Redhawks, Falcons Co-Favorites in GNAC Men's Soccer Race

Cascio

Forward Jason Cascio, who led the conference in scoring with 16 goals a year ago, is among six returning starters for Seattle University, which will go after its fifth straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer title this fall.

The Redhawks, who have won or shared five GNAC title and were the 2004 NCAA Division II national champions, will also try to defend their NCAA Division II Far West Region title.

A year ago, Seattle, which will move to Division I next season, overcame a four-game losing streak late in the season, to earn the fourth-and-final seed in the playoffs.

Then they made the most of their opportunity defeating Cal State L.A. in a shootout in the regional final before losing to Fort Lewis 5-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals.

The Redhawks and five-time NCAA national champion Seattle Pacific, who shared the conference title with 3-1 records, are once again co-favorites to finish on top in the expanded conference.

Additions include Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's, which will begin its first season of varsity soccer after playing at the club level last season.

Seattle and Seattle Pacific each received 2 ½ first-place votes and 25 ballot points in the annual GNAC Coaches poll.

“Seattle U. has quite a stable of players and there's a bit of urgency since this is their last chance to make a statement in Division II,” SPU coach Cliff McCrath, who begins his 49 th season needing just 10 wins to reach the 600 mark, said.

McCrath has a 505-184-80 record in 37 seasons at SPU and is 590-227-88 overall.

Returning all-stars for Seattle Pacific include goalkeeper Kellen Rosten (6-0, Sr., Colorado Springs, CO – Doherty), forward James Coggan (5-11, Sr., San Jose, CA – Valley Christian), midfielders Jeff Hallenbeck (5-8, Sr., Redmond, WA – Inglemoor) and Justin Abel (5-11, Sr., Snohomish, WA – St. John's) and defender Matt Kemper (6-1, Sr., Colorado Springs, CO – Palmer).

Rosten is the GNAC career leader in goals against average (0.92) and has 16 career shutouts. He also has four of the top five scoreless streaks in league history, including a stretch of 495 minutes, 28 seconds.

Coggan finished third to Cascio in scoring a year ago, tallying six goals and six assists and ranks 14 th in career scoring in the GNAC with 46 points (16 goals, 14 assists).

Hallenbeck tied Seattle University reserve forward Andrew Kreiter (5-9, Jr., Billings, MT, 6 goals, 1 assist) for seventh place in scoring in 2006 with 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists) and ranks 24 th on the GNAC career chart with 37 points (15 goals, 7 assists).

Abel contributed three goals a year ago in earning GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors, while Kemper also scored six points (2 goals, 2 assists) from the back.

Also returning from last year's starting 11 are midfielders Brandon Crutchfield (5-10, So., Snohomish, WA), who had a goal and five assists, and Alec Nelson (5-11, So., Lynnwood, WA – Meadowdale), who chipped in with two goals and two assists.

Among the newcomers for SPU are two Division I transfers – midfielder Jeff Coggan (So., San Jose, CA) who played in three games at Santa Clara last season and defender Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone (Jr., Burnaby, BC), who played in 17 games over the past two seasons at Hartwick, a Division I school in New York.

“Jeff Coggan give us a dimension we haven't had in a long time,” McCrath said. “He's quick, can set 15 goals a year and also finish. He and his brother Jimmy will be quite a force and Jeff Hallenbeck's becoming a prolific scorer.

“I've always believed it starts with defense and we have the makings of a solid back line and strong midfield.”

In addition to Cascio (5-11, Sr., Gilbert, AZ – Hamilton), who equaled the second highest goal total in GNAC history last season in winning GNAC Player-of-the-Year honors, second-year Seattle University head coach Brad Agoos also returns all-stars John Fishbaugher (5-11, Sr., Redmond, WA) in the midfield and defender Eric Forner (6-1, Sr., Sacramento, CA – Jesuit).

Fishbaugher finished fifth in scoring with five goals and six assists, while Forner is back from a defense that allowed only four goals in four conference games.

Three other starters are also back for the Redhawks – midfielder Dustin Allbery (5-10, Sr., Spokane, WA – SFCC), who led the league in assists with eight, midfielder Luis Gamez (5-10, Jr., The Dalles, OR), who had four assists and defender Peter Mullenbach (5-8, Jr., Lodi, CA), who contributed one goal and two assists.

GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year Cameron Mertens (5-8, Jr., Kennewick, WA – Southridge), who had two goals and three assists from his midfield position, and Jordan Jennings (6-3, Jr., Tacoma, WA – UW), who split goalkeeping duties, are also back.

While the Redhawks have plenty of experience, they also have a lot of youth – 13 of their 28 players listed on the pre-season roster are freshmen.

In addition, goalkeeper Emerson DeOliveira (6-4, So., Normandy Park, WA) has no previous collegiate playing experience after redshirting the past two seasons at the University of San Francisco.

After the two co-favorites, it figures to be a battle for third-place.

