Saints Mens Soccer Picked #1 In UMAC Poll

Aug 23, 2012

Northland Sports Online

The College of St. Scholastica, winner of four of the last five Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Regular Season Championships, was predicted to win the conference title again in 2012, according to a poll of the league coaches. The Saints have won back-to-back UMAC trophies in 2010 and 2011, and will look to make this season a three-peat.

1. College of St. Scholastica Saints

2011 Overall Record: 16-3-2

2011 UMAC Record: 11-0-1

2011 UMAC Finish: 1st

Starters Returning: 7

Starters Lost: 5

St. Scholastica had one of its best seasons under head coach Barry Chastey in 2011, but was unable to advance to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament after falling to Minnesota Morris in a shootout in the UMAC Tournament championship game. Chastey lost five seniors from last year’s team, including four-year starting goalkeeper Sam Reed (Eastbourne, England/Causeway School), who left with program records for most wins and shutouts in a career and the team’s top three goals against average in a season. Kyle Farrar (Sevenoaks, England/Kelsey Park Sports College), who led the team with 43 points last season, will also not be back for the Saints. Expect junior Adam Hewitt (Richmond Hill, Ontario/St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic HS) to take over in front of the net for Reed. In front of Hewitt, the Saints return 2011 second team All-UMAC and 2010 honorable mention junior defender Caleb Yurek (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS). Also back on the back end is sophomore Ben Cullen (Clough, Northern Ireland/Shimna Integrated College), who started 19 games as freshman.

2. University of Minnesota Morris Cougars

2011 Overall Record: 11-5-4

2011 UMAC Record: 10-2-0

2011 UMAC Finish: 2nd

Starters Returning: 6

Starters Lost: 5

Following its two-goal comeback to tie St. Scholastica in the final 16 minutes of last year’s UMAC Tournament finale, Minnesota Morris advanced to its first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament, falling in the first round to Loras College. The Cougars return six starters from last year’s squad including UMAC All-Conference players Ebrima Badgie and Scott DeVries. However, Morris will have to replace a pair of all-region performers from 2011. Last year, the Cougars scored 30 goals had 19 assists, but three of the top five goal scorers are gone this season. Badgie is the man up top for Minnesota Morris this year after scoring a team-best six goals and 15 points. DeVries will be joined by two more returners on the back line. Together, the 2011 Cougars squad posted 11 clean sheets on defense. However, Morris will have to replace starting goalkeeper Tyler Weber.

3. Northwestern College (Minn.) Eagles

2011 Overall Record: 9-9-2

2011 UMAC Record: 8-3-1

2011 UMAC Finish: 3rd

Starters Returning: 7

Starters Lost: 4

Experience will be key for Northwestern in 2012. The Eagles return nine starters, including three UMAC All-Conference selections from last year’s team that posted eight wins in conference play. Top returning players for the Eagles include Sam Mann and Larry Sinneh, both first team all-conference honorees. Mann led last year’s offensive efforts for the second season in a row, scoring seven goals to go with three assists in the 2011 campaign. The Eagles hope to build upon their backfield experience in 2012 after finishing third among UMAC teams in goals allowed last year. Sinneh, a defensive stopper, has been both a two-year starter and two-time all conference selection for Northwestern. NWC will look to Sinneh to lead the defensive charge this year after losing senior all-conference player Ben Fast to graduation. Eric Bocan started all 20 games in front of the net last year in his sophomore season.

4. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings

2011 Overall Record: 5-12-1

2011 UMAC Record: 3-8-1

2011 UMAC Finish: 5th

Starters Returning: 6

Starters Lost: 4

Bethany Lutheran will have a rather young team in 2012 with only one senior on its roster. Fortunately for head coach Rob Pipal, an experienced junior class returns for the Vikings after injuries and a lack of depth hurt BLC a year ago. The Vikings lost three defenders and both of their starting forwards from 2011. Newcomers Micheal Loguercio and Joseph Perez will compete to replace the graduated Joe Nuah at forward, while the defense will be filled by a number of juniors and sophomores who saw significant playing time last year. Midfielder CK Pock returns for his senior season. Pipal is expecting a much more competitive squad this season with 21 underclassmen that will fill in Bethany’s depth chart.

