Adjusting to three different coaches in as many years has its challenges. For several members of the Davis & Elkins program, including senior Lukas Grosse-Puppendahl, they have absorbed the transitions in stride.
Grosse-Puppendahl, a senior defender/midfielder for the Senators, has catered to the philosophies of Aron Bassoff as a sophomore, Greg Myers as a junior and is breaking camp with first-year head coach Frank Olszewski at the helm.
The changes haven’t affected the play of the German product, who heads into his final campaign as one of the top 10 career conference leaders in games started and goals.
Following the retirement of Myers, enter Olszewski, a veteran coach who comes from the NCAA Division I ranks at Towson University.
A promising postseason run for the Senators in 2015 ended in heartbreak only by the difference of just one PK as Davis & Elkins nearly advanced to the conference championship final for third time in four years.
The Senators saw three seniors move on, including lockdown goalkeeper Daniel Nock and the team’s second-leading scorer, Oliver Bienias. The other senior, Grant Braun, also scored two goals and started 14 of the 18 games he appeared in.
The competition for Nock’s former position tending net should be an entertaining one in preseason.
D&E was streaking towards the end of last fall, winning four of five to finish the regular season, including a 2-1 triumph vs. eventual G-MAC runner-up AB. At home, Senators also handed Cedarville a rare conference loss.
That alone makes Davis & Elkins dangerous and worthy of a lofty preseason coaches poll billing in a tie for third with Ohio Valley. The Senators were second in the league as a team in goals allowed (1.11) and pitched five shutouts with Nock playing a huge role.
Grosse-Puppendahl, a two-time all-conference selection, finished with three goals and a pair of converted PK’s while leading scorer Simon Hestad (4 G, 1 A) is only a junior this season. All-freshman team defender Niklas Rasch-Hegelund’s only goal of the season was a big one in the season opener vs. UIndy.
Head Coach: Frank Olszewski (1st season)
2015 Record (Overall): 7-8-3
2015 Record (Conference): 4-6-2
2015 All-Conference Performers: Lukas Grosse-Puppendahl (First Team), Niklas Rasch-Hegelund (All-Freshman Team)
Quotable: “The interesting thing about leadership where you have captains on a team, you don’t need an arm band to be a leader. We have quite a few people that I would put in that category as team leaders. And that will both accelerate the team bonding and I’ll take leaders at any position.”
- Davis & Elkins Head Coach Frank Olszewski
Records Watch: Lukas Grosse-Puppendahl will presumably start in his 49th career game on opening day, which would move him into seventh all-time in that conference category…He has logged 14 goals since 2013 and is currently tied for ninth among all G-MAC players…His eight points in a single game is tied for the second-best in conference history while his four goals in the same matchup vs. Ohio Valley in 2014 is tied for first with six others…Nock graduated with 156 saves (2nd), eight shutouts (4th) and 13 wins (t5th) to cement his place as one of the best G-MAC keepers in recent history…Bienias also went down as one of the top 10 shot takers in the league with 83.