Men’s soccer team expects best season ever

By Chris Nicolini
Sports/Web Editor

The UNCP men’s soccer team is looking forward to one of their most productive seasons ever in the 24 year history of the team. Leading the Braves are squad co-captains Alex Hall and Grame Little. The team defeated Division I East Carolina University 2-1 during a preseason friendly, and shutout St. Andrews, 8-0, Mars Hill, 5-0, and Longwood College, 5-0.

The team’s strong showing has catapulted them into the No. 4 ranking in the latest NCAA Division II regional poll.

A big reason for the early success has been the play of Sascha Görres, who was named the season’s first Peach Belt Conference player- of-the-week earlier this week. Görres has recorded two goals and five assists in just three games.

Gorres is one of a record 14 student-athletes on the squad hailing from foreign soil, and the lineup reflects this with only two American-born players starting. Seven players are from Germany, two each from England and Norway, and one each from Spain, Sweden, and Guatemala.

International standouts include sophomores Veit Schaidinger, Trond Myrland and Christoph Schiessl, and freshman Jose Sanchez. Schaidinger and Schiessel both come to UNCP from the University of Regensburg in Germany. Myrland is from Molde, Norway and Sanchez comes from Guatemala where he served as the 2002 Guatemalan Junior National team captain.

With all these nationalities represented, communication problems can sometimes arise on the pitch.

“With the international players it has taken some getting used to so they understand exactly what we’re talking about,” said Senior goalkeeper Alex Hall. “At first when we were using slang terms such as ‘push up’ or ‘contain’ some international players didn’t understand what we meant.”

With more experienced players on the squad the team has moved away from more traditional formations such as a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation, and has begun using a more sophisticated zone defense.

“We have a much more talented defense than we have ever had,” said Hall. “This year we have so much depth that the team that is on our bench could come off our bench and play and beat most of the teams we are beating anyway.”

Upcoming challenges await the squad during the season as both heavily talented Lander University and USC-Spartanburg vie to edge out the Braves in the Peach Belt Conference.

“I’ve been told that we’ve never beaten Lander,” Hall said. “So of course we’re looking to beat them. This is the year.”