Aug. 16, 2007
Motivated by a 2006 season that was marred by costly injuries and disappointing results, the Penn State men's soccer team embarks on the 2007 campaign with renewed vigor and with the confidence and talent to restore the Nittany Lions to the pinnacle of the Big Ten and propel them back into the NCAA postseason. Head coach Barry Gorman, entering his 20th season at Penn State, returns a valued group of veterans that includes seven starters and 14 letterwinners. Youth will be a hallmark of the 2007 Nittany Lions, though, as 18 of the 26 players inhabiting the roster are underclassmen. However, no matter the experience or class, all are determined to make this season a special one and maintain Penn State's place among the nation's topflight collegiate programs.
"We are looking forward to the 2007 season," said Gorman. "From a results standpoint, we were disappointed with last year. This year, the feeling is if we can keep everybody healthy, then we will have a very good squad capable of challenging for major honors. We will be deep and have cover at the different positions. And the good news is is that these players will have game experience."
SENIORS
The senior class, made up of Geordie MacNeill, Stephen Reihner, Grady Renfrow, and Conrad Taylor, is a hard-nosed, battle-tested group that understands the level of commitment it takes to reach the heights of success. Just two years ago, they were significant contributors to Penn State's Big Ten Championship squad. With a combined total of 181 starts to its credit, the 2007 senior class is well prepared to provide the kind of leadership needed to guide the Nittany Lions back to conference supremacy.
"The senior class is a good group. They are integral players. They have soldiered on against adversity and made it through. I am looking for good things from them this season," said Gorman.
NEWCOMERS
The 2007 group of newcomers to the Penn State program includes eight recruits and the addition of one transfer. Joining the Nittany Lions is a class comprised of four defenders, three midfielders, one forward, and one goalkeeper. Six of the newcomers are regionally based, hailing from Pennsylvania, New York, or Maryland, while the others have international roots in Brazil, Venezuela, or Iceland.
"I think our freshman class is very good," Gorman said. "We have a nice blend of American players with a sprinkling of international kids. There are players with national and international experience and many have traveled extensively to compete in foreign competitions. Several players are proven winners at the high school and club levels. I think it will be a very mature group and I expect several of them to be competing for starting positions."
FORWARDS
With dynamic forward Simon Omekanda, a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, lost to graduation, the Penn State attack will be fronted by junior Jason Yeisley. A co-captain for the 2007 season, he should be fully recovered from knee and foot injuries suffered over the course of the last year. Look for Yeisley to be fully fit by the onset of the season and primed to regain the form that earned him Second Team All-Big Ten honors as a freshman. A physical presence at 6-1, 185 lbs., Yeisley is Penn State's top returning scorer, totaling 27 points (11 goals, seven assists) in 29 career starts.
Sophomore Jacobo Vera was off to a promising start in his freshman campaign when a knee injury in late September cut short his season. Seeing action is seven games, he scored one goal, the game-winner in the Nittany Lions' victory over Hartwick. An excellent finisher who is blessed with good size, Vera will have every opportunity to develop into a force on the Penn State attack in 2007.
Freshman Treavor Gelsinger is a true goal scorer who has the talent and poise to make an immediate impact at the collegiate level. A two-time Pennsylvania All-State selection, Gelsinger departed Greencastle-Antrim High School as its all-time leader scorer, totaling 105 goals and 80 assists for his career.
"With Jason Yeisley fully recovered, Jacobo Vera continuing to come on like he did this spring, and Treavor Gelsinger progressing, we will have three very capable goal-scoring forwards," said Gorman. "The combination possibilities are intriguing because each of them brings a different approach and adds a different element."
MIDFIELDERS
The depth and experience of the midfield position was dealt a significant blow this offseason when junior Ryan Badaracco, a career 33-game starter, was lost for the year with a knee injury. However, back in the line-up at full strength to help anchor the midfield in 2007 will be junior Barkley Miller. On the verge of a breakout season in 2006 after tallying a career-high two goals and two assists, Miller was hindered by a hip injury that cost him the remainder of the year.
