2008 Men’s Soccer Outlook

It speaks to the quality of head coach John Yorke’s Pacific Lutheran men’s soccer program that one year after losing the Northwest Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, conference coaches have picked the Lutes to finish second in this year’s standings behind defending champion Whitworth.

Derek MacLean (17) and Scott Parsons (18)

Maybe the biggest storyline entering the 2008 season is who is not around as compared to who is. Gone are Brian Lubeck, the NWC Defensive Player of the Year, and Michael Ferguson, the NWC Offensive Player of the Year. Lubeck was a three-year starter and as a central defender anchored a PLU defense that conceded only 18 goals in 20 matches. Ferguson notched 14 goals and five assists for a total of 33 points, and he finished his four years with a total of 49 goals, tying a PLU career record. Throw in the loss of all-conference midfielders Erik Gracey (second team) and Henrik Oiseth (honorable mention), and the Lutes will be hard pressed to replace that talent and experience.

That said, the Lutes’ mix of a good group of newcomers and a solid core of veteran players should put the team among the elite in the tough Northwest Conference. “We’ve worked hard to earn the distinction of being ranked high in the league,” Yorke said. “It would have been disappointing if had not been considered among the top two or three teams.”

PLU hopes to avoid the slow start it had in 2007 when it lost four in a row to begin the season. Had the Lutes won a couple of those matches, they would have been strong candidates for their first NCAA Division III national tournament berth. As it was, PLU finished 13-6-1 overall and 11-2-1 in the conference, two points behind NWC winner Whitworth. Pacific Lutheran, however, will start the season with a handful of starters on the bench because of suspensions. That will make it more difficult for Yorke’s team to get off to the good start it wants, particularly with a season-opening date against national tournament participant Gustavus Adolphus from Minnesota.

“We’re going to be a little better in two weeks,” Yorke said of his team. “How slow we started last year and came back will help us if we have a slow start this season.”

Among the top returnees for the Lutes are sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Mangum, junior central defender Derek MacLean and junior midfielder Jason Bjorgo, all of whom earned second team all-conference honors a year ago. Starting 16 games, Mangum compiled a school record 0.54 goals against average, making 55 total saves and stopping 86 percent of the opponents’ shots on goal. He finished the season with nine shutouts. Senior outside defender Trevor McDonald will start for the third straight season, while junior Scott Parsons will move into the back line after spending most of his time in the midfield the past two seasons.

Andy Stolz (9)

Among the top candidates vying for playing time in the defense include senior Nolan Adams, juniors Peter Thomas, Stephen Odell and Kenny Marrs, sophomores Arryan Ghazanfarpour and Nat Breitenberg and freshmen Aaron Grossberg and Michael Kenyon. Battling for the role of reserve keeper are sophomores Kit Deming and Brian Kostol.

There is significant experience in midfield where five returnees saw plenty of playing time last year: seniors Andy Stolz, Brennan Brown and Andy Hyres and juniors Bjorgo and Ryan Hanna. Bjorgo, a speedster on the left side, tallied four goals and four assists for the Lutes. Hanna had four goals last year and Brown was among the team’s assist leaders with five. Stolz was a solid defensive presence just in front of the back line throughout the 2007 campaign, while Hyres returns after missing most of the season with a broken leg.

Among the talented newcomers are Surafel Worku and Riley Hoyer, both of whom should see some time in the middle of the park.

Worku is one of several players who will likely split time between midfield and forward. Veterans who figure into that role are senior Derek Karamatic, who had three goals and five assists last year, and sophomore Daniele Zaccagnini. Freshman Spencer Augustin, last year's Gatorade Player of the Year in Alaska, is another player who could see time in both spots.

The starting forwards, at least in the early part of the season, will be freshman Ricky Morales and Chad Kearns. Look for Karamatic, Zaccagnini and Augustin to join that duo and be among a handful of players that should provide scoring balance. “We won’t have any 15 goal scorers,” Yorke said. “We better have four of five guys that get five to seven goals each.”

While the Lutes will certainly miss Ferguson’s individual scoring brilliance and Lubeck’s tough-minded defense, they should have enough skill and depth to stay at or near the top in the Northwest Conference. “We will be a different team compared to the last couple of years,” Yorke said, “so we’ll do what we can to prove that we’re worthy of being among the best in the conference.”