5. Crown College Storm

2011 Overall Record: 9-10-0

2011 UMAC Record: 6-6-0

2011 UMAC Finish: 4th

Starters Returning: 6

Starters Lost: 5

After a run to the UMAC playoffs last season, Crown will be looking for players to fill some pretty big shoes in an effort to remain in the top half of the conference. 2011 UMAC Offensive Player of the year Jon Schultz, along with central defenders and All-UMAC performers Brady Griffith and Austin Peterson, graduate from a team that posted nine wins during the regular season and finished fourth in the UMAC standings. First-year head coach Nathan Budish inherits a team of players who will all be asked to take on larger roles to replace the aforementioned leaders of 2011’s team. Jason Budish is the team’s top returning scorer, netting eight goals to go along with two assists last season. He is joined by fellow goal scorers Truman Shetler, Zach Paulson, Tyson Simon, and Kevin Hepner. Despite returning five players who found the net last season, Crown will still need to replace over half of it’s scoring from a year ago.

6. Martin Luther College Knights

2011 Overall Record: 4-11-0

2011 UMAC Record: 2-10-0

2011 UMAC Finish: 6th

Starters Returning: 5

Starters Lost: 6

Martin Luther must replace six starters from last season as it hopes to improve from a 4-14 campaign in 2011. The Knights will rely on several experienced players returning in the midfield, led by senior Kaleb Buch. Buch has led the team in scoring each of the last two seasons with seven goals each year. Joining him will be sophomore Stephen Roekle, who started 16 games as a freshman and hopes to add more scoring punch this season. Junior Ryan Lemke returns at forward after scoring five goals last season. MLC must replace several starters on defense and in goal, and will lean on the experience of seniors Ben Schone and Colton Berger. Schone started 17 games on defense last season, while Berger started all 18 at his defensive midfield position. Ethan Boese, David Roekle and Christopher Krug all bring experience and could help replace the starters lost from a season ago on defense or in the midfield.

7. North Central University (Minn.) Rams

2011 Overall Record: 5-14-2

2011 UMAC Record: DNP*

2011 UMAC Finish: DNP*

Starters Returning: 6

Starters Lost: 5

Jake Smith enters his fourth year as the head coach for North Central as the Rams step into UMAC associate membership in the UMAC. NCU is coming off of one of its best seasons in recent history and hope to continue that momentum in their new conference affiliation. Offensively, the returning players on the 2012 Rams squad accounted for 10 of the 26 goals that North Central scored last season. While the Rams will miss the 10 goals that Caleb Thomas notched last season, Christian Stepaniak will return to lead the Rams attack after scoring three goals and adding a team-high six assists. Stephen Johnson is the leading returning goal scorer after tallying seven goals and two assists last season. Defensively, NCU must replace its starting keeper but the Rams have several candidates to take over in between the pipes including Nathan Kraines, who started one game last season. The rest of the defense should be stout with several members of the backfield returning including field commander Andy Manley.

8. Northland College LumberJacks

2011 Overall Record: 1-15-1

2011 UMAC Record: 0-12-0

2011 UMAC Finish: 7th

Starters Returning: 3

Starters Lost: 8

Northland is looking to build on the momentum generated by a strong finish to the 2011 season. The LumberJacks tied Bethany Lutheran and lost to Northwestern on a late goal, with both results occurring on the road. Northland returns the defensive tandem of seniors Nik Myhra and Anthony Weidner and add midfielder Lucas Gill to the list of strong players from last year destined to make an impact with the team this season. Although the Jacks lose four-year starting goalkeeper and two-time All-UMAC selection Matt Larsen, head coach Olaf Kirsten has brought in three strong GKs to fill the void. Leading that list is Payton Spracklin from Tacoma, Wash. Newcomers Tyler Frieders, Will Gibbens and Luke Johnson are expected to compete for time on the field right away. With a solid core on defense and a quality group of fresh players, Northland hopes to return to its winning ways and continue what the team started at the end of last year.

UMAC teams will kick off their season starting Aug. 31 with the conference season beginning on Sept. 11. An automatic berth to the NCAA Championships will be on the line again for the winner of the UMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament. Semifinals will be on Oct. 30 with the championship game taking place Nov. 3.

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