2007 Men's Soccer Outlook

08/17/07 4:30PM

- With the tradition of winning and postseason invitations well in tow, the William and Mary men’s soccer program will look to build on the positives the program experienced in 2006, while adding an impressive influx of young talent. The College posted an 8-8-3 mark, which included five losses to top-25 opponents, in 2006, but turned in many gains along the way to foreshadow an even brighter future for the program. The Tribe will blend a group of six starters, including four players with two years of starting experience, with a gifted group of eight newcomers.

Fourth-year head coach Chris Norris saw the Tribe capture the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic for the first time since the 1998 season, including a 5-1 crushing of eventual NCAA Tournament qualifier and then-No. 29 UNC Greensboro. W&M also earned draws with a pair of top-25 foes during the regular season and on two occasions overcame two-goal deficits to garner either a tie or victory.

The Tribe will be led by a quintet of seniors, including Doug Ernst, Ryan Overdevest, Ryan Sells, Brennan Wergley and Michael Yakovac. The group will be expected to mold an otherwise young roster that includes 16 underclassmen (freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores). Combined the five senior leaders have 186 games of experience at the collegiate level and 96 starts.

“We have a young team this season, but there are a number of younger players who have quite a bit of experience,” Norris said. “We also have a very good core of senior leaders and expect to be very competitive.”

Midfield
It is easy to see the Tribe’s most experience and depth lies in the midfield. The College returns all four starters in the middle of the pitch, including senior Doug Ernst, juniors Doug McBride and Brock Jones and sophomore Price Thomas.

Ernst highlights the stellar group in the midfield. He enjoyed a breakout season during his junior campaign, leading the Colonial Athletic Association in assists while ranking third on the Tribe in points and just outside the top 10 in the league in the category. The 5-8, 140-pounder finished the year with 15 points on three goals and nine assists. The strikes were the first of his W&M career and included the club’s game-winner against VMI.

Jones and McBride have both been fixtures in the Tribe’s starting lineup over the last two seasons. Both players have started 34 of the College’s 37 games over that stretch. Jones has demonstrated his versatility with his ability to play in the back as well and may be called upon to move up into the attack given the Tribe’s strength in the midfield. Over his first two seasons, Jones has 17 points on seven goals, including a pair of game-winning markers, and three assists.

McBride has been the Tribe’s starter at the holding midfield position during each of the last two seasons. The 5-8, 150-pound dynamo is a tireless worker and is the engine in the middle that anchors the Tribe’s defense and is integral in starting the transition from defense to attack. Norris feels his motor in the midfield is the most underrated player in the CAA.

Much was placed on the shoulders of Thomas. The Charlottesville, Va., native started 17 matches, while playing in every contest for the Tribe. He demonstrated wizardry with the ball at his feet and has the ability to break down the defense with or without the ball.

“Last year, I predicted that Doug Ernst would have a breakout year, and this season, I feel the same way about Price Thomas,” Norris said. “He had a very solid freshman year, but I think this year he will be in a position not only to contribute with goals and assists, but with leadership as well.”

W&M also returns a pair of players who saw significant action during the 2006 season. Seniors Ryan Overdevest and Ryan Sells are capable of filling in as midfielders as is junior Nathan Belcher, sophomores Rob Godwin, Jeremy Harris and Preston Whitlock along with redshirt freshman Steve Renner.

Overdevest has also been a spot starter and a heavy contributor over the last two seasons. In his W&M career, the Bridgeton, N.J., native has started eight matches, while appearing in 40 contests. Overdevest is an extremely intelligent player as evident by his earning Second-Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors as a junior. He also put his technical skill and tireless work rate on display playing both the wide and in the holding midfield positions.

“Having Doug McBride and Ryan Overdevest anchor the midfield provides great stability for the team,” Norris said. “Both players have a lot of match experience.”

Sells has the ability to start in the midfield and did so in the Tribe’s final two games of the 2006 season. Harris was a regular on the pitch as a reserve, appearing in 16 games. After redshirting his true freshman season, Harris continued to hone his skills over the summer, playing on the Virginia Legacy PDL team. He appeared in 15 games for the 9-5-2 Legacy and scored a goal.

“Jeremy made great strides both during the spring season and with the PDL team over the summer,” Norris said. “We expect him to be one of the more dangerous wide players in the league.”

