Aug. 21, 2008
DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's soccer team turned in a historic run during its inaugural NCAA Division I campaign in 2007 by becoming the first Aggie team to qualify for the Div. I tournament. With nine seniors returning and only three starters lost to graduation, the 2008 Aggie squad has high expectations for another postseason run.
"The strength of our team is a great group of returning student-athletes,' said 12th-year head coach Dwayne Shaffer. "We have nine seniors playing this season and four of them are fifth-year players. It's a veteran team. They have gained valuable experience playing in an NCAA tournament game and competing for the Big West championship. Expectations are high all around coming into this season."
Fans will get a glimpse of the team, which ranks 30th by College Soccer News' preseason poll, Sunday with an exhibition game against former Division II and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Chico State. The game begins at 11 a.m. and marks the return of long-time Aggie assistant coach and player Felipe Restrepo.
Seniors Ahmad Hatifie, Ian Conklin and Dylan Curtis will serve as team captains this season and will lead a team that, along with nine seniors, also includes two juniors, seven sophomores and 10 freshmen. "I expect all of our seniors to be great leaders and role models for the young players on our team," said Shaffer. "They can rely on each other to get through tough games because of their experience. They've played together for four years now."
FORWARDS
As was the case last season, the Aggies' offense will lead the charge in 2008 behind the efforts of seniors Quincy Amarikwa and Sule Anibaba. Last season the duo earned all-conference accolades and combined for 13 of the team's 44 goals, which ranked 9th nationally. Anibaba tallied a career-best eight goals and added an assist for a team-best 17 points. He also converted five of the team's six penalty kicks, including a hat trick against Pittsburgh. Anibaba will hold possession up front because of his strength of playing with his back to the goal along with playing the midfield position.
Amarikwa continues his role as the offensive leader of the squad and enters the season with 16 career goals. Last season he tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals and was tied for second with five goals. It marked the second consecutive season Amarikwa led the team in game-winners. He also scored the Aggies' lone goal in their NCAA tournament game against Cal and will again be counted on to put pressure on the opponents' defense with his offensive prowess.
Junior Chris Leer returns as the team's top reserve and will be joined by sophomore Miles Hadley and redshirt freshman Rene Cuellar. Last year Leer saw time in 19 games and was also second on the team with five goals off only eight shots on goal. His speed will continue to add a spark off the bench.
Hadley showed impressive offensive skills as a true freshman last year and tallied two goals despite only playing six games due to injury. Hadley is listed at 6 feet 6 inches and will provide tough match ups for smaller defenders.
Cuellar redshirted last season and enters his first collegiate season on a high note after a solid spring season. He is expected to challenge for playing time right away.
Sophomore Derek LeBon also returns after missing a majority of last season with an injury and will again be counted on to help up front. Last year he managed an assist in only three appearances.
MIDFIELDERS
Also led by a veteran group, the Aggie midfield brings back a solid corps that will look to replace departed senior Nicholas Lind, who earned all-conference honors in 2007. Leading the way is Hatifie, who played all 20 games last season and finished second on the team with three assists. He enters his final season as the team captain and will thus be counted on to lead the team.
Junior Paul Marcoux will continue to be an attacking presence on the field and returns after tallying second-best team totals of five goals and three assists. He can also play the striker position, but is expected to start at the center midfield position.
Shoring up the wing duties will be captains Curtis and Conklin. Both have been starters for two years and add more offensive threats to the lineup. Curtis was named team MVP last season after scoring three goals and adding three assists while setting up numerous set pieces.
Conklin tied for the team lead with four assists and added four goals off only eight shots on goal. He is again expected to help offensively.
Fellow senior Dan Campbell will return to his role as the top reserve after playing all 20 games last season. His three assists showed his ability on the offensive side of the ball. He may also play as a right back.
Adding further to the senior leadership in the midfield is Greg Hammond who returns to the roster after a two-year hiatus. Hammond was a starter his first two seasons with the Aggies and is expected to bring depth to the roster.
