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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 547
Goal
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 547 |
From today's Chucktown paper: quote:
Young Cougars ready to step up
MEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER PREVIEW
In 30 years of coaching soccer, College of Charleston's Ralph Lundy has developed a philosophy of sorts.
Recruit local, schedule national.
The veteran coach, entering his 19th season with the Cougars, has made that strategy work to the tune of 200 career victories and four trips to the NCAA men's soccer championships, including last year's drive to the second round of the NCAAs.
Last year's Southern Conference champion team was led by a group of 12 seniors that included homegrown products such as Ben Hollingsworth and Troy Lesesne. This year's team, though much younger, is no different, with 10 state players on the roster.
"Last year's team had a lot of South Carolina kids, and this year we are doing the same thing," said Lundy, who this summer signed a six-year contract extension through the 2010 season. "It's important to me to give South Carolina kids a chance at Division I soccer."
The schedule also is as tough as ever, with matches against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Duke and North Carolina State.
"It's heavy, and people sometimes criticize me for that," said Lundy, who is 211-145-23 in 18 seasons at College of Charleston. "But I just believe that, as we have done the last two years, we can certainly compete against anybody. Last year, we beat a lot of good teams, and you have to maintain that quality so that your teams and players can be challenged at that level."
The 2005 Cougars are "probably the youngest team I've had in my career," Lundy said, with four returning starters: defender Keion Yearwood, midfielder Darren Toby, forward Jeremy Gold and midfielder Scott Milroth from Wando High School. Toby scored six goals last season, Milroth had five and Gold had four.
Elsewhere, Lundy said there is plenty of competition for starting jobs.
"Tons," he said. "We redshirted our whole freshman class last year because we had 12 seniors, and those redshirt freshmen are doing well."
Midfielder Wes Knight from Easley, defender Drew Fuzy from Central and forward Matt Morris from Anderson also should make an impact, Lundy said. Freshmen Casey Gold and John Bello, both out of the IMG sports academies in Florida, also should contribute.
Transfers Matt Curran (Maryland-Baltimore County) at forward and Miles Alden-Dunn (Boston University) in the midfield and Hunter Gilstrap (Clemson) at keeper also will play. Gilstrap is battling junior Corbin Waller for the starting keeper job, Lundy said.
-- Jeff Hartsell
SOUTH CAROLINA
After playing as an independent for 25 of the program's 27 years, South Carolina's men's team finally has a league of its own.
The Gamecocks, who last played in the Metro Conference in 1994 and 1995, begin play in Conferrence USA this season.
"We are lining up to compete with some of the best teams in the country in one of the strongest conferences in the country," said South Carolina coach Mark Berson. "We have played a number of the teams throughout our history, but other than FIU and UAB, we haven't played any of these teams recently so there is going to be a steep learning curve as we navigate our way around the conference. The good news is that all of the teams are in the same boat in that regard. It's clear that every contest this season in Conference USA is going to be tough, and we are looking forward to getting the season under way."
The Gamecocks return nine starters and 14 letter winners from last year's team that compiled a 12-7-1 record and made the school's 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Seniors Josh Alcala, Greg Reece, Eric Szeszycki and Ryan Deter are among the top returning players.
Szeszycki, a midfielder, finished as the Gamecocks' second-leading scorer in 2004 with 14 points.
Alcala, who has made the move from defender into a midfield/forward position this season, was fifth with 11 points on three goals and five assists a year ago.
Reece returns to anchor the defense. He helped the Gamecocks collect five shutouts last season and scored seven points on three goals and an assist.
The Gamecocks will have to start the season without Deter, who tied for second with 14 points last year.
Deter suffered an injury to his foot this summer and will be out for eight weeks.
-- Charles Bennett
CLEMSON
Clemson made history in 2004, just not the good kind of history.
The Tigers finished with their first losing season since 1969 at 8-9-1. Their seventh-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference was their worst since the school began playing the sport in 1967.
With five starters lost, including All-ACC players Steven Rhyne and Stuart Holden, it could be difficult for coach Trevor Adair to make a big improvement in his 10th year.
The Tigers do have two All-ACC players returning in senior defender/midfielder Justin Moore and sophomore defender Nathan Sturgis. The pair started a combined 34 matches last season, and Moore had three goals, four assists and 10 points.
Freshman David Newton, a former Wando High star, enters the fold as one of seven newcomers. He was a NSCAA High School All-American and was named state player of the year in 2004.
The Tigers, who open their season a week from today at home against South Carolina, have taken a dip since advancing to the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and 2001, and reaching the Final 16 in 2000.
Clemson missed the NCAA Tournament last season, snapping a streak of four consecutive seasons in the tournament. Adair is 132-60-18 in nine years.
The Tigers compiled a 6-3 record at home in 2004 but struggled on the road, going 1-5-1. They also won just once over their final seven matches.
-- Larry Williams
MEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER SCHEDULES
CLEMSON
Sept. 2 South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.; 6 Longwood, 7 p.m.; 9 at William & Mary, 4:30 p.m.; 11 at Old Dominion, 2:30 p.m.; 16 at Maryland, 7 p.m.; 20 Gardner-Webb, 7 p.m.; 23 at North Carolina 7 p.m.; 30 N.C. State, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 Jacksonville, 7 p.m.; 7 Virginia, 7 p.m.; 12 at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.; 16 Winthrop, 2 p.m.; 21 Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.; 25 UNC-Asheville, 7 p.m.; 28 Boston College, 7 p.m.
Nov. 2 Furman, 7 p.m.; 5 at Duke, 7 p.m.; 9-13 ACC Tournament, Cary, N.C.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Aug. 26 at Mercer, 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 Western Michigan, 8 p.m.; 3 Vanderbilt, 8 p.m.; 6 at South Carolina, 7 p.m.; 9 at Duke, 7:30 p.m.; 11 vs. N.C. State, Noon; 16 vs. Pennsylvania, 5:30 p.m.; 18 vs. Illinois-Chicago, Noon; 23 vs. Brown, 5 p.m.; 25 at Coastal Carolina, 5 p.m.
Oct. 1 Appalachian State, 6 p.m.; 4 Furman, 6 p.m.; 7 at Wofford, 4 p.m.; 9 Alabama A&M, 2 p.m.; 12 at Georgia Southern, 4 p.m.; 16 at Davidson, 2 p.m.; 23 at UNC-Greensboro, 7 p.m.; 26 Campbell, 7 p.m.; 29 Elon, 6 p.m.
Nov. 5-13 Southern Conference Tournament, Charleston.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Sept. 2 at Clemson, 7:30 p.m.; 6 College of Charleston, 7 p.m.; 9 vs. Wake Forest, 5 p.m.; 11 at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m.; 16 Penn, 7:30 p.m.; 18 Loyola-Chicago, 3:30 p.m.; 21 UNC-Wilmington, 7 p.m.; 24 at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 at East Carolina, 1 p.m.; 7 at Memphis, 7 p.m.; 9 at Alabama-Birmingham, 1 p.m.; 14 Kentucky, 7 p.m.; 16 Marshall, 2 p.m.; 21 at Florida International, 8:15 p.m.; 23 at Central Florida, 7 p.m.; 28 Tulsa, 7 p.m.; 30 SMU, 1 p.m.
Nov. 6-13 Conference USA Tournament.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 8,417
World Cup
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World Cup
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 8,417 |
Great article and I agree whole-heartedly with Ralph Lundy's strategy!
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