Soccer Redmen high on optimism for 115th season
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MONTREAL -- The ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ men's soccer program opened training camp for their 115th season on Aug. 15, in preparation for the 2009 outdoor campaign.
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The Redmen are coming off a stellar second-place standing in the seven-team Quebec University Soccer League. The Montreal Carabins (8-1-3) finished atop the standings, only one point ahead of upstart ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ (7-1-4), which tied for the league lead in goals scored (25) and posted the second-best defensive record with only 10 goals against in 12 games.
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Laval (6-3-3) ended up third, followed by Sherbrooke (5-4-3), perched in the final playoff spot. Failing to qualify for post-season was fifth-place UQAM (4-7-1), followed by UQTR (2-9-1) and last-place Concordia (1-8-3). In the playoffs, Laval upset ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 3-1 but fell 1-0 to the top-ranked Carabins in the league championship game. Montreal and Laval both advanced to the Nationals, where the Carabins finished third overall after a 2-1 overtime victory against Laval.
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±«ÓãÖ±²¥ features a veteran lineup with two seniors, eight juniors, 10 sophomores, four freshmen and lots of expectations to bounce back from a disappointing 2008 playoff performance.
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"The core of the team is the same as last year. We hope to improve on our record and qualify for Nationals in Langley, B.C. The competition in our league will be fierce but speed and experience will be key factors to our success," says interim head coach David Simon who has replaced Philippe Eullaffroy, a three-time coach-of-the-year honoree. ÌýEullaffroy, who will remain involved with the team in an advisory capacity, has taken a leave to serve as bench boss with the Trois-Rivières Attak, a professional farm team of the Montreal Impact.
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Simon, a former Redmen player who has been on the coaching staff for the past two years, will be assisted by returning coaches Philippe Lazure and Owen Braun.
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The Redmen have lost only five players to graduation albeit key ones. Gone is captain Jamie Scholefield, a three-time all-star midfielder who shared the team lead in scoring with four goals in a dozen contests last year. Other losses include ±«ÓãÖ±²¥s Nicolas Martin-Pompl (three goals, two assists) and Shawn Amarasekera (2-0-2), plus six-foot defender Omar John. Also departed is 6-foot-2 goalkeeper Olivier Boulva, who posted a 7-1-3 record with six shutouts and a 0.75 goals-against average.
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The offensive power will rest on the shoulders of Yohann Capolungo, an explosive sophomore from France who tallied twice last year, Gareth Pugh, a fifth-year senior out of Ottawa who also potted a pair of markers and alternate captain Eugene Graske, a cagey senior from Germany.
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At midfield, newly-elected captain Thomas Lucas, an all-conference junior from Kirkland, Que., will lead the Redmen. Lucas, who was the league's rookie of the year in 2007, scored one marker last season and will be counted upon as a solid asset.
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The top two point-getters from last year have returned - junior Michael Stein (4 goals, two assists) of Toronto and Sami Obaid (3-3-6), a third-year medical student from Laval, Que. More depth can be found in junior George Banks (1-0-1) of Baltimore, Md., and sophomore Peter Valente of Toronto.
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Other midfielders expected to step their game up are sophomore imports Cory Marcon of Columbia, Md., and Jeremy Hurdle, a six-foot native of Ambler, Penn., who scored twice last year. Both showed flashes of brilliance as freshmen and are now poised for a breakthrough campaign.
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A couple of rookies expected to step in and contribute are Alex Trotsky of Gloucester, Ont., and Nicolas Gonzalez of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., who toiled for John Abbott College. Two new faces to look for are Ottawa natives Jordan Masys, a sophomore who did not play last year and Ryan Lauzon, a senior who has transferred over from the football Redmen.
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On defence is a pair of conference all-stars - Graeme Tingey of North Vancouver, B.C., and Axel Dovi of Hawkesbury, Ont., both 6-foot-2 juniors, who will anchor the back line.
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Other returnees include sophomores Karl Hantho of Greenwich, Conn., Alexander Damianou of Littleneck, N.Y., Stephen Keefe of Toronto and Louis Fouquet of Sherbrooke, Que.
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In goal, sophomore Jean-Lou Gosselin, a 5-foot-10 ‘keeper from Deux-Montagnes, Que., has transferred from UQAM after sitting out last year and is expected to start.
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Fighting for a back-up role are freshmen Hikaru Bolt, a native of Japan and 5-foot-11 ÌýMatt Gilmour, who helped Handsworth secondary school in North Vancouver capture a two provincial titles in three years.
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The Redmen open pre-season play with games against the U-18 Lac St. Louis Lakers (Aug. 22 at Molson Stadium), the University of Southern New Hampshire (Aug. 24 in Manchester, N.H.), the Old Four tournament (Aug. 29-30 in London, Ont), the Trois-Rivières Attak (Sept. 2 at home) and Williams College (Sept. 5 in Williamstown, Mass). The regular-season opener is slated for Sept. 10, when the Montreal Carabins visit Molson Stadium on Sept. 10.
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