Sophomore Julian Godinez and redshirt freshman Stephen Cunningham will also provide the team with depth. Godinez competed in 18 games as a true freshman last season and added an assist while Cunningham has shown that he's ready to battle for playing time following a good spring season.
DEFENDERS
With the graduation of starting defenders Paul Cain (all-conference) and Matt Slagle, the Aggie defense is expected to use a different style and utilize their abundance of talent. Seniors Jordan Vanderpoorten and Jake Mogelson are the most experienced returners and are expected to help lead the defensive efforts. Mogelson also added a goal last season for the high-scoring Aggies.
Redshirt freshman Nate Jarman is another young Aggie who has showed promise in the spring season and is expected to compete for starting time. He is joined by sophomores Chris Beville, Nathan Javadi and Jason Santos. Beville started 12 games as a true freshman last season and is expected to compete again as a right back. Javadi missed all of last season with an injury while Santos started eight games before going down for the season with an injury.
GOALKEEPERS
Sophomore Ryan McCowan is the lone returning goalkeeper from last year's squad and will again have starting duties. Last season he started the final nine games of the season and helped lead the Aggies to six wins and an at-large bid to the Div. I tournament during that span.
Shaffer also expects freshmen Tommy Siragusa and Matt Prevencher to come in and push McCowan while also competing to solidify the backup position.
INCOMING FRESHMAN
The Aggies signed three recruits to national letters of intent during the offseason in Lance Patterson, John Joslin and Andrew Robello. All three are expected to compete for playing time right away. Patterson may even compete for a starting spot on the defensive side of the ball. At Grandview High School in Aurora, Colo., he contributed goals as a center defender and helped lead his team to the state championship game.
Joslin is describe as a technically sound player who will compete for a spot up front. At only 5-7, he will use his speed to his advantage. During his prep career, Joslin totaled 42 goals and 15 assists.
Robello rounds out the Aggie signees and will look to compete for time on the wing. His speed (Robello was a sprinter on the Cardinal Newman High School track team) is his top asset.
Fellow freshmen Ethan Shawlee and Andy Walker will also look to make contributions. Shawlee will add depth to the defensive side while Walker brings an offensive presences as a midfielder and striker.
SCHEDULE
The Aggies officially start the season with consecutive home games as part of the Copa de Causeway Classico. They begin Aug. 29 against Long Island University at 5 p.m. before hosting Cal State Bakersfield two days later.
The team will then travel to New Mexico's TLC Plumbing and Utilities Invitational to face two teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last season. The Aggies begin play against Big East member and No. 21-ranked Louisville before taking on Michigan State of the Big Ten. The Aggies then return home to host San Jose State before heading to Southern California for games at West Coast Conference member San Diego and Pacific-10 member San Diego State. The road swing ends with a renewal of the Causeway Cup rivalry at Sacramento State. The Aggies then return home to conclude their non-conference schedule with Air Force.
Last season the Big West finished as the fourth-toughest conference in the NCAA's RPI rankings and will undoubtedly be tough again in 2008. "Every team in the conference is improved from last year," said Shaffer. "I feel like our program is ready for the challenge and will be competitive."
UC Davis has been picked to finish second in the preseason coaches poll and will open its conference season on the road at UC Irvine on Oct. 1. UC Davis completes its regular season at home with two-time defending conference champion and No.9-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 8. The season will feature only 10 conference games due to a newly instated championship tournament, which will determine the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championship. The top four teams will all advance to the tournament with the top two seeds hosting the first-round games. The tournament is scheduled to take place on Nov. 12 and 15.
"The Big West Tournament keeps teams competitive for the entire season," said Shaffer. "In years past teams would enter the final game of the season with no shot at the conference title or a postseason berth. Now those teams are going to be battling for that fourth seed into the Big West tournament and thus competing for that automatic bid into the NCAA tournament."
"I believe the players' goals are to qualify for the Big West Tournament and then hopefully earn a bid into the NCAA tournament," said Shaffer. "That's always our goal coming into a season. We want to compete for postseason play."
