2001 University of Tulsa Men's Soccer Outlook
8/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 10, 2001
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's soccer team enters the 2001 season with both high hopes and expectations. After all, the Hurricane completed the 2000 campaign, against one of the most competitive schedules in school history, with a 10-7-2 overall record. Although the final mark is misleading with seven losses, TU dropped all seven contests by just a single goal and battled 2000 Final Four participant SMU and national runner-up Creighton to the wire before surrendering late goals.
After so many close calls last season, TU Head Coach Tom McIntosh hit the recruiting trails in search of players who will make a difference for the Hurricane in 2001 and bring a Missouri Valley Conference championship back to Tulsa. The key ingredient each of the 12 members of this year's recruiting class possesses is speed.
Tulsa returns 13 letterwinners from last year's squad, including seven starters, and looks to blend a very seasoned group of skillful veterans with a band of speedy newcomers.
"The strength of our team this season will be the leadership we have in our returning players," McInotsh said. "All 13 of our returners are key players that have a good work ethic and trained extremely hard during the spring season.
"With our incoming players, we will be faster than we were a year ago. We now have speed in both the front and back. One of the problems we had last year was not getting behind teams and creating some easy goals off breakaways."
The Golden Hurricane enters its seventh season under McIntosh and will look to make some noise in the talent-laden MVC. McIntosh thinks this year's squad could be one of the best in the country, but knows with such an influx of newcomers it will be important for his team to jell quickly.
"Skillwise, we should matchup and be as good as anybody in the country from top to bottom. The key for us this season is to get the newcomers to jell with our returners and become a cohesive unit," McIntosh said.
Leading the way for Tulsa is a very experienced group of seniors with proven leadership abilities. This year's senior trio includes Brent Bayouth, Giancarlo Barzotti and Chris Spears.
Forward
Although Tulsa returns just two players up front, the forward position might be the most competitive positions on this year's team.
Sophomore Stephen Warwick returns to lead the frontal attack for the Hurricane in 2001. Last season, Warwick was named to the MVC All-Newcomer team after he posted six goals and five assists for 17 points while starting every game.
Bayouth, who came on strong toward the end of last season with three goals for six points, will join Warwick up front.
"Stephen had a very good freshman year. He caused our opponents a lot of problems last season. He's a very smart player who is capable of scoring 12 goals this season. "Brent is one of our most athletic forwards. He has a great work rate and we look for him to be more of a factor this season and have a big year," McIntosh said.
After Warwick and Bayouth, TU will rely on three talented newcomers to push the two returners for playing time and possibly a starting spot.
Heading up the list is sophomore-transfer Kenny Infante, who comes to Tulsa after spending last season at Radford University. During his freshman season of 2000, Infante tallied five goals and six assists for 16 points while starting 10 of 16 games played.
A pair of freshmen, Kyle Brown and Ethan Althaus, will be looked upon to make an immediate impact for the Hurricane on the offensive end.
"I liked Kenny coming out of high school. He's a natural target player who plays well with his back to the goal. He's a goal scorer who's always around the net.
"Kyle gained a great deal of experience at the club level and may be the fastest player we've had at TU during my tenure. He's a game-breaker who I foresee playing right away," McIntosh said.
"Ethan has the most upside of any of the forwards. He is very fluid for his height and can beat people one-on-one. Looking back in a year or so, we'll consider him a real steal," McIntosh added.
Midfield
If the forward spot is the most competitive position on the team, TU's midfield is the strength on this year's squad. Tulsa returns five players, including two starters, to the center and wide midfield positions.
Balancing the TU attack will be senior Chris Spears, juniors Mario Gonzalez and Luke Meriwether and sophomores Bryan Rudd and Kris Glasser.
Last season, Spears started all 19 games and registered four goals and a team-high seven assists for 15 points, while Gonzalez found the net four times and recorded five assists for 13 points. Gonzalez, who started 17 of the 18 games, was named to the MVC All-Newcomer team.
Meriwether and Glasser both played sparingly last season, but should see significant minutes this fall. Rudd played in 16 games as a freshman a year ago.
"We're going to move Chris into more of an attacking roll this season. Last year, he played more of a defensive role in the midfield. Mario will move from the left midfield spot into more of an attacking midfielder. Kris had a great spring and should compete for a starting position at left midfield. Bryan is another player who had a good spring and will move to right midfield, while Luke will see more time as a defensive midfielder," McIntosh said.
Competing for starting spots and playing time in the midfield will be six newcomers. Heading up the list is junior-transfer John Michael Waite, a Tulsa native who comes back to his home state after spending the last two seasons at Furman University. While at Furman, Waite played in 29 games and helped the Paladins win two conference regular season and tournament championships. He played on two NCAA Tournament teams.
Freshmen Cale Lalumia, Rhodri Payne, Scott Kincaid, Carlos Montilla and Jack Goodloe will all look to push TU's upperclassmen this season.
"I expect John Michael to come in and make an immediate impact on our team. He's very quick with the ball and brings NCAA Tournament experience to our squad. Cale will be an attacking midfielder and should really push our returners for playing time at that spot. He's one of the best passers coming out of high school that I've seen this year. Rhodri has great international experience. He's fast and provides excellent service of the ball. He should come in and have an impact out wide.
