Finishing second in the league while being on the radar of the top-25 national rankings is plenty to be proud of, but the Alderson Broaddus men’s soccer program has aspirations for much more this season.
The memory of bowing out on PK’s to Cedarville in last year’s tournament final still lingers a little bit, but head coach and reigning G-MAC Coach of the Year Scott Phipps has turned the page and is focused on gelling his current and incoming players as preseason ramps up.
The Battlers strength of schedule in the early going will be as good of a barometer as any to set a high standard of play going into the league schedule.
Beginning the regular season in Kansas City, Alderson Broaddus will face Rockhurst and Fort Hays State, two juggernaut programs on a national level that are ranked third and 15th in the Preseason NSCAA Coaches Poll.
Despite the runner-up finish in the conference, AB was knocking on the door to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional as an at-large selection, consistently in the conversation in each version of the regional rankings.
The returning personnel for the Battlers is going to have a bit of a different look, especially on offense. First-team all-conference forward Deshawn Parker and midfielder Marco Profumo are not on this year’s roster. They would have been juniors this year and ranked towards the top of the league in several statistical categories for 2015.
Phipps will make the appropriate adjustments to compensate for their offensive production, in part with some talented junior college transfers.
Veteran experience is still spread throughout the roster with the host of returning players.
G-MAC Defensive Player of the Year Alec Andall is a stalwart in the back and a top option in PK’s after converting all four of his chances as a junior. He scored five total goals and logged the most minutes on the pitch of any Battler. Additionally, he was able to represent his home country of Grenada on the national team over the summer in the Caribbean Cup.
Productive forward Fernando Franco is a senior and tied for the team lead in points with Profumo last year with 12. Franco put up numbers worthy of an all-conference performer with four goals and four assists.
Another senior, Michael Gallardo, played in all 20 games and scored three goals and had two assists. Kevin Burcado Hernandez (2 G, 2 A), Jose Tabares-Ochoa (20 GP) and Callum Doyle (3 A), are three more impact players. First Team All-G-MAC keeper Ricard Lao will also need to be replaced.
Head Coach: Scott Phipps (3rd season)
2015 Record (Overall): 10-7-3
2015 Record (Conference): 7-5-0
2015 All-Conference Performers: Scott Phipps (Coach of the Year), Alec Andall (G-MAC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team), Deshawn Parker (First Team), Marco Profumo (First Team), Ricard Lao (First Team), Kevin Bucardo Hernandez (Second Team), Jose Tabares-Ochoa (Second Team, All-Freshman Team)
Quotable: “First of all, we want to win the regular season that way we can host the tournament championship and we want to go on and win that. And the way we’re going to do that is we have to improve on last season. Last time we went out on penalties and it wasn’t that great, but if we can make the final again, I don’t think we’ll make that mistake.”
- Alderson Broaddus junior midfielder Callum Doyle
Records Watch: The premature departure of Parker, Profumo and Lao, halts their progression in the career record books after all three had made their way into the top 10 of at least one major statistical category…Peter McMenemy will most likely be starting in his 52nd career game on opening day…That would move him into fifth all-time in conference history.