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Oakland Has Sights Set
On Third NCAA Trip
With four Mid-Continent Conference regular
season titles, one Mid-Con Tournament title and two consecutive trips to
the NCAA Tournament; all in the last five years, Oakland’s men’s soccer
team as quickly established itself as one of the top team’s in the
Mid-Con. In 2004 the Golden Grizzlies have their sights set on another
Mid-Con title and trip to the NCAAs. Lofty goals indeed, but head coach
Gary Parsons has a talented and deep squad that is very capable of
attaining those goals as the team prepares for the new season ahead.
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Chris Edwards' 15
career goals lead all returning players in 2004. |
Last season Oakland finished 12-5-5 overall
and captured the Mid-Con regular season title with a 5-1 conference mark.
Despite a loss in the Mid-Con Tournament championship game, Oakland, which
had wins over top-20 teams from Portland and Akron, was ranked as high as
15th in the nation and was awarded a berth in the NCAA Tournament where it
fell in a close opening round match at Tulsa in overtime. While Oakland
lost its top goal scorer and top defender from last year’s squad, there is
good news for Golden Grizzly fans. The team returns eight starters and 13
letterwinners, including over 60 percent of its scoring and all of its
goalkeeping, to build the 2004 edition of the OU men’s soccer team with.
Back to lead the OU offense is junior forward Chris Edwards. Last
season he tied for the team lead in goals with nine and with 15 career
goals to his credit, Oakland will be counting on him to continue to put
the ball into the back of the net as one of its primary offensive weapons.
Accounting for the rest of the returning OU offensive firepower will be
the Golden Grizzly midfield, a group that counts six returning players
with experience from last year, five of whom scored at least one goal.
Senior Shahar Ktovim has developed into a solid midfielder for OU
and started 19 of the 21 matches he played in last season when he shared
the team lead with six assists to go along with his three goals. Another
pair of seniors will be back as well, giving the Golden Grizzlies an
experienced core group to construct their midfield around. Doug Rice
started all 22 matches last season, coming back from a torn ACL injury in
2002 to earn first team All-Mid-Con honors. He contributed one goal and a
pair of assists, with his score counting as the game winner against Wright
State late in the season. Brett McNabb has been a starter in all
three of his previous seasons and will anchor another midfield slot. He
matched Ktovim for the lead among midfielders last season with three
goals, adding three assists as well.
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Senior Doug Rice was
a first team All-Mid-Con midfielder in 2003. |
Adding depth to the midfield for the Golden Grizzlies are three other
returning letterwinners, each of whom saw action in at least 10 games last
season. Senior Marcus Halland had a goal and an assist in 19
matches and brings 49 career games worth of experience to the OU lineup.
Another senior that brings a lot of playing experience with him is
Brandon Felker. After transferring into Oakland last season he became
a scoring threat off the bench for the Golden Grizzlies, netting a pair of
goals and three assists in 19 outings. Sophomore Jim Denk will be
looking for more playing time as well, getting 10 matches worth of
valuable experience a year ago.
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| Senior Ryan Rzepka is
dangerous as both a defensive and offensive player. |
Defense should also be a strong suit for
the Golden Grizzlies with five experienced players returning for another
year of action. A two-time All-Mid-Con player, senior Ryan Rzepka
is the leader along the back line and is one of the top defenders in the
conference. The 2003 Mid-Con Scholar Student-Athlete of the Year, he is
also an offensive threat for OU, scoring four goals and handing out five
assists last season. Another senior defender with plenty of experience is
Matt Connor. He has been a starter for the past two seasons and also
has the ability to add a goal here and there, with four career scores to
his credit. Brady Vance is coming off a strong freshman season that
saw him start 11 of the 21 matches that he played in. With the experience
that he gained last season he should be in the mix for even more playing
time in 2004. Adding even more depth to the defense is junior Danny Ng.
He saw his first significant playing time of his career last season,
getting 11 starts and notching his first career goal.
Goalkeeping should not be a concern for Oakland, as junior Jeff Wiese
returns for his third season between the pipes. He has been OU’s starter
for the past two seasons and has established himself as one of the top
keepers in the region. A four time Mid-Con Player of the Week last year,
he finished the season with a 0.79 goals against average, a mark that
placed him 29th in the nation. A first team All-Mid-Con pick in his first
two seasons, he also earned all-region honors last year and was a first
team Academic All-America pick. Backing Wiese up will be sophomore Josh
Slaughter who had a solid first season in goal, posing a 0.96 GAA and
recording one shutout in five matches of action.
Oakland will have a large group of incoming players this season that will
help fill in the holes and round out the team with depth at all of the
positions. Jonathon Barth is a defender from a strong club team in
Illinois that is expected to help fill the void left by the graduated
Jason Perry. Adam Kliebert is a midfielder that has played on the
local Vardar club team that and will add quickness to that position.
Logan Lyon, from Charlotte, Michigan, is another defender that will
bolster an already strong position with his quickness. A talented forward,
Nicholas Nelson played club ball in the Kalamazoo area and could
contribute some minutes right away this season. Another local player to
sign with Oakland is Adam Brent who will add to the team’s depth at
an outside back position. Other newcomers to the squad that will be
learning the ropes and adjusting to the collegiate game include
midfielders Bjoernar Hansen and Josh Mahoney; forwards
Nick Nelson and Dave Stoffel; defender Chris Kelly and
goalkeeper Steve Clark.
Oakland, like last season, will prepare itself for a possible NCAA
Tournament bid with a challenging schedule. The Golden Grizzlies will test
themselves early with an exhibition game against NCAA Tournament
participant Wisconsin-Milwaukee before opening the season with a game in
California against powerful UCLA. There are a total of six 2003 NCAA
Tournament teams on the OU schedule, including four of the first six
opponents.
With the tough early season schedule, Oakland will find out quickly what
it is made of in 2004. With the experience coming back, however, look for
the Golden Grizzlies to use the early schedule to hone themselves into yet
another Mid-Con title contender.
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