Men's Soccer Preview Part 8: Butler
Sept. 1, 2005
High expectations have become the norm aroundthe Butler men's soccer program. And that suits headcoach Joe Sochacki just fine.
"We'll be disappointed if we don't match last year'swins," said the Butler coach, who guided the Bulldogsto a 13-6-1 record and a tie for first place in theHorizon League regular season race in 2004. "Ourgoals remain the same. We want to finish first in theregular season race and we want to win the conferencetournament championship."
The Bulldogs fell in the semifinals of last year'sHorizon League Tournament, but still wound up withthe fourth-highest win total in school history. Sevenstarters return from that club, including two of theteam's top three scorers.
"We should be as strong defensively as we were lastyear, and I think we might be more potent offensively,"stated Sochacki. "I also think we'll be deeper and moreathletic this year."
Sochacki does have to replace four key performersfrom last year's club. Graduation claimed allconferenceforward Cory Edgington, startinggoalkeeper Evan Reinhardt and midfielders DavidWyrick and Andrew Pancio. Edgington was theteam's second-leading scorer with 19 points in 2004,while Reinhardt ranked second in the league with a1.05 goals against average. Wyrick finished fourth onthe team in scoring with 12 points, while Pancio wasfifth with 11 points.
The graduation losses should be offset by thecombination of a strong returning cast and a host ofpromising newcomers. Leading the returnees are firstteam all-league performers Scott Olsen and JohnMariscalco, both three-year regulars Olsen started19 games at forward last season and led the team inscoring with nine goals and eight assists. He tied forthe league lead in game-winning goals with six, and hefinished second in the league in assists. Mariscalcostarted 19 matches as a back and midfielder, and hewound up sixth on the team in scoring.
Joining the two seniors will be returning midfieldersRoberto Gallo, Tim Blake, Jamie Gordon, JasonKieffer and Paul Mongillo. Gallo started 16 matchesin his first season at Butler after transferring from UIC,and he wound up as the team's third-leading scorerwith four goals and five assists. The former All-HorizonLeague performer tied for sixth in the league in assists.Blake, a transfer from DePaul, started 17 matches andtied for 7th on the team in scoring. Kieffer, anothertransfer from UIC, played in all 20 matches, whileGordon saw action in 14 contests. Mongillo playedin just two matches, but he had a strong summerseason with the Sockers FC of Illinois U-19 nationalchampionship team. Sophomore Mark Spiegel, whowas sidelined last year with an injury, will provide anadded lift, if he's cleared to play. Additional help willcome from junior Tom Turner, a transfer from DruryUniversity, and promising freshmen Brady Grahamand Danny Akl.
Butler will have a new look up front, with Olsenmoving back to the midfield and Edgington gone, butSochacki is optimistic about his team's prospects atforward. Junior John DeVae sat out last season aftertransferring from UIC, but he showed solid skills inteam practice sessions. DeVae started all 19 matchesat UIC in 2003. Sophomore Jeremy Fox played in16 matches a year ago, and the Bulldogs have addednewcomer Eduardo Garcia, who brings extensiveinternational experience as a member of the U-17 andU-20 National Teams in Peru. The Butler coach alsocan look to junior Ben Hinchey and freshman FrankPatano, who scored 123 goals in his four-year highschool career.
Defensively, the Bulldogs should be solid withthe return of senior Patrick Reilly and juniors MattSoldato and Aaron Thompson. Reilly was sidelinedwith a knee injury in 2003, but he returned at fullstrength and started all 20 matches last season.Soldato also started 20 matches, and he was namedButler's Most Valuable Player. Thompson played in18 matches, including 17 as a starter. The trio helpedButler post a league-high seven shutouts in 2004!Also returning are senior Casey Jewett and juniorsTim Kerstein and Tim Torretta. Jewett, who canalso play in the midfield, saw action in 17 matches ayear ago, while Kerstein was limited to just one match.Torretta, who played in five matches last year, is tryingto bounce back from injuries that plagued him for thepast two seasons. Soldato, Thompson and Jewettall shared seventh place on the team in scoring lastseason. Sochacki will look to freshmen Cory Barber,Ian Sweeney and Joe Wienman for added help.
Replacing Reinhardt, who posted a 10-5 recordlast year, could be Sochacki's biggest challenge, butthe Butler coach has a solid corps of goalkeepersavailable. Junior Frank Peabody, who started fivematches and posted a pair of shutouts last year, is thetop candidate, but he'll be challenged by sophomoresMike Sims and J. J. Weiland, junior Ian Ferries andfreshman Nick Hegeman. A transfer, Sims started16 matches at Eastern Illinois last year and posted apair of shutouts, including one against Butler. Weilandand Ferries both trained with the Bulldogs last year,but didn't see varsity action, while Hegeman is comingoff a solid career at Zionsville High School.
Story Peovided by Jim McGrath, Butler Sports Information
