The Colorado College men's soccer team has been a model of consistency.
During the last seven seasons, the Tigers have posted a 94-41-7 record, a .687 winning percentage, and averaged just over 13 victories per season.
In two seasons as a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, CC has finished with league marks of 13-7 and 13-6-1, which put the Tigers in a three-way tie for third place in 2007 and then fourth in 2008.
Colorado College has been at its best during the early portion of its schedule, posting a 46-16-4 record and .727 winning percentage during the months of August and September.
But a combined 8-7-1 mark during the month of November, which includes a 2-2 record each of the last two seasons, has consistently kept the Tigers from achieving their primary goal – earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
That's something head coach Horst Richardson is determined to change during the 2009 campaign.
“When we met with the team at the conclusion of the 2008-09 academic year, I let it be known there are two challenges,” said Richardson, who needs only four victories to record No. 500 for his Colorado College career. “We need to take advantage of our home dates and build momentum for the end of the season.
“We've been in the SCAC for two years and we have been in contention for a spot near the top of the standings. But because of our inability to come through at the end of the season, we finished lower than we would have liked.”
Fortunately, the Tigers appear to have all the tools necessary to maintain a consistent effort throughout the year. They have seven seniors to provide leadership, eight of their top 11 point producers from a year ago and a goaltender who ranked among the Division III leaders in both goals-against average and saves percentage.
And in addition to the motivation of missing out on the NCAA playoffs, the team will begin the season with an infusion of energy thanks to this summer's two-week training trip in Brazil.
“That was the first foreign tour that we have taken where the emphasis was on training,” Richardson said. “We would love to play a Brazilian-style game, but you can't acquire those types of skills in two weeks. We focused on skill development so that when we begin training, we can carry over what we learned while playing in Brazil.”
The offense will feature senior forward/captain Trevor Cobb, who has 22 career goals and 16 assists and led the Tigers in total points during each of his first three seasons. The first-team all-SCAC selection scored four of his seven career game-winning goals in 2008 and assisted on four other game winners.
Senior forward Jordan Reese set career highs with seven goals and 17 points last season. He too has been a fixture among CC's top three scoring leaders since his freshman campaign when he had a team-leading six assists, three of them on game-winning goals. Reese enters his final campaign with 14 career goals and 12 assists.
Coming off a break-out season in 2008, senior Brendan Douglas established career highs with seven goals and three assists to finish tied for third on the team with 17 points. He notched the team's only hat trick of the year during the 11-0 victory over Cornell College.
Senior Chris Ellis struck for a career-high four goals and will give CC additional firepower in the midfield.
Senior midfielder Ben Hancock tallied three goals and a pair of assists during his career, but after a brilliant effort in Brazil, appears ready to make his final season a memorable one.
The team also will be counting on senior David Van Sicklen, who enters his final campaign with five career goals and an assist.
“If the seniors perform, we'll have opportunities galore,” Richardson said. “We also have talented juniors and sophomores backing them up.”
The junior class includes Nicky Anastas, Kevin Ecke, and Sandy Feuer at the offensive end, along with Wil Nelp, who will anchor the defense.
The sophomore class includes midfielder Chris Lutz, and defenders Warren King and Chris Walker.
While the defense will have a new look, the Tigers boast a pair of battle-tested goalkeepers in senior Brian Engle and junior Andy McGhie. Engle, a first-team all-SCAC selection, led the league with a 0.45 goals-against average and .886 saves percentage. He tied for second with six shutouts despite playing in only 11 games.
Injuries limited McGhie to just two appearances in 2008, but he posted a 2-2 record the year before.
“Brian is working hard to be even more athletic and agile,” said assistant coach James Wagenschutz, who works with the team's goalkeepers. “He needs to continue to show the kind of drive that got him where he is.
“Andy was injured last year, but he has amazing athleticism and a desire to compete. He's looking forward to the opportunity to make his mark.”
In addition to first-year keepers Brian Graf and Forrest Marowitz, nine other newcomers earned a psot on the roster.
Players with the potential to contribute during their first season include defender Nick Lammers and midfielders Joel Dungan, Matt Fechter and Anthony Hyatt.
“I'm really excited about the incoming class,” Wagenschutz said. “They've played at a higher level of competitive soccer and they're going to push our returning players. Preseason will be very competitive this year.”
The 2009 campaign begins on Sept. 4 when the Tigers play host to Fontbonne University. The eight-game season-opening home stand includes visits by cross-town rival CU-Colorado Springs and Montclair State University, which was ranked No. 3 in Division III for most of the 2008 campaign.
The SCAC schedule starts on Sept. 18 with back-to-back games against Southwestern University and defending champion Trinity University.
“If we do well against teams the first weekend, then I think we can be off and running,” Richardson said. “We have a couple of night games on the turf, which I think brings out a lot of fire in the guys.
“I'm looking forward to the upcoming season. This is another great opportunity, but we've got to give it all we've got. We've got to lay the foundation for a successful finish by getting into the groove in September and playing at a consistently high level throughout the remainder of the season.”
