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Men on solid foundation
Release Date:
August 27, 2009
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
Monmouth
College men’s soccer coach George Perry is optimistic as he
enters his fourth year with the Fighting Scots, but he also cautions
the program is still building.
“A coach’s
philosophy is to always try to recruit better players than you
currently have,” said Perry. “Our seniors are a very good quality
bunch, but you always want to keep getting better players. That
makes for better competition in practice and the end result is a
better team. It’s a long process and takes more than four years to
really establish a program. We hope to get above the .500 mark this
year. That’s our goal.”
Between the posts,
senior Owen Robinson (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais)
has been solid throughout his career and is third all time with 246
saves. The Scots have a handful of new goalkeeper recruits in
preparation for Robinson’s final campaign.
“We’ve brought in
some quality keepers which should make for some good competition in
practice,” reported Perry. “I think that’s true of all our
positions. We should have some extremely good competition in
practice and that should help us put a better product on the field
come game day.”
If any newcomers
are going to edge out a veteran, they’ll have an uphill climb as the
top scorers from a year ago return.
Two seniors and a
junior – Pat Blazer (Franklin Park, Ill./St. Patrick),
Bryan Jackson (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) and Danny Davis
(Batavia, Ill./Batavia) – will be counted on for goals, defense and
leadership.
“Those three have
been the foundation of our program,” praised Perry. “Danny is the
lone junior in that mix and it will be nice to have him around for
one more season after this year. Bryan and Pat have been very
consistent for us. We’re expecting a little more goal production
from them this season.”
Speaking of goal
production, sophomores Josh Del Valle (Chicago, Ill./St.
Patrick), Daniel Medina (Chicago, Ill./Farragut) and Eddie
Martinez (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) combined to score nearly
half the Scots’ goals in 2008. Like the seniors, Perry is expecting
even more from his underclassmen this fall.
“I don’t know if
we’ll score A LOT of goals,” said Perry. “I think we will score MORE
goals. We should be able to create more opportunities. Our sophomore
class has goal scoring capabilities. They got some good competition
under their belts last year. We expect them to take an even stronger
role with the team this year.”
The Scots haven’t
forgotten about the defense. Perry has placed a premium on defense
this season after the Scots were outscored 4-1 in ’08.
“We’ve put a lot
of time into how we’re going to be organized defensively,” claimed
Perry.
Senior defender
Garrett White (Woodson, Ill./Jacksonville) and junior Joe
Howell (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) are being counted on to lead
the defense, giving Robinson fewer chances for saves.
“Those three guys
give us a good core,” said Perry. “Bryan (Jackson) could see time on
the defensive end or the midfield. We haven’t quite sorted out his
role just yet, but he’ll help us defensively wherever he plays.”
Perry believes he
has recruited enough quality players to add depth to the Scots’
lineup. Thirty players on the opening day roster gives the Scots
their largest pool of players since at least 2006. That could spell
success by the end of the season.
“We won’t be able
to travel all 30, but the players who do travel will be very good,”
claimed Perry. “Our depth will give us some options and make for
spirited practices.”
With a deep
roster, a solid core of returners and proven scorers, the outside
observer may think the Scots will be a high-tempo team. Not exactly.
“We want to
regulate the tempo,” reported Perry. “That doesn’t necessarily mean
fast. We were actually better last season when we maintained a
slower pace. We need to dictate the pace of the game and make good
decisions.”
The Scots’ decision
early on is to make defense Job 1.
“Everything starts
with defense,” said Perry. “If we work together as a unit, we’ll be
a successful team. The guys have had a very good attitude and work
ethic in the preseason. The newcomers are pushing the veterans and
they understand nothing is given to them. Every player will have to
earn their spot. I try to recruit to replace my current team. My
advice to the current players is that they need to work hard to keep
their spot. That’s how you build a successful program.”
If early season
projections are any indication, Perry appears to have built a solid
foundation and has added more building blocks in the Scots’ quest
for a Midwest Conference playoff berth and, ultimately, a league
title.
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