News & Views
The 2006-07 Men's Soccer Team. Front Row: Austin Frusher, Wendell Peters, Cameron McNeall. Second Row: Jamie Peterson, Coach Steve, Jeff Giroux, Cameron Goscha, Cameron Shurtz, Jim Rabuck, Mike Friend, Micah Disney, Randy Romig, Chandler Goscha, Coach Brenton Benware. Back Row: Ryan Villasenor, Kossi Gaglo, Andrew Sindorf, Nico Rivadeneira, Garvin Lewis, Jono Blackburn, David Phillips, Kirk Isreal, Travis Knight, Jeff Brodrick, Kelly Sorensen. (OWU Photo)
Depth, Unity and Promise
The sights and sounds of men’s Eagle soccer are fading. On Saturday, October 14, at 2 p.m., OWU faced Central Christian College for homecoming 2006. This match was likely the last we will play on our home pitch for the year.
The team is under the direction of coach Brenton Benware. The Dallas/Ft. Worth native has been involved with soccer since the age of four and played for OWU from 1998-2002. After a brief hiatus in Dallas, Benware came back to OWU in 2004 to man both the men’s and women’s soccer programs. Now his single focus is men’s soccer.
“This is a very young and deep squad we have. In a couple years, we will be a team to reckon with,” Benware said.
Each player agrees on one major strength: team unity.
When asked about key players, Garvin Lewis (Fr., Antigua) said, “everyone is key.”
Jim Rabuck (Jr., Gillette, WY) said, “we all get along like we’ve been friends forever.”
“We’re like brothers,” said Austin Frusher (Fr., Tahlequah, OK).
The team is comprised of a diverse group of young men from around the globe who happen to mesh quite well. Garvin Lewis, from St. Johns, Antigua; Gary Smith, Sr. from Kingston, Jamaica; Woo Ram Han, Sr. from Inchoen, South Korea; Kossi Gaglo, Sph. from West Africa; and Nico Rivadeneira, Fr. from Guayaquil, Ecuador are all players hailing from places other than the United States. The American-born players come from diverse regions within the country, from Texas to Minnesota.
A typical weekday starts at 6:00 a.m. for the squad of 28. They begin their day by running a few miles together. Later in the day come the practices, which are broken into three segments: 10 minutes of warm-ups, 30 minutes of skills and technique, and the remaining 45 minutes for scrimmage.
Coach Benware said he has only one rule for diet: “Don’t drink pop.” Other than that, he advises the athletes to be smart about their eating habits.
To recap the season a bit, the team lost to a tough John Brown 0-5 in the season opener on Aug. 29. “We had a bad game,” said Jim Rabuck. “We need to work out the kinks.”
The following 0-3 loss against Bethel College on Sep. 2 brought to light an area that needed improvement: the attack.
Andrew Sindorf (Perry, KS) said he believed the offense needed to “settle down. We get too exited.”
Cameron Shurtz (Jr., Gillette, WY) said the team “usually starts off slow. We will get better.”
And they did.
During the September 5 home game against Southwestern, the offense came to play. In the 1-0 win, the attack was poised and purposeful.
Micah Disney (Sph, Waco, TX) scored the first goal of the season with 17 minutes left in the game.
Micah Disney passes to Chandler Goscha. (OWU Photo)
“It was pretty sweet,” said Disney.
After the game, Coach Benware said, “To get that first win is really important.”
The next win came on Sep. 12th, a commanding 5-0 rout of Mid-America Christian. The crowd was boisterous that day, especially toward the end. MACU played with an eleven member team, and all OWU guns were blazing.
Garvin Lewis opened up the scoring. Marcus Wright (Jr., Prairie Village, KS), Mike Friend (Sr., Bartlesville), Dave Phillips (Sr., Centennial, CO) and KellySorensen (Fr., Claremore, OK) also broke the plane of the opponent’s goal line.
The game at home vs. Newman on Sep 23 was a hard fought battle. “Newman is sort of a rivalry to us. We want to win, but we will have to bring our A game,” Coach Benware said before the game. He added, “They are a tough team.”
Despite a spirited performance, the Eagles were not able to take the lead in the 0-1 loss.
As of October 13, the team record is 4 wins, 11 losses, and 1 tie game.
Still, the players expect good things from the future. Coach Benware points out that he believes OWU is in one of the toughest conferences.
“The system (for rankings) is a lot different than normal. Many factors are involved.” He said it is vital to stay above .500 (more wins than losses), and score as many goals as possible.
“We would really like to play in the NCCAA championship tournament.” Coach said, “To get there, we have to win more than we lose.”
Benware has said, “The team’s youth is our greatest strength.” Nineteen of the team’s 28 players are underclassmen, with only five seniors and four juniors. Unfortunately, youth can also mean inexperience.
“We might not make it real far this year,” Coach Benware said at the beginning of September. But he adds, “In a couple years, we will be a team to reckon with.”
For more information on the team, see the team’s homepage.