St. John's University Athletics
2008 St. John's Men's Soccer Preview
8/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 15, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - As the 2008 men's soccer team takes to the field this season, head coach Dr. Dave Masur has instilled upon his the squad the motto of "Earn it! Execute it! Persevere through it!"
As a perennial national championship contender and a BIG EAST powerhouse, the Red Storm has high aspirations for the upcoming season. Since Masur became the head coach in 1991, the squad has won a NCAA National Championship in 1996, advanced to three College Cups, qualified for 15 NCAA Tournaments, won twelve BIG EAST Championships, and made an unprecedented 10 consecutive sweet sixteen appearances from 1996-2005.
However, Masur wants this year's team to earn its own success.
"Earning your way is part of theme for this year's squad," Masur said. "It takes hard work and dedication to earn success and these traits have always been the cornerstones of this program."
Of course, even after a team has prepared for success through hard work and dedication, it must perform. After intense practice and preparation, the team has to execute on the field.
"To gain inner satisfaction and team success, it is essential that a team work harder and with more discipline to prepare and execute in the present," Masur added.
Masur, however, also recognizes that things don't always go the way they are planned, which is why he stresses perseverance.
"Perseverance is a learning process," Masur stated. "Teammates have to trust each other, hold themselves to a high standard, and always maintain focus. I never want my team to be satisfied. I want them to learn something from every result."
The 2008 squad, picked to finish third in the Red Division in the annual BIG EAST preseason poll, has 12 freshmen on its roster and Masur expects the upperclassmen to have a major role in the development of these fresh faces and in carrying out this season's motto.
"Our veterans understand what it takes to play at this level," Masur added. "I expect the upperclassmen to give direction to the younger players and I expect the younger players to learn quickly and have an impact this season."
Forwards
Depth and a variety of attacking options will be the strength of the 2008 attacking unit for St. John's. Juniors Adam Himeno and 2008 Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Ryan Soroka will look to lead the forward attack, while senior Jara Habib, sophomore Sverre Wegge Gundhus as well as freshmen Walter Hines and Cristian Gonzalez round out the front line. Masur expects the entire group to compete for their spot in the lineup throughout the season.
Himeno led the team with three game-winning goals in 2007. The junior, who tallied his first career game-winner in the 2006 BIG EAST Championship game, has four career game-winning goals.
Soroka, meanwhile, has 11 goals and 11 assists in two seasons with the Red Storm. The BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player as a freshman, Soroka also earned All-America honors as a freshman.
Habib missed much of last season due to an injury and will look to recapture the production of his sophomore season, in which he tallied two goals and four assists. Wegge Gundhus sat out last season, but will look to make an impact up front this season.
Born in Costa Rica, Hines is a two-time Parade Magazine All-American. The speedy freshman has experience with both the U-20 Costa Rican National Team and the U-18 MLS Academy Red Bulls. Gonzalez, meanwhile, has played with the U-20 U.S. National Team.
Menoscar Fernandez will look to make his debut with the team after walking on to the squad late last season.
Midfield
A deep and experienced midfield is led by team captain Rory Quinn, juniors Nelson Becerra and redshirt sophomore Tadeu Terra. Sophomores Ale Ivo and Tafadzwa Chiduku tallied a goal and an assist each as freshman.
Quinn, a redshirt senior, started in 20 games a year ago and is a vocal leader for the team. After transferring from Centenary to join St. John's in last year, Becerra stepped right in and tallied three goals, including a game-winner.
After sitting out the 2007 season with a knee injury, Terra looks to once again showcase the exciting playmaking that he exhibited as a freshman. Terra ranked second on the team in both points and assists in his freshman campaign.
Ivo played himself into the starting lineup as a freshman and tallied his first career goal by converting a penalty kick in the 88th minute of a 1-0 win against then-No. 5 West Virginia. Chiduku, meanwhile, added valuable minutes off the bench seeing action in 10 games a year ago.
Incoming freshmen Matt Bienkowski, Josh Faga, Austin Phillips and Pablo Punyed all add to the team's depth at midfield.
Defense
A perennial strength of the Red Storm, the defensive unit looks to be strong once again this year. Juniors Joel Gustafsson and David Reed each started all 21 games to help anchor a defensive unit that allowed just 0.86 goals per game and posted nine shutouts, while redshirt junior Ben Clack made 19 appearances and 12 starts. Sophomore transfer Kyle Hoffer will also add to the depth in the back.
