INDIANAPOLIS -- The 2014 men’s soccer regular season gets underway Friday with all nine Horizon League squads taking the pitch. In anticipation to another exciting year throughout the League, these are the players to watch.
Belmont Bruins
Luca Schioppa
Midfield | Senior | Sao Paulo, Brazil
Schioppa enters his first year in the Horizon League after starting all 18 games for the Bruins a season ago. He was voted to the All-Independent Second Team by CollegeSportsMadness.com as well as ranking fifth on the squad in both points and shots.
Anthony Torres
Defense | Junior | Batavia, Ill.
Torres made 12 match appearances and six starts last season for the Bruins. He will be a key contributor to the Belmont defense as the team makes its debut appearance in the Horizon League.
Cleveland State Vikings
Mike Derezic
Midfield | Senior | Cleveland, Ohio
During Derezic’s junior season, he appeared in 19 games on the pitch for the Vikings while starting 16 of those matches. He tallied 21 shots throughout the year with 10 being on goal. He collected his lone assist of the season against Wright State in conference play.
Sergio Manesio
Midfield/Centerback | Sophomore | London, England
Throughout Manesio’s freshman campaign he started all 19 games for Cleveland State. With five goals scored, he ranked second on the team including the game-winning goal at Bowling Green. In addition, he tallied two assists and recorded 12 points on 39 shots, with 16 of those on goal. He was also voted to the Horizon League All-Freshman team.
Detroit Titans
Nathan Steinwascher
Goalkeeper | Senior | Sterling Heights, Mich.
While in the net for every match of his junior season for the Titans, Steinwascher tallied 1730 minutes to rank fifth in single season school history. He recorded a season-high 10 saves against Robert Morris and saved 77 percent of the shots he faced in net throughout the year. Steinwascher finished the season with 99 saves and three shutouts.
Spiro Pliakos
Forward | Freshman | Rochester Hills, Mich.
Pliakos joins the squad after an impressive career at Rochester High School. He was a four-time All-Conference honoree as well as a three-time All-District and All-Region selection. Throughout his four years, Pliakos was also named All-State Honorable Mention as a sophomore, All-State Third Team as a junior, and All-State Dream Team and a high school All-American as a senior.
Green Bay Phoenix
Audi Jepson
Midfield | Sophomore | Green Bay, Wis.
Jepson was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in his first season on the pitch for the Phoenix. He appeared in 16 matches with 13 starts while netting his first-career goal in game-winning fashion against DePaul. Jepson also tallied two assists and had a season-high of four shots against Wright State.
Lawrence Talery
Midfield | RS Senior | Coon Rapids, Minn.
Talery started all 17 matches for Green Bay last season and led the team with six assists. He netted four goals for the Phoenix with his first career goal coming against then No. 12 Marquette. Talery was also named to the Horizon League All-Second Team.
Milwaukee Panthers
Laurie Bell
Midfield | Senior | Poynton, England
Bell started all 20 games for the Panthers capturing career-highs in all categories. He received numerous accolades for his standout season including First Team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American, Second Team Top Drawer Soccer National Best XI, First-Team NSCAA All-Region, Horizon League Player of the Year, Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Horizon League. Bell led the League in points (30), goals (13), goals-per-game and shots-per game. Going into this season, he has been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list in which he was a semifinalist for as a junior.
Luke Goodnetter
Defense | Senior | Elm Grove, Wis.
Started all 19 games in his debut season on the pitch for the Panthers. Goodnetter was named to the Horizon League All-Second Team while collecting 10 points throughout the season on two goals and six assists. He assisted on both goals during the League Championship en route to earning All-Tournament accolades.
UIC Flames
Andrew Putna
Goalkeeper | Sophomore | Lemont, Ill.
Putna ended an impressive freshman campaign garnering Horizon League Freshman and Goalkeeper of the Year as well as a spot on the All-League First Team and All-Freshman Team. He started all 20 matches for the Flames collecting 16 wins and 10 shutouts to lead the conference. His 16 goals allowed on the season gave him a 0.79 goals against average while tallying 52 saves.
Thomas Villamil
Defense | RS Junior | Niles, Ill.
Villamil was named to the Horizon League All-Second Team last year while appearing in 19 games for UIC. As an integral member of the defense, Villamil contributed to the team’s 10 shutouts and limited the opposing offense to just 16 goals. In addition, he recorded shots on goal against DePaul, Michigan State and Milwaukee.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Joey Tinnion
Forward | Senior | Macomb, Mich.
Tinnion appeared in 17 matches for Oakland, making 13 starts. He was named to the Horizon League All-Second Team while leading the team with 18 points and seven goals. In conference play, Tinnion scored the game-winning goal in a come-from-behind win at Wright State to mark one of his three game-winning goals throughout the season.
Matt Dudley
Midfield | Junior | Preston, England
Dudley appeared in 17 matches for the Grizzlies, starting 13 of those contests. He finished the year with two assists and two goals. The first of his two goals served as the game-winner at Marshall.
Valparaiso Crusaders
Zev Taublieb
Midfield | Senior | Malibu, Calif.
Taublieb made 17 starts for the Crusaders while making an appearance in 18. He tallied two assists against Western Illinois to mark the only Valparaiso squad member to record a multi-assist game on the season and added another one against Kentucky. Taublieb also notched seven shots on the year with three of those on goal.
Eric Nieto
Defense | Senior | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Nieto saw action in 13 matches while making starts in 11 of those. He notched his lone goal against Kentucky while totalling 16 shot attempts on the year for the Crusaders.
Wright State Raiders
Emeka Ononye
Defense | Senior | Richmond, ONT
Ononye took the pitch for the Raiders in 19 games last season. He finished the year with one goal, one shot on goal and two total points. Ononye was also named to the Horizon League All-Second Team.
Brett Elder
Forward | Junior | Worthington, Ohio
Elder led the Raiders with seven goals, 16 points, 47 shots and 21 shots on goal last season. He also tallied two assists and two game-winning goals while on the pitch. In addition, Elder was selected to the Horizon League All-Second Team.
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Comprised of nine public and private institutions of higher learning, the Horizon League is an NCAA Division I athletics conference that sponsors 19 intercollegiate championship sports and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The League and its member institutions aspire to teach young people, through athletic competition, the value of learning, service to others and personal responsibility.
