2016 Men's Soccer Preview
DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College men’s soccer team looks to continue to improve in 2016, their second season under head coach Jordan Valentine.
DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College men's soccer team looks to continue to improve in 2016, their second season under head coach Jordan Valentine.
The Yellow Jackets finished with a 6-11-1 overall mark in 2015 and finished the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference season at 2-6-1, good enough for a tie for seventh place in the conference standings. The 2016 Defiance soccer team brings back plenty of experience with fifteen returning players, including five seniors: defenders Trevor Hester (Liberty Center/Monclova Christian) and Jacob Boles (Holton, Ind./South Ripley); and midfielders Victor Trifiro (Akron/Walsh Jesuit), Brian Kurtz (Sandusky/Perkins) and Mike Smith (Cortland/Maplewood).
"Last year was all about building a foundation and implementing a playing style," said Valentine. "We have created a solid base in which we can continue to build upon this upcoming season. The team has a real togetherness and will look to make big strides this fall. The atmosphere is buzzing with excitement with what we can potentially achieve and we cannot wait to get started."
DEFENSE
DC will bring back experience in the backfield, returning two of their three starters from the 2015 campaign. As a team, the Yellow Jackets gave up 2.13 goals per game a year ago, a number they hope to improve on in the new season.
The defense will look to be anchored by senior Trevor Hester, who started all 18 games a year ago and took two shots on goal. Hester was named as a third-team Academic All-Ohio honoree in 2015 by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association and the three-year starter looks to finish his senior season with a bang. Also returning on defense will be sophomore Nick Starosta (Wixom, Mich./Walled Lake Western). Starosta started 14 games in his rookie season and will look to step into a bigger role in his sophomore campaign. Senior Jacob Boles will also look to step up and earn playing time in his final season, while sophomore Sean VandeWiele (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) returns from an injury that sidelined him for the second half of last season to bolster a group of experienced defenders.
Junior transfer Andrew Brown (Englewood/Northmont) comes in from St. Catharine College in Kentucky and will look to battle for playing time under Coach Valentine, while freshmen Dante Mosley (Akron/Copley), Devon Lovejoy (Hurricane, W.Va./Hurricane), Kyle Dombrowski (Lakewood), Pedro Chavez (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) and Cody Sutter (Millbury/Lake) look to add depth to the defense in 2016.
MIDFIELDERS
The midfielders will feature plenty of youth with a hint of experience still returning for the 2016 season, led by Kurtz and junior Mark Williams (Plain City/Jonathon Alder). Williams started 16 of Defiance's 18 games in 2015, taking 15 shots with eight of them being on goal. Meanwhile Kurtz started in seven and appeared in ten more games, scoring one goal while taking six total shots.
Another player that looks to make a run at more playing time with the graduation of two key seniors will be junior Sean Daley (Lima/Lima Central Catholic), who played in eight varsity contests last season without recording a statistic. Senior Victor Trifiro returns as a two-year starter before a year hiatus as a junior. Trifiro scored a goal and added an assist in his sophomore season, leading the team with 12 shots on goal in 2014. Senior Mike Smith also looks to add depth, as he played in two games last fall.
Sophomore transfer Quinlan Armstrong (Kettering/Chaminade Julienne), as well as freshmen Mohamed Abdiraham (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop), Austin wheeler (Almont, Mich./Almont), and Jacob Diffenderfer-Gabbard (Troy) will all fight for starting positions and playing time as the 2016 season begins.
FORWARDS
With no forwards returning last season, the Yellow Jackets left the keys to the offense to be led by Nick Kleptz and he did not disappoint. Kleptz scored eight goals on just 14 shots on goal in 2015. His eight goals tied him for third in the HCAC, while his .381 shooting percentage was second-best in the conference. Those stats were good enough to garner him honorable mention All-HCAC honors, as well as a third-team All-Ohio selection by the OCSA.
Also returning on offense for DC will be junior Christian Meister (Ontario), who scored one goal on six shots a season ago. Meister started in five games and played in a total of 13. Adam Ordel (Lima/Elida) looks to be a threat after being goal-less on 12 shot attempts as a rookie.
The Yellow Jackets add three freshmen to the fold on offense, including Jacob Carriveau (Clio, Mich./Clio), Jarod Brossia (Curice/Genoa), and Ahmad Khalil (Hilliard/Bradley).
GOALKEEPERS
Sophomore Clay Musgrave took over the starting job in October of last season and looks to continue the success he had in the net this season. Musgrave started six games and logged 589 minutes in 2015. He finished the year with 39 saves and 11 goals against for a .790 save percentage. He averaged giving up just 1.68 goals per game and logged his first career shutout in DC's 1-0 win against Baldwin Wallace.
Defiance adds two new keepers into the mix for the 2016 season who will try to earn their shot for net time in Matt Johnson (Columbus/Hilliard Darby) and Jon Rumple (Hicksville/Sevier County).
SCHEDULE
The Yellow Jackets will open the 2016 season with the Third Annual Purple & Gold Classic at Winsper-Knobel Memorial Field. The tournament will begin on Friday, Sept. 2 and run through Sunday, Sept. 4 with DC facing Concordia (Mich.) University at 5 p.m. on Friday and Cleary (Mich.) University on Sunday. HCAC play will begin Saturday, Oct. 1 with a trip to face Franklin (Ind.) College with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff scheduled.
"This year we are looking to continue moving forward," added Valentine. "We have clear, attainable goals in place that we are seeking to achieve. This team is very talented, hungry and determined to break into one of the top four spots in the HCAC. Ultimately, we have our sights set on a winning record and post-season competition."