2007 Men's Soccer Season Preview
August 7, 2007

When the first-ever men’s soccer team took the field to play their first-ever home game last season, nobody knew what to expect.

Ninety minutes later, as freshman Michael Nuovo tucked a last-second game-winning goal under the opposing keeper, the team and fans were on the field celebrating an unlikely 2-1 upset over Cal Poly Pomona.  And at that point, everybody had a much better idea of what to expect.

The squad would go on to finish the season 12-3-1, narrowly missing the playoffs only because CSUSM is not in a conference.  Still, it was an amazing first year for men’s soccer, and the challenge facing Head Coach Ron Pulvers and his staff now is to provide an equally-compelling encore performance.

Predictably, no radical changes are expected.  The roster was young last year, and therefore the vast majority of the players on it will be back in 2007.  In fact, CSUSM is returning 10 of its starting 11 from last season.

But the one starter that won’t be back creates a huge challenge for the team.  Ben Crouse, last year’s team captain and a transfer from Notre Dame, graduated in the spring.  Crouse was the anchor of not just the Cougar defense, but of the entire team, both on and off the field.  He tallied 6 goals and 6 assists, and was the only Region II player from an Independent school named to the All-Region team.

“When you lose a player like Ben, obviously it’s going to hurt,” comments Pulvers.  “As much as he brought to the field, he might have made a bigger impact off of it.”

Replacing Crouse’s leadership is the primary challenge facing the team this season.  With the squad filled with hard-working, talented players, two of them are assuming the captain’s duties:  goalkeeper Trent Painter, and back Chris Dunckel.

Painter, a senior, was outstanding in net last year for the Cougars.  He started all 16 games, allowing just 16 goals and recording 8 shutouts.  With a year of experience under his belt, Painter should be even better in 2007.

In fact, he’ll have to step up his game, because he’ll be facing some serious competition for his job this season.  Tashi Nakanishi, a junior transfer from Cal State Northridge, will push Painter for all he’s got.  And fellow transfer Danny Berthiaume, who is penciled in as the #3 keeper, is also exceptional in net.  “It’s the best goalkeeping situation I’ve ever had,” remarks Pulvers.

Regardless of who’s in net, the Cougars’ back line should be strong, despite the loss of Crouse.  Sophomore Brian Luhrs was great as a freshman, and is particularly good in the air.  He and Dunckel, who has terrific mobility when healthy, should be able to make up for the loss of Crouse on-the-field.  Greg Rees, a transfer from Orange College, has excellent fitness and pace and could very well make his way into the starting back line as well.

Wide midfielders Bradley Seidenglanz and Miguel Jacobo are both back, and are one of the team’s biggest strengths.  Both excel at creating scoring opportunities, and Seidenglanz led the team last season in both goals (10) and assists (6).  Jacobo provided some of the season’s most jaw-dropping highlights, and tallied 3 goals and 3 assists.

According to Pulvers, the center midfield is the team’s biggest on-field question mark.  Returning starters Troy Skomra and Chris Wyatt are both very solid, but lack ideal experience.  The wild-card in the group, and on the team, is Felix Gonzalez-Dalmas, a transfer from Cal State Northridge. 

“He’s flat-out a special player,” remarks Pulvers.  “He plays like a pro.  But the question is how he will fit into the way we play.”

The Cougars play physical soccer, with an emphasis on every player giving as much effort on defense as they do on offense.  Gonzalez-Dalmas possesses tremendous creativity and offensive skills, but will need to match that effort on defense and be able to handle the physicality of soccer at this level to be truly effective.

On the front-line, the Cougar’s duo of Mike Nuovo and Curtis Marcikic is as dynamic as they come.  Nuovo, lightning-quick and with a rocket shot, finished second on the team with 9 goals last season.  Marcikic, very tall with great vision and playmaking ability, tallied 6 goals and 6 assists.  Both are entering just their sophomore seasons.

“Curtis and Michael are very special,” comments Pulvers.  “If they can stay focused, fit and healthy, they will be an absolute handful for opposing teams.”

CSUSM will also be able to bring in some firepower off the bench.  Demetri Hidalgo, a scoring specialist, notched 4 goals in limited playing time last season.  Redshirt freshman Brett Crouse (brother of Ben) and new recruit Danny Simms have a lot of potential, and both will provide depth this season.  Brandon Zuniga had a phenomenal spring and should see more playing time than he did as a freshman.  And crowd-favorite Danny Vasquez will once again spark the team off the bench.

Speaking of the crowd, the large and rowdy groups of students that showed up for home games last season gave CSUSM a serious home-field advantage, and one that Coach Pulvers hopes will continue into this year.

“It was amazing to see support like that,” he says.  “It speaks to the appetite for team sports on campus, and we’re trying to build on that.”

The Cougars will need help from their fans this season, given their significantly more difficult schedule.  CSUSM is slated to face six NCAA Division-II teams, as well as NAIA national runner-up Azusa Pacific.  It will be a tremendous challenge for Coach Pulvers’ team, but he believes they’re up to it, and is gunning for a winning record and post-season appearance.  Fans can follow the team online, or head out to Mangrum Track & Soccer Field for one of their four scheduled home games this season. 

With the new additions and higher level of competition, it should be a very exciting year for men’s soccer at CSUSM, and we hope you’ll join in cheering the team on!