Men's Soccer Preview, Part 6: Loyola
Aug. 23, 2007
After earning the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in the history of the program last fall, the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team aims to repeat the feat in 2007 and will rely on seven returning starters and a talented cast of newcomers to continue the forward progress achieved under third-year coach Brendan Eitz.
Last season, a staunch Rambler defense paved the way to an 11-8-2 record and a postseason appearance as the team equaled a school record with 10 shutouts. Leading the defense in 2007 is senior Iradj Farahmand, who was a Second Team All-Great Lakes Region and First Team All-Horizon League selection. Farahmand, the captain of the Loyola defensive unit, was named Most Valuable Player at the Horizon League Championship last fall.
Farahmand should also be joined in the defense by a pair of returning starters - senior Reed Cataldo and junior Kevin Harrigan. A host of other Ramblers figure in the mix on defense, including senior Tony DeLuca, sophomore Malcolm DeBaun, juniors Tanner Krause and Zach Lewis and freshmen Derek Lang and Will Martin.
A year ago, Sean Bond turned in one of the finest individual efforts in Loyola annals in between the pipes and Eitz and his staff will look to replace the graduated senior. Eitz has three keepers, two with significant experience, to call on this fall. Junior Brad Sommer was the Ramblers' starting keeper in 2005 and got the starting nod in the first two matches last fall before being sidelined with an injury and giving way to Bond. As a freshman, Sommer won six matches and owned a 1.85 goals-against average.
Eitz has other options at his disposal including sophomore Andrew Biggs, who appeared in only one match as a rookie a year ago, and junior Brian Byrne, a transfer from nearby Lewis University. Byrne started 21 matches in his two-year career at Lewis, winning 12 of those contests while posting a GAA under 1.00.
Despite the loss of the team's top scorer from a year ago, Matt Marek (15 points), Loyola welcomes back three of its top four scorers, including midfielder Keum Sung Kim, a First Team All-Horizon League and Second Team All-Great Lakes Region selection. Kim, who has been an impact player since the day he arrived on campus, registered 10 points, including a career-best eight assists in 2006.
A pair of high-scoring sophomores, midfielder Alex Jones and forward Michael Ferguson, will be counted on to build on strong rookie campaigns. Jones, who missed five matches due to illness last year, still managed to record a team-high-tying six goals, three of which were game winners, and ranked second on the club with 12 points. Ferguson also provided three game-winning goals and twice had multiple-goal outings en route to an 11-point freshman season.
Sophomore midfielder Eric Gehrig, senior forward Markian Zyga and junior midfielder Matt Kilday will look to replace some of the scoring punch provided by graduated seniors Marek and Javier Lopez. Junior Lubo Boris had a strong spring season in 2006 before missing the entire fall season after suffering a broken leg. Midfielders Chris Wurst, Tim Puttkammer and Matt Kobussen will also vie for playing time.
Eitz has brought in another impressive recruiting class that features the aforementioned goalkeeper Brian Byrne and defenders Will Martin and Derek Lang. They are joined by forward Josh Westberg and midfielders Andy Weis, Chris Mills, Willie Koss and Dan Biga.
As has been the case under Eitz, Loyola will play a challenging non-conference schedule to ready itself for the rigors of the Horizon League, which welcomes Valparaiso University as a League member this fall. The Ramblers open the season with consecutive home contests against Cincinnati and Jacksonville and will compete in tournaments at UMKC and San Diego, while also squaring off against local rivals Northwestern and DePaul. When the Ramblers face Valparaiso on Sept. 16, they will play that contest at Toyota Park, home of the Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire.
With a nice blend of youth and experience, Eitz has the Ramblers poised for another championship run in 2007.
Story provided by Loyola Office of Sports Information