"Scott is a very skillful player who can cover a lot of ground. He's a left-footed player who will push some of our other players for playing time. Carlos and Jack are going to need some time to adjust to this level of play," McIntosh said.
Defender
Tulsa's corps of defenders is the most experienced group on the team. Junior and two-year co-captain Derek Meyers, along with senior Giancarlo Barzotti and sophomore Matt Yeager return to anchor what appears to be a very solid and quick TU backfield.
Meyers earned honorable mention all-MVC honors a year ago, while Barzotti started 16 of the 18 games he played. Barzotti is a three-year starter as a defender.
As a redshirt freshman last season, Yeager came into his own. He gave the Hurricane a presence in the air and has turned into a solid defender. Yeager picked up MVC All-Newcomer team merits last season as well.
Although he missed a majority of the 2000 campaign with nagging injuries, junior Erik Block returns to provide TU with valuable experience and depth. As a sophomore, Block started 10 games and should compete for the starting nod this season.
"Derek is the heart and soul of our team. Although he is a defender, he plays a bigger part in the overall game because he's a very smart player who is physical and vocal as a leader.
"Giancarlo has been a very consistent three-year starter at the left-back position. He gives us good service and makes very good decisions when he has the ball. He very rarely gives the ball away. I expect him to have a very good senior season," McIntosh said.
"Matt is a center-back who had a good freshman year. He's a very good passer. Erik started as a center-back as a sophomore, and should compete for the starting spot this fall," McIntosh added.
Three freshmen will look to make immediate contributions to the Hurricane defense. J.J. Havlik, a left-footed player who strikes the ball well, should challenge for the left-back spot. Michael Haynes will be the speediest of all the defenders, while James Dabney is a very versatile player with good speed as well.
"J.J. has a good chance to play right away. He is very accurate with his service. Michael and James are both very fast and can cover a lot of ground. All three players should challenge for a starting spot," McIntosh said.
Goalkeeper
Tulsa should be very solid in goal with returning starter, junior Brent Salter. Salter started every game last season and collected 74 saves against 30 goals allowed for a goals-against-average of 1.54.
Challenging Salter for the starting nod will be sophomore Terry Boss. Boss played in just two games as a freshman, but has made great strides to improve his overall game.
"Brent had a very good spring and has worked hard during the offseason to become more physically fit. He is good in the air and off crosses. Our team is very confident with him in goal. I think he could be one of the best goalkeepers in the conference this season.
"Terry came here with a lot of raw talent, but he has great physical characteristics and he's a hard worker with a relentless work ethic, both on and off the field. He is very confident in his ability after turning in a good spring," said McIntosh.
The Schedule
Tulsa's 2001 schedule features nine home games, including a four-team tournament to begin the season, dates against four teams fresh off NCAA Tournament appearances and an always competitive MVC slate.
Tulsa opens the season as host of the Microtel Inn & Suites/Golden Hurricane Classic. Tulsa kicks off the season at home on Aug. 31 in a first-time meeting with Cal-State Northridge. A day later, TU squares off against UNLV (Sept. 1).
The Hurricane makes the first of three trips to Springfield, Mo., to participate in the Southwest Missouri State Tournament. In the first game on Sept. 7, TU squares off against Western Illinois. Two days later, Tulsa and Georgia Southern tangle in a first time meeting on Sept. 9.
Less than a week later, the Hurricane invades the "Show-Me-State" again to face UMKC on Sept. 15.
The air is always tense when cross-town rivals Tulsa and Oral Roberts hook up at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex in the annual Mazzio's T-Town Shootout on Sept. 18.
TU begins a three-game road trip in New Haven, Conn., against Yale on Sept. 21 in the first game of the Yale Tournament. The Hurricane faces a stiff test when it sets its sights on the Brown Bears on Sept. 22. The Bears fell one game short of the 2000 NCAA Final Four a year ago. Both contests mark first time meetings for Tulsa.
Tulsa remains on the road in late September as the Hurricane makes its second trip of the month to Springfield, Mo., where TU meets Drury on Sept. 27.
The Hurricane closes out the month at home against Metropolitan State on Sept. 30. Tulsa opens MVC play with back-to-back road games at Vanderbilt (Oct. 5) and Western Kentucky (Oct. 7).
TU begins a season-long five-game homestand against Creighton on Oct. 12. Tulsa follows that game with home dates against Drake (Oct. 14), SMU (Oct. 20), Bradley (Oct. 26), who played in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, and Eastern Illinois (Oct. 28).
The Hurricane closes out the 2001 regular season with consecutive road games. Tulsa plays at Evansville on Nov. 2 and meets Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Mo., on Nov. 4.
The 2001 MVC Tournament will be held in St. Louis, Mo., for the second straight season, Nov. 16-18.
"The conference race will be wide open. I think SMU, Creighton, Bradley, Southwest Missouri State, Vanderbilt and Tulsa all have a good chance of taking home the conference championship, but with this league there are no easy games.
" I think from top to bottom, this is the toughest conference in the nation," McIntosh said.
