Aug. 26, 2011
SPRINGFIELD -- The Missouri State men's soccer team begins its quest for the Missouri Valley Conference championship and a NCAA tournament berth Saturday, Aug. 27, with a non-conference match against Belmont. Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. CT at Plaster Field.
The Bears welcome back seven starters from last year's squad that finished tied for second in the MVC standings. Belmont returns all 11 starters from last season after posting a 6-12 record and eighth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Missouri State leads the series 2-0, winning the last meeting 3-1 back in 2005.
Following an 8-7-3 overall record in 2010, men's soccer head coach Jon Leamy has a chance to reach the 200-win plateau this season. Leamy, who has sported a record of .500 or better in 15 seasons with the Bears, enters the 2011 season with a career mark of 195-137-36 (.579).
Despite graduating MVC Goalkeeper of the Year Alex Riggs, the Bears return four players who received All-MVC honors last season. Gerard Barbero grabbed first-team accolades, while Heath Melugin and Jordan Hoffman were named to the second team and honorable mention list, respectively. After earning valuable playing time during his rookie campaign, Dan Williams was named to the MVC All-Freshman team.
With a senior class that has combined for 218 total starts, Leamy believes there will be a nice blend of veterans and younger players contributing to this year's team.
"Our seniors have logged a lot of minutes for us over the past couple of years," Leamy said. "I think that's a great nucleus for us to start in terms of the direction this team is going to go. We also have sophomores and juniors that we're going to rely on to see meaningful minutes, in addition to the incoming class."
The Missouri State coaching staff was excited to see such good battles going on for both starting roles and key backup spots. Because of the healthy competition leading up to the regular season, the Bears' head coach is optimistic that his squad will be versatile with some welcomed depth.
GOALKEEPERS
One of the biggest holes the Bears have to fill is at goalkeeper. Last year's MVC Goalkeeper of the Year, Alex Riggs, went down in the MSU record books as second all-time in goals against average, minutes in goal and games started in goal. He also sits in the top five in all-time wins at keeper with 27. Riggs signed a contract in February to play for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew.
"We have three guys working really hard and out of that, we're going to have somebody emerge," Leamy noted. "We're going to be different, but I think we're going to be every bit as effective with our defending and goalkeeping."
Vying for the starting spot is redshirt junior Nikolas Markos with two years of eligibility remaining, redshirt sophomore Trevor Spangenberg, who is in his third year with the program, and redshirt freshman Andrew Riggs. Markos and Spangenberg have each played in one match during their time with the program. Markos logged 11 minutes of action against Bradley in 2009, while Spangenberg came in as the backup against IUPUI last season and helped preserve the 3-0 shutout.
DEFENDERS
Missouri State aims to continue its prominence as a stingy defense after allowing just 14 goals during the 2010 season. The 14 goals were the fewest allowed in a single season since 1998 when the Bears held their opponents to 13. Goalkeeper Alex Riggs and his backfield teamed up to shut out 10 of its 18 opponents.
The backline could see a completely different look from last year. Leamy indicated that he was going to infuse new players into the backfield whether they were returners or newcomers. Senior Thomas Vania and junior Ben Griffiths both started all 18 matches for the Bears' defense, but could expand their roles this year.
"Griffiths and Vania have logged the most minutes back there for us," Leamy said, "but they have the ability and versatility to possibly play some different spots for us."
Returning letterman Callen Roselieb is primed to help out at the center back position after making huge strides during his freshman year. The sophomore appeared in 17 of the 18 matches played last season and started in nine of those contests.
Other returners who have game-time experience in the backfield include sophomores Jarred Clark, who is coming off of a season-ending injury in 2010, and Sean Wilkins.
The incoming class that includes freshmen James Fawke and Andrew Turner, and transfers Danny Frid and Ryan Moses, also looks to put its stamp on the program. Leamy said the newcomers were really working hard to adapt and have been growing day after day.
MIDFIELDERS/FORWARDS
Barring any significant injuries, the Bears will have a deep lineup in which they will be able to mix and match at midfielder and forward.
The top two scorers from last year's team return in seniors Heath Melugin (seven goals) and Gerard Barbero (five goals). In addition, senior Jordan Hoffman tallied two goals and junior Eric Martin registered his first collegiate goal. Senior David Buckenheimer, who recorded three goals his freshman season and two during his sophomore year, saw a drop off in shot production, but still contributed in a big way during the 2010 season. Buckenheimer ended the season as the leader in assists with four. Sophomore Dan Williams will also be able to provide a boost up front after logging nine starts during his first season with the Bears.
