ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team kicks off its 2016 campaign tonight at Wartburg and the anticipation for playing a competitive schedule is running high for a relatively young Gustie squad. This season’s team features two seniors in Patrick Roth (Stillwater, Minn.) and Henry Brose (Hudson, Wis.), along with five juniors, 11 sophomores, and 11 freshmen. Although the bulk of the 2016 Gusties are underclassmen, eighth-year head coach Mike Middleton doesn’t feel there is a lack of skill on the team.
“I think this team is talented enough, on a one-off, to beat any team in the country,” he said. “The question is, can they do it consistently? Can they do it in the different environments? The talent is there and I really like this group.”
Gustavus is coming off a season where it went 9-5-3 overall and 3-4-3 in the MIAC, finishing in seventh place and just missing the league playoffs. Of Gustavus’s five losses last season, four were by one goal. Moving forward to this season, the Gusties are looking to be competitive against a tough non-conference schedule and then play well against the physically-demanding MIAC slate of games.
“We are trying to win every game,” Middleton said. “Whether its conference or not, that doesn’t worry me. What we are interested in doing is playing as well as we can play against every single team. We have a really tough non-conference schedule to start the season. One of them may even win the national title. Then we go into the conference games. The MIAC has a good reputation for soccer and it’s a physical conference. We have to look to the future in terms of player development and what we need to do to make the NCAA tournament. I’m interested in our team playing well and doing the right things.”
This season’s captains include Roth, Isaac Bloom (Jr., Edina, Minn.), and Matt Murakami (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.). Roth led the team in scoring last year with 16 points on seven goals and two assists. Bloom played in 14 games last season at midfield and was part of an offense that generated 2.06 goals per game, while the defense allowed just 1.02 goals per game. Murakami started in 15 games last season with three goals and as many assists for nine points. While the three captains will be looked upon to guide the team, Middleton believes leadership is a shared responsibility among the entire team.
“Every single kid on that field, all 11 players lead,” he said. “The juniors and seniors are obviously the more experienced guys and the ones I turn to in certain circumstances, but we want the mentality that every single player is worth their place. We don’t want the 22-year olds telling the 18-year olds what to do. You want everybody to feel responsibility for the performance and if they feel like they are not responsible for the performance then you’re not going to get the results you want. We want everybody to feel that they are major contributors to the team.”
Middleton also acknowledged that the style of soccer Gustavus will play this year is going to cater to the strengths of its players, which changes year to year.
“We like our players to play with tempo, to move the ball quickly, and to be looking to break down the back of the other team’s defense,” he said. “We want a compact team, a short team, we want a team that’s organized and structured. Those are our playing themes and philosophy. We are a program that tries to get the ball down and play.”
Key contributors on last season’s squad that return this year include Arthur Parens (So., Wayzata, Minn.), who tallied five goals last season, along with keepers Matt Bateman (So., Savage, Minn.) and Anders Severson (So., Circle Pines, Minn.). Bateman (4-2-2) posted a 0.97 goals against average and .795 save percentage last year, while Severson (5-3-1) had a 1.08 goals against average and .655 save percentage.
“This year we may take our lumps when we are playing teams in the top 25, but how is this team going to react when it has a setback?” Middleton posed the question. “And that’s where I am hoping we are going to react well. You have to be able to rebound after a setback and that bounce-back ability is what we need. We need to react to winning with the same calmness and same level-headedness that we would with a loss. We cannot afford to be bouncing up and down.”
Gustavus starts its season with five non-conference games, including two in Maryland, and then begins conference play Sept. 14 at home against Macalester, who is ranked No. 20 in the preseason NSCAA Coaches poll.