Western Washington, which edged MSUB by two points in the coaches' poll, has a mix of youth and experience and hopes to bounce back from a 2-17-1 campaign.

“We are still young with a majority of our starting lineup underclassmen,” head coach Travis Connell (70-76-7, 8 years) said. “Saying that, we played a lot of freshmen last year and the experience they gained should help them this fall.”

While none of last year's six returning starters earned all-star honors, forward Cody Hagler (6-3, Sr., Canby, OR – U. Portland), who was a 2001 GNAC first-team all-star, returns after sitting out the past two seasons.

Hagler ranked fourth in the GNAC in scoring in 2001 with 17 points (6 goals, 5 assists). He had four points on four assists in 2004, his last season.

The top returning scorers off of last year's team are midfielders Joel Grossman (5-9, Sr., Anacortes, WA – Skagit Valley, 2 goals) and Matt Pele (6-4, Jr., Kennewick, WA – Kamiakin, 1 goal, 2 assists), who each had four points.

Also back are midfielders Chris Jepson (6-0, So., Bellingham, WA – Sehome, 1 assist), Matt Zigulis (5-8, Jr., Sebastopol, CA – Analy, 2 assists) and Mitch Barrows (5-11, So., Ferndale, WA, 1 goal) and goalkeeper Christian Warman (5-11, So., Sedro-Woolley, WA, 1.69).

Hagler should give a boost to the Vikings' attack and the addition of UW transfer Cameron Copps-Tilley (6-1, So., Vancouver, WA – Fort Vancouver) should bolster their goalkeeping, according to Connell.

Copps-Tilley redshirted two years for the Huskies and then played in 276 minutes last season, allowing just two goals.

Also among WWU's transfers are forward Samir Vejo (5-10, Jr., Treninje, Bosnia - Beaverton, Ore. & Clark CC) and defender Oliver Wellman (6-4, Jr., Bellevue, WA – Sammamish).

Vejo scored a school-record 32 goals in earning NWAACC all-region honors at Clark CC in 2004. Wellman was an all-region pick at Bellevue CC.

Montana State Billings, which had a 5-11-2 record while competing in the Heartland Conference last season, has more letter winners (15) than any other GNAC team and returns its entire starting lineup intact.

Three returnees were Heartland Conference all-stars – forward Sam Charles (So., Chiswell, England – Budmouth Tech), and midfielders Tom Milroy (So., Aberdeen, Scotland – Cults Academy) and Chris Cornish (Sr., Surrey, England – Hertfordshire).

Charles scored seven goals and was the Heartland Freshman-of-the-Year . “He's a fantastic player who I really believe can be one of the best players in Division II by his senior year,” MSUB coach Dan McNally (10-24-2, 2 years) said.

Milroy and Cornish were second team all-star selections, though neither scored a point for the Yellowjackets, who struggled offensively, tallying just 18 goals. Seven of their losses were by just one goal, four of them by 1-0 scores.

“Last year we were an above average defensive team,” McNally, who is hoping to guide MSUB to its first-ever winning season, said. “This year we're going to be a very good team defensively.”

Playing on the back line will be Milroy, Greg McKeever (Sr., Kirkland, WA – Juanita), Justin Hoskins (Jr., Billings, MT – Westminster) and Josh Hernandez (Sr., Palmdale, CA – Paraclete).

Hoskins along with Cornish are the team captains. “I wouldn't swap that back four for many in the country in Division II,” McNally said.

Offensively, the Yellowjackets should be improved. In addition to Charles also back is Jarred Weisen (So., Great Falls, MT – C.M. Russell), who won a starting spot in the second half of the season and had seven points (3 goals, 1 assist) in MSUB's final seven games.

“We've also added some better attacking players with some of our recruits, including Chris Andre from Billings,” McNally said.

While MSUB is new to the conference, Saint Martin's is new, period.

While most of the players on the Saint squad are freshmen, first-year coach Rob Walker does have several quality transfers, including defender Tucker Maxwell (5-10, Jr., Eagle, ID), who was the NWAACC West Region MVP last season at Highline CC, and midfielder Ruben Orozco (5-11, So., Des Moines, WA – Mt. Rainier), who scored 24 points, connecting on eight goals and eight assists at Highline.

Another transfer is Jesse Ramos (6-1, Jr., Seattle, WA – Roosevelt) from South Seattle Central.

“Tucker (Maxwell) is an absolute gem,” Walker said last spring in his recruitment announcement. “He is well rounded in his ability to play across the back line. His NWAACC Player-of-the-Year status really pushes his value in our team from both a performance and a leadership aspect. He is a recruit with great ability and soccer intelligence.”

Orozco is a 2006 graduate of Mt. Rainier High School where he was an all-area selection. “Ruben is a formidable player and brings a huge amount of skill, work-rate and tactical awareness and is pretty sharp on the ball too.”

Ramos in an outstanding defensive player.