Gustafsson earned All-BIG EAST honorable mention accolades in 2007 and also notched the first two assists of his career. A native of Sweden, Gustafsson is a strong and physical defender that earned All-Rookie honors from TopDrawerSoccer.com as a freshman.
Reed tallied his first collegiate point with an assist last year and ranked fifth on the team in minutes played. Clack, meanwhile, added a goal and two assists last year.
The 2007 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and a first team All-SUNYAC selection, Hoffer tallied eight goals and five assists at SUNY Oneonta.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Vazquez and freshmen Bjorn de Hoop, Connor Lade and Josh Mensah round out the back line.
Goalkeepers
Quality goalkeeping has been strength of the St. John's program for many years. In fact, the top ten goals against averages for a season have all come since Masur took the reigns in 1991.
With the graduation of Jason Landers, the program's all-time leader in shutouts, the 2005 BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year and a two-time BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, the position is up for grabs. Redshirt senior Neal Kitson and redshirt junior Derby Carrillo, a transfer student, figure to vie for the starting spot and push each other to improve.
Kitson was thrust into the spotlight a year ago and made 11 appearances and nine starts as Landers battled injuries. Kitson finished the season with a 4-4-2 record, a 1.12 goals against average and three shutouts (one shared). The keeper also has BIG EAST Tournament experience under his belt as he played all 110:00 minutes of a 2-2 draw with Seton Hall before stopping two penalty kicks in a 3-2 shootout win.
Carrillo, meanwhile, comes to Queens as a transfer from Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills. After sitting out his freshman year as a redshirt, Carrillo posted a 13-3-1 record in two seasons. In 2007, Carrillo ranked second in the nation with a 0.53 goals against average, fourth in the nation with an .867 save percentage and was named a Daktronics first team All-American. The keeper also helped the Toros win back-to-back CCAA Championships.
Freshman Nunzio Belfiore also has a wealth of experience in goal. A three-time letterwinner in high school, the goalkeeper has also played for the MLS U-18 Red Bulls team and has worked hard to prepare to compete in the BIG EAST.
Schedule
The 2008 schedule figures to be once of the toughest in the country. St. John's will play 12 teams that participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including five of the top 11 national seeds. In fact, 10 of the Red Storm's first 11 contests, including the first seven games of the year are against tournament teams from a year ago.
St. John's opens the season in Charlottesville, Va., at the Virginia Soccer Classic. After playing Virginia on Friday, Aug. 29, the Red Storm will face Old Dominion on Sunday, Aug. 31. The following weekend St. John's travels to Providence, R.I. to participate in another four-team classic, the adidas-Brown Classic. The Red Storm will face Brown on Friday, Sept. 5 before taking on Boston College on Sunday, Sept. 7.
St. John's opens play at Belson Stadium against Boston University on Friday, Sept. 12. That same weekend Virginia Tech will come to Queens for a matchup on Sunday, Sept. 14.
On Friday, Sept. 19, the Red Storm will open BIG EAST play at Notre Dame and continue with conference action with a Sunday, Sept. 21 game against Marquette. The BIG EAST home opener pits the Red Storm against Connecticut, picked to win the Blue Division in the preseason poll, on Friday, Sept. 26. On Sunday, Sept. 28 St. John's hosts Providence.
After a road trip to face Louisville on Saturday, Oct. 4, St John's hosts Syracuse on Wednesday, Oct. 8 and Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 11.
The Red Storm then heads to BIG EAST foe Seton Hall for a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 15. St. John's then hosts USF, picked to win the Red Division in the preseason poll, on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Red Storm then travels to DePaul for a game on Saturday, Oct. 25 and heads to Rutgers on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
The Red Storm closes out the regular season at home against Cincinnati on Friday, Oct. 31. The game will be televised nationally on the Fox Soccer Channel.
"We will be playing an extremely challenging schedule this season," Masur said. "For us to be successful we will need balanced contributions from our entire roster."
With a team that features such great depth, Masur realizes that his players will be competing for playing time throughout the season.
"We should have a lot of healthy competition this season," Masur added. "We will put the guys on the field that earn it, execute it and persevere through it."
