THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran opens its 2009
season with a trio of non-conference matches. PLU hosts UC Santa
Cruz at 3 p.m. Thursday, then boards a plane for Minnesota where it
will face St. Thomas on Saturday and Gustavus Adolphus on Monday.
DOESN'T GET MUCH TOUGHER: Pacific Lutheran has
a very difficult five-match pre-conference schedule, including a
season-opening home contest on Sept. 3 against regional power UC
Santa Cruz. The Lutes last played the Banana Slugs in 2007, losing
4-3 in double overtime at a neutral site in McMinnville, Ore. UC
Santa Cruz is a highly regarded Division III opponent and already
has a 2-1 overtime win at Puget Sound to its credit this season.
OFF TO MINNESOTA: The Lutes travel to Minnesota
on Thursday for matches against two other strong teams in St.
Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus. St. Thomas has played one match this
year, defeating Northwestern College, 1-0. In the past six seasons
the Tommies have compiled a 66-30-13 overall record and four
top-four finishes in the difficult Minnesota Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (MIAC). While St. Thomas has had some success
in the MIAC, Gustuvus Adolphus is clearly the conference's top dog.
The Gusties have won seven MIAC titles under head coach Larry
Zelenz, including five straight from 2003-07. Gustavus played in
the 2006 Division III national title game and last year finished
13-5-1 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC. The Lutes and Gusties opened
their 2008 season against each other in Spokane with the Gusties
pulling out a 1-0 victory in a closely contested match.
SEASON OUTLOOK: For the second straight year,
the Pacific Lutheran men's soccer program has lost several key
players to graduation. Two seasons ago, the Lutes graduated the
Northwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year in Brian Lubeck
and the NWC Offensive Player of the Year in Michael Ferguson. Last
year, All-NWC first team forward Derek Karamatic wrapped up his
four-year career, while two-time second team all-conference
goalkeeper Daniel Mangum decided to leave PLU in order to pursue a
different academic interest.
While those losses are certainly significant, eight-year head
coach John Yorke has built enough depth into the program that the
2009 version of PLU men's soccer should be pretty competitive in
the Northwest Conference race. In fact, NWC coaches have picked the
Lutes to place third - and narrowly out of second - in the
conference standings.
"We feel we have a strong team, so our main goal is to prepare
to try and win the NWC," Yorke said. "Our preseason is going to be
about trying to get our new players, that we will need to perform
for us, on the same page as our returners.
While there are certainly some holes to fill, there are several
key veterans who will help an otherwise young team in the early
part of the season. Starting in the defense, senior center back
Derek MacLean is a two-time second team all-conference selection,
and he is flanked by senior honorable mention pick Scott Parsons.
In the middle of the field, the Lutes are loaded with four
experienced and talented players, led by senior outside midfielder
Jason Bjorgo, a first team All-NWC honoree in 2008. Sophomore
Surafel (Worku) Wodajo earned second team all-conference honors in
2008, and that duo is joined by a pair of veterans in senior Andy Hyres and junior Daniele Zaccagnini.
Up front, sophomores Chad Kearns and Spencer Augustin both had
some success putting the ball in the net while playing most in
reserve roles, and senior Lance Davis is also a candidate to start.
"We have a renewed attitude this season after a bit of a
disappointing season last year," Yorke said of his team's 9-8-2
overall record and 7-5-2 and fourth-place conference finish in
2008. "We are excited about some of our new players and feel that
some of our younger returners are ready to step into some big
roles.
- PLU -