"I see a lot of opportunities for us to score some goals from different players without one being dominant," Leamy added. "We're not going to be a team with a 15-20 goal scorer and I've never liked those teams anyway. I think you will see goals coming from different spots on the field and from a variety of players."
Among the other Bears that will play a significant role up front will be Jared Gain, Matt Bray and Cole Alexander, all of which saw playing time last year. Bray and Gain appeared in 15 and 13 games, respectively, while Alexander got onto the field in six matches.
There are newcomers aplenty that will be looking to make a splash at the midfield and forward positions in their first seasons on the MSU campus. Seven freshmen will be pushing to make an impact on the field with Emmerich Hoegg, Springfield native Parker Maher, Hayden Sander, Chris Roth, Brandon Besong, Pedro Cardenas Gutierrez and Ryan Navarre. Of the three goals scored against Northeastern State and Columbia College, two were put into the back of the net by Hoegg.
NEWCOMERS
The Bears added 11 new players for the 2011 seasons, all of which bring a different element to the pitch. Like most situations, the newcomers have been adjusting to the speed of the game, but have been picking things up nicely.
"We have an incoming class in which we hope some of those guys can step up more, practice-to-practice, week-to-week, and make some type of impact," Leamy said. "I think we have some good possibilities with the younger group and we just have to figure out the best combinations to maximize our depth at each position."
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Bears are gunning for their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and the coaching staff believes that there are some meaningful matches that will put the team in a position to succeed.
"We have a great schedule in tact that can really help us in terms of national notoriety and RPI standings," Leamy said. "We will see a lot of teams from different regions that will allow us to get a good gauge of what kind of soccer is being played."
Missouri State will begin the season with home contests against Belmont and Tulsa. The Tulsa game on Sept. 1 will be a rematch of last year in which the Bears fell to the Golden Hurricane, 2-1, in double overtime. Tulsa is one of three teams on MSU's schedule to begin the season ranked or receiving votes.
The Bears then set out on a five-game road trip with stops at Memphis, Albuquerque, Cincinnati and Saint Louis. While in Albuquerque, Missouri State will play in the TLC Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Lobo Invitational where they will take on Cal. State-Northridge and Columbia University.
Oral Roberts will visit Plaster Field on Sept. 27 before the Bears hit the road for a rematch with Northwestern. Last season, the Wildcats posted a 1-0 victory over MSU and Leamy said his squad is already fired up and excited to play Northwestern again.
After losing games to both teams last year, UMKC and No. 5 Southern Methodist will serve as good tests for the Bears in between conference matchups.
"The team wants to play the best," Leamy commented. "If we could play the No. 1 team in the country every weekend, we'd sign up. That's the only way you'll really see the best so that you can measure your team and make adjustments."
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
Missouri State kicks off its conference slate with two matches at home, beginning with Central Arkansas on Oct. 8 and Creighton on Oct. 12. For the second year in a row, the Bears will open their conference schedule up with Central Arkansas. In 2010, Missouri State squeaked out a 1-0 win in double overtime against the Bears. Creighton begins the 2011 season ranked No. 10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Preseason Top 25.
"Once you hit October, you really start to focus on the conference season," Leamy said. "Hopefully we can put some things together and play our best soccer towards the end of the season when it matters the most."
On Oct. 15, the Bears will visit Evansville before a two-game break with non-conference foes UMKC and SMU. MSU will then face Bradley on the road on Oct. 26 prior to returning home for the Living Our Legacy match on Oct. 30. This year's Living Our Legacy game will again feature the Bears and SIU Edwardsville. Last season, Missouri State played to a 0-0 draw in the first meeting and came up short in the MVC Tournament Semifinals, losing 2-1 to the Cougars.
The Bears head into November with just one match before the MVC Tournament. They will pay a visit to Des Moines, Iowa, to wrap up the regular season against Drake on Nov. 5.
Following the regular season, the Bears will travel to Omaha, Neb., for the MVC Tournament Nov. 9-13.
"The Conference is going to have quite a bit of parody." Leamy added. "You only get to play six league games so every result is going to factor into how we do in the conference race."
According to the MVC preseason poll voted on by coaches, the Bears are picked to finish third behind Creighton and Bradley. Drake, SIU Edwardsville, Evansville and Central Arkansas round out the poll. Seniors Heath Melugin and Gerard Barbero were named to the preseason All-MVC team.
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