The Tribe adds a quartet of rookies to its already stacked midfield, and by the looks of things there is no drop in talent. True freshmen Peter Christmas garnered first-team all-state and all-region honors as a senior at East Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina. He was the Pac-6 Conference Player of the Year as a senior, finishing with 10 goals and eight assists. Stephen Laws turned in First-Team All-Colonial District performances during his final two years of high school at the Maggie Walker Governer’s School in Richmond, Va. Ian Stowe is perhaps the most decorated of the quartet. The Midlothian, Va., native received Virginia Group AAA All-State honors during his final two seasons at Clover Hill High School. He also took home the Dominion District, Virginia Central Region and Richmond Times Dispatch Metro Player of the Year honors in 2007. The Tribe adds a bit of an International flavor with Ghanaian midfielder Nathaniel Baako as well.

Forward
The biggest hole to fill for the Tribe in 2007 comes at the forward position. W&M has little game experience on the Division I level at the position, but a talented group that could be the Tribe’s best surprise.

Sophomore transfer Ryan Snyder is the most experienced collegiate player among the corps of forwards. Snyder enjoyed a stellar freshman campaign at Mary Washington University, rankings second on the team in scoring with 27 points on 11 goals, including six game winners and five assists. He started 15 games at the striker position on his way to earning Second-Team All-Capital Athletic Conference honors.

“Ryan is someone we recruited out of high school,” Norris said. “We thought that he could be successful at this level. We are excited about him making the transition from Mary Washington to here, and hope that he can continue the kind of success he had there.”

Two Tribe returners saw time at the forward position during their rookie seasons in 2006. Junior Nathan Belcher and sophomore Rob Godwin both earned playing time up top as reserves. Belcher scored his first collegiate goal in the Tribe’s 5-0 win over VMI, while Godwin played in seven games as a true freshman. Belcher enjoyed a stellar prep career at Bluefield High School in Bluefield, Va., on his way to earning the VHSL AA Male Athlete of the Year award as a three-sport star in 2004. He was also a two-time all-state selection in soccer. Godwin was an all-state honoree in Maryland as a prep. He was a prolific scorer at Pocomoke High School, graduating as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 220 points on 79 goals and 62 assists.

Redshirt freshman Alan Koger could also have an impact at the striker slot. He enjoyed an impressive high school career with a long list of honors. He was twice named district player of the year and earned region player of the year as well.

“Despite redshirting last fall, Alan is definitely ready to make an impact this season,” Norris said. “He is a physical presence and led the team in scoring during the spring season.”

Back
While the Tribe only returns one starter from a season ago on the backline, the influx of talent could allow little drop off at the position. Sophomore Roger Bothe is the lone returning starter in the College’s four-back system, but W&M has options with a pair of seniors in Ryan Sells and Mike Yakovac, who have both started at the position during their Tribe careers. The Green and Gold will also enjoy the addition of a talented trio of rookie backs.

Bothe was as heralded a recruit as there is coming into his freshman season, and he wasted little time finding his way into the W&M starting XI. The former Virginia High School State Player of the Year led W&M rookies in starts, appearances and minutes played. He started 18 games as a rookie and appeared in every W&M contest. Bothe showed the ability to lock down a side of the field defensively, while also being able to make runs up the flanks to enter into the offensive attack. Norris expects his second-year back to establish himself as one of the top defenders in the CAA.

Sells and Yakovac will be the leaders at the position and looked upon to instill their knowledge into the Tribe’s rookie trio at back. Sells has appeared in 50 matches over his W&M career, including 29 starts. While he saw most of his action as a reserve in 2006, Sells found his way into the starting lineup, especially late in the season. In his first start, he helped the Tribe shutout then-No. 22 George Mason, before scoring the game-winner in a 2-0 win over UNC Wilmington in his second start.

Yakovac has the ability to make his presence felt on the Tribe backline as well. During his W&M career, Yakovac has appeared in 28 contests and started 14. During all three seasons of his career he has found his way into the starting XI at some point during the season. The 6-1, 155-pounder enjoyed his best season as a rookie, earning CAA All-Rookie team honors. He assisted on the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute as the Tribe upset then-No. 1 Maryland, 1-0, in double overtime.

“Sells and Yakovac battled injuries last year, but both were starters during the 2004 season when we yielded a goals against average of 0.99, which was one of the best marks in school history,” Norris said.

The trio of true freshmen at the back position is a collection with an impressive list of credentials. Derek Buckley, Michael DiNuzzo and Nick Orozco could be one of the best corps in Tribe history.

Buckley was one of the top players in the state of Delaware during his high school career. The 6-0, 175-pounder was an impressive five-year starter, including starting on the varsity as an eighth-grader, at Tatnall High School, earning first-team all-state accolades during his final three years. He also enjoyed success on the national level, playing and captaining the Delaware State ODP team.

DiNuzzo put his mark on the state of Virginia during his senior campaign. He anchored one of the state’s stingiest defenses (allowing only 12 goals in 24 games with 12 shutouts) at Osbourn Park. DiNuzzo captained his high school squad to the Virginia AAA State title game and a ranking as high as No. 2 nationally during the season. For his efforts, DiNuzzo was named the Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year.