Sophomore Daniel Martini should also be a regular in the line-up in 2007 after starting 11 games a year ago, notching a goal and an assist. Classmates Frank Costigliola, and Vincent Salvatico will look to build on solid rookie campaigns in 2007.
A group of newcomers, led by freshman Drew Cost, will also push for playing time. Cost, an accomplished and highly decorated player at the high school and club levels, has a flair for goal scoring and will be given every opportunity to display that skill in the season ahead. Diego Correa, a sophomore transfer from St. John's University, and Johnny Daniels, a freshman from Potomac, Md., could also be factors.
"The midfield will be very strong, but it was a tough loss to have Ryan Badaracco go down with an injury," Gorman said. "However, those are the things you have to learn to deal with as a coach and a program. But, I think we have enough returning midfielders allied with incoming players that the midfield should be very strong. We have a nice blend of experience and youth that will give us energy and enthusiasm."
DEFENDERS
A trio of returning starters in seniors Stephen Reihner and Geordie MacNeill and sophomore Andrew Parr will form the foundation of the Nittany Lion back line in 2007. Reihner, a starter of 48 career games, is a versatile player, combining standout defensive abilities with a superb offensive skill set. In 2006, he established or tied season highs in goals, assists, and points. A starter of 51 games in his career, MacNeill is a solid, experienced defender who is excellent in the air and extremely strong in the tackle. In his freshman season, Parr was in the starting line-up for 15 of the 16 games in which he played and showed the kind of potential that could make him a fixture on the Penn State defense for years to come.
Senior Grady Renfrow and junior Andy Machi will be key figures on the defense as utility players and should vie for slots in the starting line-up. Renfrow is a tough-minded, no-quit player who started a career-high seven games in 2006 while Machi, who has seen playing time in 20 career contests, will be counted on to further improve and make his mark in his junior season.
Quality depth will be supplied by promising freshmen international recruits Andres Casais and Jon Davidsson and upstate New York native Casey Derkacz.
"We should be very solid on defense. Stephen Reihner has three years of playing experience and Geordie MacNeill has been a defensive mainstay for the past two years. We are bringing in very good young players who will challenge for playing time and could force their way into the mix," said Gorman.
GOALKEEPERS
Conrad Taylor enters his senior season with his standing as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Penn State soccer history already firmly established. A two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree, Taylor's name is a fixture in the Penn State record book. He ranks fourth in career shutouts with 21, just eight shy of the all-time record, and fourth in career goalkeeping with a 0.98 goals against average. In 2005, he tied the Nittany Lion record for shutouts in a season with 10. Among Taylor's greatest assets are his durability and consistency, as he has started 64 consecutive games and logged every available minute in goal since the first game of his freshman season, a remarkable span of over 6,143 minutes.
Redshirt freshman Liam Fitzwater and true freshman Warren Gross will challenge Taylor for time between the pipes.
"Conrad Taylor is healthy and I am looking for another stellar year from him," Gorman said. "Liam Fitzwater got PDL experience this summer and did well from all reports. Incoming goalie Warren Gross has Under-18 national team experience. Conrad is the incumbent, but if he isn't sharp, we have two good goalkeepers waiting to take over."
SCHEDULE
Ahead for Penn State in 2007 is a formidable schedule that features five games against teams that made the NCAA postseason a year ago, including championship game qualifier UCLA. The Penn State Classic (Sept. 7-9) brings to Happy Valley two opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association, William & Mary and Old Dominion, and will be one of the many highlights of the 2007 home schedule.
Other non-conference match-ups with BIG EAST opponents Syracuse and West Virginia, eastern foes Pennsylvania, Lafayette, Cornell, and Villanova, and traditional forces Cal State Fullerton and Akron will provide stern tests for Penn State. With an abundance of talent and a numerous teams on the rise, every game throughout the Big Ten Conference season will be a fierce battle, with the championship not likely to be decided until the final week.
"I think the schedule is a good one," said Gorman. "The Big Ten is getting better and better because all of the teams have excellent programs. The non-conference portion of the schedule is strong. The schedule, as a whole, is designed to prepare us to for the postseason. We have some very good games scheduled for Jeffrey Field that should serve up some fast, exciting, and entertaining collegiate soccer for fans."