MVNU Men's Soccer Team Excited to Kick off 2012 Campaign

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MVNU Men's Soccer Team Excited to Kick off 2012 Campaign
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (8-24-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's soccer team is working hard in preparation to open the 2012 season with preseason training camp in full swing on the MVNU campus.

Coming off a 7-11-1 overall record that included a 3-6 Mid-Central College Conference mark in 2011, the Cougars will look to build off a strong finish when MVNU nearly knocked off MCC regular-season champion NAIA No. 19 Taylor (Ind.) University before falling 1-0 in double overtime in the MCC Tournament.

Head coach Andrew Belleman enters his second season with the Cougars with a roster filled with experienced returning players and talented newcomers and is excited about what he has seen already out of his team.

"We have tremendous depth at each position," said Belleman. "It will be stiff competition just to get on the field. We have more than one guy who can give us minutes at each position and sometimes three or four guys. Our technical ability, team chemistry, and competitiveness will really stand out as we go through the season. As a team, we are really looking forward to putting last year behind us and enjoying the game again. We are looking forward to playing a positive brand of soccer. Our goals as a team this year are to take one match at a time, give full effort and focus to each match, and let the rest fall into place. We need to control what we can control."

MVNU returns plenty of experience on the back line as juniors Caleb Palumbo (2 assists) and Clint Eutsey (1 goal) and sophomores Tyler Lilly (1 assist), Collin Riley (4 assists), and Ian Johnson have all logged plenty of valuable experience and will anchor the defense. Senior Damon Yoder (2 goals) and freshmen Scott Feighner, Brandon Gaunt, Seth Huffman, and Shad Green all add depth at the position and are expected to contribute.

In the midfield, senior Brian Petak (4 goals, 3 assists), freshman Preston Spurrier, Johnson, freshman George Boamah, juniors Marc Cannon (2 goals, 2 assists) and Josh Thomas (4 goals, 1 assist), freshman Jared Milhoan, and senior Jacob Doup (1 assist) give the Cougars plenty of experience and young talent which will keep the competition fierce for playing time.

Up front, MVNU will look to its forwards to improve on last season when the Cougars scored just 31 goals and were shut out seven times. Petak and Spurrier are both options to move up on the attack, while sophomores Kwaku Frimpong (2 goals, 3 assists) and Josh Selle (1 goal, 2 assists) will combine with sophomore transfer Petr Vaughan and Jhenfer Montiel to provide MVNU with the ability to finish up top.

Senior goalkeeper Trevor Stewart (2 shutouts, 2.08 goals against average) and junior goalie Ryan Swartzentruber (3 shutouts, 1.84 goals against average) returning after splitting the starting duties a year ago and will battle for the top spot, while freshman keeper Nick Nadler will also push them for playing time.

The season will get under way for the Cougars on August 25 with a non-conference match at the University of Northwestern Ohio. MVNU will also play non-conference matches against Shawnee State University, Davenport (Mich.) University, Georgetown (Ky.) College, the College of Wooster, Kenyon College, and Ohio Christian University as well as hosting the First-Knox Cougar Invitational on September 7-8 with Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) University, Judson (Ill.) University, and Davenport rounding out a very tough tournament field.

From there, the Cougars will turn their attention to the newly-renamed Crossroads League. MVNU will battle with Taylor (Ind.) University (ranked No. 20 in the NAIA preseason poll), Bethel (Ind.) College, Indiana Wesleyan University, Grace (Ind.) College, Spring Arbor (Mich.) University, the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), Huntington (Ind.) University, Marian (Ind.) University, and Goshen (Ind.) College for the regular-season title, a spot in the Crossroads League Tournament, and ultimately a berth in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

"Our schedule is much different than it has been in the past," said Belleman. "With the full move to the Crossroads League and the travel it presents us, we look forward to playing some more regional non-conference matches. Our First-Knox Cougar Invitational will be a challenge when we face always tough Judson and Olivet Nazarene. In conference, every match is tough. There are no matches that we can expect to walk in, not be at our best, and come away with a victory. The Crossroads League is competitive from top to bottom. We definitely look forward to expanding on some good matches from last year."

"We will be a fun team to watch this season," Belleman added. "We'll play with a ton of energy, enthusiasm, and a heart both for the game, for each other, and ultimately for Christ."

Cougars' 2012 schedule: http://www.mvnu.edu/sports/nazsoc/news/results.asp

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