the conference in their first season in the G-MAC. AB was led by senior Jose Noriega’s 14 goals, accounting for 60.8% of the team’s goals. The loss of that amount of scoring is a concern for 2014, but Peter McMenemy, who scored six goals or 26% of the teams scoring as a freshman, will look to step up and fill the hole left by Noriega.
Defensively, the Battlers were outscored 46-23 on the season, but that came against a group of freshman in the goal. All three players that saw time in the net were in their freshman campaigns. The year of experience should allow the Battlers to identify one goalkeeper to help close the gap on the scoring differential.
Under new head coach Scott Phipps, AB will open the season on the road at California (Pa.), Lewis (in Dayton), and Mercyhurst before its home opener against Gannon. Following the game against Gannon, the Battlers will jump into conference play Salem International and Ohio Valley. The team has a very manageable schedule and should improve as long as the student-athletes themselves worked to improve as a group.
Cedarville University: The Yellow Jackets set a school-record for victories in 2012, then won the G-MAC Championship in 2013, and now the conference coaches have identified them as the preseason favorites in 2014. Cedarville will be under the direction of second-year head coach Brett Faro, though Faro has been with the CU soccer program since 2011 helping guide the program to its recent success.
Connor Gilmour returns for his junior year after leading the team with 12 goals, 28 points, and four game-winners. The Yellow Jackets also return their next two top scorers in Christian Alexander (six goals and 14 points) and Zach Harris (five goals and 11 points). Defensively, CU will be just as strong defensively as first team all-conference goalkeeper Ethan Dewhurst returns after posting nine shutouts last season and helping in two additional team shutouts.
Cedarville opens the season at home against Saint Joseph’s before hitting the road for a pair of tough in-region road contests against Saginaw Valley State and Malone. The Yellow Jackets also open their G-MAC schedule at home with games against Trevecca and Kentucky Wesleyan. Between Sept 13 and Oct 11, the Yellow Jackets will play seven of nine games at home. Then they will close out the season playing five of six games on the road leading up to the G-MAC Championships.
Davis & Elkins College: The Senators will look to finish what they started last season after they secured the top overall seed and hosted the soccer championship in Elkins, West Virginia, but lost in a shootout to Cedarville. D&E enters the season as the preseason runner-up, but the team will not lack any confidence that they can repeat as the top team in the regular season.
Davis & Elkins will be led by the reigning conference’s Male Athlete of the Year, Men’s Soccer Athlete of the Year, and one of the best players in all of Division II, James Pucci, who led the entire nation in scoring with 27 goals, 11 assists, 65 points and 10 game-winners. The team will have to replace Cameron Rivera in goal as he posted a 12-1-1 record with five shutouts. He allowed 12 goals on the season in 16 games played, making 54 saves.
The Senators will face a strong schedule in 2014, opening the year at home against Tiffin. They then travel to Indianapolis to face Quincy before hosting Notre Dame, Millersville, and then open the conference schedule against Ohio Valley. D&E closes out the year on the road at Gannon prior to the conference tournament.
Kentucky Wesleyan College: The Panthers went 4-10-2 last season, but the season had many more bright spots than a 4-10-2 record might lead one to believe, especially coming off a 0-18 season in 2012. Wins included a 9-1 victory over Ohio Valley and a 4-2 win at Alderson Broaddus. KWC secured a pair of ties against Georgetown and Brescia. The team also had one-goal losses to Bellarmine, Salem International, and Trevecca.
KWC’s roster in 2013 featured only two seniors and six juniors on a roster of 27 players under John Fusco, who will enter into his fourth season in 2014. The Panthers will return basically its entire scoring offense. Only two of the teams 36 goals graduated, and the team will be guided by senior Christakis Agisilaou, who had a team-high 12 goals, seven assists, and 31 points. In goal, Travis Rowland will return after making all 16 starts and playing all 1495 minutes last season. He allowed 51 goals, but improvements on defense should help him as he was forced to do it alone, facing an amazingly high 272 shots in 16 games last year.
The Panthers open the season at home against Southern Indiana, before hitting the road for six of the next seven games, including the conference opener at Cedarville on Sept. 20. KWC will look to improve upon its four wins in 2013 and continue to establish its program under Fusco in 2014.
Ohio Valley University: The Fighting Scots had a rough start to the 2013 season, going 0-13 to begin the year. However, OVU was able to build some momentum that they will look to carry into 2014, going 3-1-1 to finish the season. The roster features 16 freshmen and sophomores as the program continues to build. Last season, no player scored more than two goals, as nine different players scored at least one goal and four had a pair of goals.
OVU will have a new goalkeeper in 2014 after D’Arcy Turner started 16 games last season. Sophomore Kyle Bugden is the returned goalkeeper who will battle a pair of freshmen for the starting spot in net. Head Coach Jack Flynn will enter his fourth season at OVU coaching both the men’s and women’s teams, though he has only coached the women’s team for two seasons.
The Fighting Scots open the season at home against WVU-Parkersburg before hitting the road to face GLIAC opponents Malone and Walsh. They return home before the conference schedule kicks in and take on Urbana and Findlay. The G-MAC schedule opens at Davis & Elkins on Sept. 18, and then return home on Sept. 20 to face Alderson Broaddus.
Salem International University: The Tigers had a successful season in 2013, especially with a roster that featured 21 sophomore and freshmen on a roster of only 27 players. The team finished 8-9-1 and 4-4-1 in conference as the team hovered at .500 basically throughout the entire year.
Freshman Tomas Szabo led the team in scoring with eight goals and 16 points. Sophomores Mehmet Dogan and Mohamed Bakayoko each scored five goals and had 11 points. SIU actually held the scoring advantage during the season 38-37, with four different goalkeepers getting at least one start. John Krueger played the most minutes in goal and recorded a team-high 27 saves. Abdul Kamara was second in minutes, but had the best goals against average (1.53) to go with 20 saves.
Salem will open the season on the road at Pikeville (NAIA) before its home opener against Lake Erie College on Sept. 9. The G-MAC schedule opens at home with weekend contests against Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins on Sept. 16 and 18.
Trevecca Nazarene University: The Trojans will celebrate the entire 2014-15 year as they enter into their first year as an active NCAA Division II institution. Coming off a 8-9-1 season overall and a 5-3 conference record, TNU was predicted to finish third in the preseason and then finished third in the standings. Once again they are predicted to finish third and hoping to contend with D&E and Cedarville to reach the finals.
Jeremiah Wright returns for his sophomore season after a tremendous freshman season in which he led his team in every offensive category with nine goals, seven assists, 25 points, and three game-winners. The Trojans had very balanced scoring with 11 different players scoring at least one goal and an additional three players adding assists. Senior Braydon Brown returns to protect the goal, starting 16 games last season, going 6-8-1 with a pair of shutouts. He made 5 saves and played just under 1500 minutes.
Trevecca will open the season in Florida against West Florida on Sept. 4, before coming home to face Southern Indiana. The Trojans will then take part in the Indiana Wesleyan Fall Classic on Sept. 12-13. TNU’s conference schedule will open at Cedarville on Sept. 18 and close against Cedarville at home on Oct. 23. Trevecca’s only meeting with Davis and Elkins will take place in Nashville on Saturday, Oct. 4.
G-MAC PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Rank School
1. Cedarville University (4 First Place vote)
2. Davis & Elkins College (3 First Place votes)
3. Trevecca Nazarene University
4. Salem International University
5. Alderson Broaddus University
6. Kentucky Wesleyan College
7. Ohio Valley University
Interview with Junior Jarrett Kersten
Interview with Head Coach Brett Faro