M. Soccer looking to gain traction in tough Centennial

For many Hopkins men's soccer fans, the fall of 2011 could not come soon enough. Under the guidance of then third year head Coach Craig Appleby, the men's soccer team qualified for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year where the Jays fell short to Ohio Wesleyan, 1-0.

Along with the loss, the 2010 Blue Jays graduated five seniors, including co-captains Kevin Hueber and Evan Kleinberg, in addition to Kevin Bukoski who finished his career fourth all-time in goals scored.

However, the Blue Jays welcome nine new freshmen to fill the void and give themselves a new dimension in the hopes of advancing to the Elite Eight and beyond this year. Entering 2011, Hopkins was picked third in the Centennial Conference preseason coaches poll, trailing last year's Centennial winner Swarthmore and runner-up Muhlenberg. According to the NSCAA preseason poll, the Blue Jays also entered the season ranked 11th nationally.

While many coaches would be wary of letting freshmen play so soon, Coach Appleby gave his newest players the opportunity to shine from the start and they delivered this past weekend. All told, four freshmen—midfielders Rob Hueler, Mark Spencer, Simon Rojas, and Kotaro Mitsuhashi—started in the team's first game against Wesley, a 1-1 tie, and six saw game action. Despite outshooting Wesley 27-7, it seemed Wesley's goalkeeper, Mark Matten, could not be beat. Matten stopped 13-of-14 Blue Jay shots early on.

With such strong goaltending, many would have believed Wesley's lone goal from senior Kyle Long in the 36th minute would have been enough for a Wolverine victory. However, Spencer showed a particular flair for the moment, notching his first goal as a collegiate player in in the 54th minute. That score would hold, and the season opener finished in a draw.

On Sunday, after shaking off the offseason rust in their first game, the Hopkins offense exploded en route to the 2011 Goucher Classic title, defeating Goucher 7-0. Whereas Wesley's Matten could not be scored on, Goucher's goalkeeper David Spivey stopped only a single Hopkins shot on goal. Just five minutes in, senior Sean Coleman began the scoring barrage, and Spivey watched six more shots get past him over the next 90 minutes.

Coleman was followed by sophomore Birin Padam from senior Sean Duggan, senior Tony Gass unassisted, sophomore Sean Glassman from sophomore Danny Reategui, freshman Simon Rojas unassisted, freshman Andrew Clayton from senior Corey Adams and freshman Matt Carey, and finally sophomore Alvin Onyewuenyi from freshman Kyle Fischer.

Once again, youth ruled the day with a total of four points from freshmen and eight points from underclassmen. Furthermore, despite not tallying a single point, freshman Rob Heuler earned tournament MVP honors with his excellent play.

Next weekend Hopkins travels to Pomono, N.J. for the Stockholm Seashore Classic where they will face Richard Stockton and St. Mary's (Md.). Perhaps the young legs will prove a blessing in disguise as Hopkins opens their season on the road for six straight games before the home opener on Homewood Field September 20th.