Head Coach Neil Cagle's Men's Soccer Team is fired up and ready for the upcoming fall season. Captain James Cottage returns from an ACCA National Championship squad that consistently scored numerous goals on the competition throughout last year. This year looks to hold the same kind of promise for the Eagles as James will be joined by his brother, Jake Cottage, in the central midfield. "Their experience will help this young team adjust to the speed of the college game." said Cagle. "Jake is the natural attacker with lots of pace, and James is the surgical passer that makes everyone work hard off of the ball." Other central midfielders are Adam Kay, a player that Cagle described as "physical" and Channing Hamilton, whom the coach called "a heady player".
Speedsters Daniel Hernandez and Abdelaziz Tapsoba will provide the first options on the flanks. "These guys are only freshmen, but they are skillful and they can really run." quipped Cagle. Other outside midfielders in the mix are Josh Torres, whom Cagle declares “brings intensity to every play," and Gerardo Borjas, who scored the winning penalty kick in last year's ACCA National Title match.
In the past few days, center fullback has been a position of much concern throughout the Eagle's first few practices, but things have seemed to sort themselves out. Leading the way in the middle is Evan Justus, who Cagle says can "get the job done." Joining him is Danny Frid, a player Cagle described as "great in the air, poised on the ball, and knows how to read the game." Chris Galindo moved from a deep midfield into the defense as he had a dominant first scrimmage against a strong NOC team. Another freshman, Jared Scott, has also looked strong in early action and is an option late in matches with his long throw-ins.
Outside fullbacks have lots of quality competition for playing time, with Jamie Hutchinson leading the way. "Jamie is extremely coachable. He is a student of the game and understands positioning and how to work together defensively." Having a fantastic technical ability, Niall Harrison has stepped into the left back position, while Greg Scholes is another quality fullback who Cagle is excited about. "Greg is a terrific fullback with a great future here. He's a little guy who plays rough. We consider all three of these guys as starters and all will see time."
Several strikers have emerged as potential players this fall. Jose Castillo is described as having "a nose for the goal," while Alex Kewin "has courage in front of the goal." Michael Thomas is a player that Cagle says “can score or can set up a score at any time with the most creative of passes,” and Josh Martinez was last year's ACCA Player of the year. Seth Nix and Joseph Kim look to give the Eagles assurance this year, as Nix is a "heady player" and Joseph Kim is "going to surprise people by the end of the season."
"We like the way that we're coming together," said Cagle. "It's a long season, and everyone sustains some bumps and bruises. Not only do we have our starting squad, but we have several more guys waiting on the sidelines that are making our decisions tough."
"The depth will pay big dividends over the course of the season. We have 39 great players on campus. Some guys develop quicker than others. Some blossom as freshmen and some don't see the field until they are older. College soccer isn't for the faint of heart. But when they finished their first week of training camp, with the huge effort that they had put out, each of them felt huge pride in how they had earned the right to have SCU on their chest."