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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – When considering the success of the last two years for the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team, the first question that comes to mind is: Could the third time be the charm? After a pair of NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region championships, the first in school history, it’s hard not to think the team is going to continue that upward trend. But leave it to head coach John Basalyga to keep everything in perspective. “It’s great what we accomplished last season,” says the two-time Great Lakes Valley Conference and Regional Coach of the Year. “The bad part is that now we’re expected to repeat it.” What they accomplished was a school-record 20-game winning streak, an unprecedented 13 wins in GLVC play, and another trip to the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals. Those accomplishments came at a price, though. The Norse graduated 10 players from last year’s team, including three All-America selections. The losses have left holes in literally every position on the field for Basalyga, and the focus turns to bringing in fresh new talent to reload and remain competitive. Still, though, the soccer community knows that NKU is dangerous, as the Norse have been picked to win the GLVC by the league’s coaches and were named the No. 5 team in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason national poll. It’s high praise for a team that has yet to step on the pitch. “I don’t anticipate us doing what we did last year,” says the two-time Great Lakes Valley Conference and Regional Coach of the Year. “We just lost so many players, plus people have retooled. “I only want our guys to compete in practice every day and to compete on the field when we go out there,” said Basalyga. “If we do that, I’m not going to be upset. I don’t believe in putting that kind of pressure on these kids.” One of the biggest question marks for the Norse in the coming season will be the defense, where the Norse have developed a culture of not just preventing quality scoring chances, but preventing any scoring chances. “Our questions are, firstly, who is going to replace Andy Bacon,” noted Basalyga of the graduated All-American. Bacon served as the team’s center-back over the last two seasons, not only sniffing out the lead passes from opposing forces, but sending out long balls of his own to spark the offense. But there’s another hole on the outside as well, left by another All-America performer, and it won’t be so easy to fill. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s not a guy in the world who could replace what Dan Impellizzeri brought to this team,” said “Basalyga. “We’re just going to try to fill those gaps to remain competitive. It’s going to be a dogfight back there for the first few weeks of the season.” Senior Eric Ashworth returns to patrol the back row on the outside, while senior Tony Ray, a traditional defender who converted to play forward over the last two seasons, will return to play the back row once more for his final season. They will be joined by junior Brett Windecker, who transfers to NKU from Detroit-Mercy, and Kevin Trespalacios, an all-state performer out of St. Henry High School in Erlanger, Ky.
Behind the defense, of course, is the NCAA’s top goalkeeper from 2007, Michael Lavric. Though he, and Basalyga both know the secret to that success. “Lavric knows as well as anyone else that he had a great back-four playing in front of him,” said Basalyga. That back-four helped Lavric maintain a 0.48 goals against average to lead the nation. “Michael is very strong technically, and we’re looking for him to have another good year,” said Basalyga of the returning sophomore. “But when you only allow an average of six or seven shots a game, I could have played goalkeeper for this team. He’s definitely going to be challenged more this year, so he’s going to have to step up.” Behind Lavric stand senior Keith Kelly and freshman Mark Angelo, an athletic keeper out of the Cleveland area. With no starters returning in the midfield, a bit of a vacuum looms for the Norse. “Losing Chad Cook and Tony Capurro was huge for us because I could just put them on the field and let them play,” said Basalyga of his outgoing seniors. Capurro was a two-time All-American, spurring the offense on, while Cook managed the midfield, controlling the Norse attack and pushing things forward. Basalyga looks to move All-GLVC honoree Steven Beattie into Capurro’s role as that midfield playmaker, while shifting Seth Eckerlin up to the midfield from his defensive role last season to provide some veteran leadership. Others battling for playing time in the midfield will include juniors Mike Jonca from Detroit-Mercy and Chris Dobrowolski, who returns for his second year with the Norse. Freshmen Nick Brohas, Kevin Donnelly, Dan Terrell, Tommy Barrack and Alex Oeswein will look to break into the starting eleven as the season moves along. Perhaps the only part of the field where Basalyga feels comfortable going into the season is in the attack, where junior All-American Braden Bishop returns for a third season with the Norse, though it will be in a slightly different role this year, as a starter. “People would ask me all the time, ‘Why do you bring Braden off the bench?’” quipped Basalyga. “The answer is, we could afford to. The last two years he’s had a great supporting cast around him, but now, without that, he’s got the target on his back. “There’s going to be a lot more pressure on him. He’ll have to prove to everyone that he’s worthy of those accolades he’s received.” Those accolades include two Regional Player of the Year awards, the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year award, and two separate All-America nods, and that’s just for 2007. The trick is to get that supporting cast around him once more, and Basalyga has brought together some talented players to help, including senior transfer Dustin Downey, who was twice named to all-conference teams as a part of the now-defunct Western Kentucky program.
“Downey is a kid who can play either up front or on the outside, so he’s going to be a versatile weapon for us,” added Basalyga. Junior Stephen O’Brien, a transfer out of Notre Dame of Ohio, is a left-footed, 6-foot-2 player who will mix things up in the 18-yard-box for the Norse. Also looking to join the scoring mix is freshman Anthony Meyer, who was the most potent goal scorer in all of Cincinnati while playing for Elder High School. Senior Jim Delaney, junior Zach Roesch, and freshman Tommy Barrack also look to contribute for the Norse. “I’m trying not to focus the offense on one player,” added Basalyga of the Norse attack. “Any team can take one man out of the game, so hopefully we can spread things out. I’d rather have nine guys on this team with five goals each than have two guys with 30 goals. “We’re talented enough to be a good team, it’s all in how we’re going to gel as the season goes on.” The senior leadership should be able to continue the traditions of hard-nosed defense, smart offense and championship character. The NKU senior class is looking to notch its 50th collegiate victory with NKU’s first win of 2008, which could come on Aug. 29, when the Norse open the season against West Virginia Wesleyan. But before that, the Norse travel to Dayton, Ohio, to close out the preseason with an exhibition contest against Wright State. Officially, NKU is 0-8 against the Raiders all-time, and the result of this season’s meeting won’t change that, but that’s not the important part of the equation. “We’ve had some success against Wright State in scrimmages, they beat us, we beat them,” said Basalyga of the Aug. 22 matchup. “But any time you can step on the field against a Division I team then it’s a good thing. It will be interesting to see how we develop over the weeks leading up to that game. Either way, it should get us off to a good start.” The Norse get things started early, bringing in Charleston (W. Va.) and NCAA regional finalist Carson-Newman for home matches to start the season. A dangerous road trip to Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis looms as NKU’s first foray into GLVC play on Sept. 12 and 14. But still the goal remains: Play one game better than last year. One game better than last year puts the Norse in Tampa, Fla., for a December trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four. |