Orozco has been recognized as one of the top incoming freshman players nationally. In 2006, he attended the adidas Elite Soccer Program camp and was named one of the top 120 players in the U.S. by Soccer America. The Moseley, Va., native was a member of both the Virginia State and Region I ODP teams, playing on the international level for both teams.

Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper position has been one of the most fabled at the College with W&M producing five professional goalkeepers over the last 15 years, including a trio who went on to play in Major League Soccer (MLS). The Tribe has a solid stable of goalkeepers, including the return of senior Brennan Wergley, who has gained starting experience each of the last two seasons. The College will also have capable back ups in redshirt freshman Andrew McAdams and true freshman Colin Smolinsky.

“We expect a very competitive battle between Wergley and McAdams for the starting goalkeeper position,” Norris said. “Both players are very capable of leading us to a good season.”

Over the last two seasons, Wergley has started 17 matches, including 11 in 2006. Over his career, the Oak Hill, Va., native has 83 saves and five shutouts with a goals against average of 1.05. He has also demonstrated the ability to step up in big situations. Wergley became the first rookie goalkeeper to post three straight shutouts in 2005, before posting a pair of impressive performances against nationally ranked foes in 2006. In his first start of the season, Wergley made seven saves, including turning away a penalty kick, in a 1-0 loss at then-No. 16 Wake Forest. Later in the campaign, he blanked then-No. 22 George Mason in Williamsburg.

McAdams spent last season learning under the tutelage of experienced keepers in Wergley and senior captain Kris Rake as well as assistant coach Chuck Connelly, who was an All-CAA goalkeeper at Old Dominion prior to joining the W&M staff. McAdams came to W&M with impressive stats and credentials at Berkeley Prep in Florida. He led his team to a state championship and a top-five national ranking, while earning all-state honors. The 6-1, 175-pounder was also a member of the Florida ODP team.

Smolinsky provides depth at the goalkeeper position for the Tribe as a true freshman. The Fredericksburg, Va., native was an all-district and all-region choice at Stafford High School. He finished his senior campaign with 166 saves, six shutouts and a save percentage of 85 percent.

Schedule
The Tribe’s 2007 schedule will be a challenging one that includes 10 teams that have advanced to the NCAA Tournament within the last two seasons, including six from a season ago. The ledger will also include nine contests in the friendly confines of Albert-Daly Field.

W&M opens the season against Southern Conference foe Elon on Sept. 1 at Albert-Daly Field. It will mark the first ever meeting between the Tribe and Phoenix. From there, the Tribe will take part in a pair of regular season classics.

The College travels to University Park, Pa., for the Penn State Classic, battling a pair of NCAA regulars in Big Ten foes Penn State and Ohio State. W&M will play the Nittany Lions, who have won two of the last three Big Ten Championships, on Sept. 7, before facing the Buckeyes (Sept. 9), who have advanced to the NCAA Tournament two of the last three seasons. The meeting with Penn State will be the first since the Tribe lost a 1-0 overtime affair to the Nittany Lions in the 2002 NCAA Tournament Round of 16.

The Tribe will then take part in the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic in Norfolk for the seventh straight season, Sept. 14 and 16, battling Temple and 2005 Ivy League Champion Dartmouth. Last season, the Tribe claimed the Classic title for the first time since the 1998 season.

The W&M non-conference slate includes two games against ACC foes as well as games against American (Sept. 25) and 2005 America East Champion Stony Brook (Sept. 29). The Tribe will travel to North Carolina on Sept. 19, before facing Virginia Tech on Sept. 22 in Williamsburg.

The College will open the 11-match CAA portion of the schedule in October. The early part of the league slate will find the Tribe at home for four straight contests. W&M will host defending CAA Champion Hofstra (Oct. 5), Northeastern (Oct. 7), James Madison (Oct. 12) and VCU (Oct. 14) during the stretch. The College will also have home affairs with UNC Wilmington (Oct. 28) and Old Dominion (Nov. 8). Last season, the Tribe-Monarch affair was televised live on Fox Soccer Channel as part of the NSCAA College Soccer Game of the Week package.

The Tribe will play five of its last seven CAA games on the road. W&M will travel to Towson (Oct. 19), George Mason (Oct. 21) and Georgia State (Oct. 26) for three straight road matches before closing the league away slate at Drexel (Nov. 2) and Delaware (Nov. 4). The CAA garnered a league-record four invitations to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The 2007 CAA Tournament will be Nov. 13-18 with the quarterfinal matches at campus sites on Nov. 13. The semifinals are set for Nov. 16 with the championship game on Nov. 18. The semifinals and championship will be played in Virginia Beach.