2008 Men's Soccer Season Preview

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The 2008 Trevecca Men's Soccer team chose the theme "Field of Dreams" for this season. Though many associate "Field of Dreams" with baseball because of the highly popular 1989 movie by the same name starring Kevin Costner, the term has spread to other sports as well.

One of the tag lines to the movie could apply to all sports: "If you believe the impossible, the incredible can happen." That expression seems to apply to this year's team. The 2008 Trojans return the nucleus of a team that lost five of their nine matches by one goal. The team reached the TranSouth playoffs and lost to Mid-Continent 2-0 a team that advanced to the NAIA National Championships.

Trevecca's coach Jeff Carr loves the chemistry of this year's team, but it doesn't stop there: "This team has a chemistry I've not seen in my time here at Trevecca. As important as that is, we also have what I feel is our most talented team with depth at several positions. Another difference over past years is the level of senior leadership we have. All these factors give us the ability to believe it is possible for incredible things to happen this season."
 
The belief in the impossible begins with this year's six seniors. Their talent and, possibly more important, their leadership will be keys to making this season one of making the impossible reality.

The group is led by Mark Foster. The Irishman is a leader on and off the pitch and has a great chance to become the school's career leading goal scorer this year. Maky Said is a tenuous worker and wonderful things are expected of him in his final season. Gift Ndam will help shore up the defense this season because he is one of the most athletic and talented players on the team. Matthew Marrotte is playing for the first season this year. He has been a student at Trevecca but chose to come out for soccer this year for the first time. He is a left footer who will help on defense this year. Paul Butchard is fast and has been a dependable defender throughout his career. He will see opportunities for offense this season. Brad Camp is recovering from an injury, but his experience and skill will be counted on defensively.

The junior class will need to make significant contributions this year as well if the season is deemed a success. Caylan Goodman is the anchor to the defense with his size, excellent conditioning, and athlete ability. Alija Turkovic is a transfer striker, labeled the Bosnian Blast by Coach Carr. The possibilities for Turkovic are unlimited for this season. Gin Mung has improved every season and is an incredible worker at the wing.

The sophomore class has ability and leadership qualities as well. Jonathan Guardarama will compete for a starting job in goal. Benji Bussell is recovering from surgery and hopes to build on last year's clutch goal in sudden death against Cumberland. Fernando Lopez has a great left foot and will be looked for more production in his second season. Craig Parker took a year off and returns looking for minutes as a defensive specialist. Alex Hodge has good size and will help strengthen the defense. Parker Hughes is a local product who might be the hardest worker on the team, and the coaching staff is pleased to see his return after a redshirt season.

Trevecca coach Jeff Carr deems this year's recruits his best recruiting effort in his time at Trevecca. The sheer size, seven players, makes one look closer. When one does, one sees a class that has a potential to make major contributions to this season's success.

Hayden Coffman is considered one of the top graduating senior goalies from last year's Tennessee high school ranks. He should be a great leader and has tremendous athletic ability. John Sheets will contribute to the defense with his great size and physical ability. Kyle Robertson is another player with size who has played at a high level in his high school career. Jordan Enix is very fast and appears to be a player who will be able to score early in his stay on the hill. Darragh Bugter is the youngest player (turns 17 in August) on the team and yet has experience playing at a high level of competition. He distributes the ball very well. Abel Kigwila brings speed and skill from his native Tanzania. Sam Madeley is a skilled striker who has a nose for the goal.

Coach Carr believes that the returning players combined with the influx of new talent will see the offense swing some of those close calls into wins this season. The team will need the additional offense to battle through the tough TranSouth Athletic Conference schedule.

The schedule is loaded with home games in September, but the month of October will be spent on the road. The dream is that the team will have enough success to return home in November for conference tournament games.