PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Men's Soccer) – With three of its top four point scorers back from 2014 as well as a promising young goalkeeper in the net and a host of newcomers, the Shawnee State University men's soccer team will look to make a statement in the upcoming season as the Bears will take on Columbia International University in its season opener at 4 p.m. in a neutral site game at Milligan College in Tennessee.
The Bears, who were 4-12-3 last season under head coach Ron Goodson, showed improvement throughout the year last season, going 2-2-1 in their final five regular season games and battling a 15-win St. Catharine team to a draw in the second half, with two first-half goals by the Patriots making the difference in the Mid-South Conference (MSC) quarterfinals.
The promising finish could be a sign of things to come for SSU as the Bears return three of their top four point scorers, four of their top five goal scorers and each of their top three assist leaders from last season.
Ben Pulsford (SR/Slough, England) will be looking to improve on what was a standout season in 2014, as the senior recorded six goals (including two penalty kicks) and two assists to finish with 14 points on the year on just 18 shot attempts and obtained Second-Team All-MSC and First-Team All-Ohio honors in the process. He'll be joined on the backline by fellow returnee Dylan Stevens (SR/Canal Winchester, Ohio), who utilized his all-around game (three goals and three assists) to give his squad an added boost on both sides of the pitch. First-year players Aaron Mazurkiewicz (FR/Vincent, Ohio) and Caleb Roof (FR/Wheelersburg, Ohio) could also see extensive playing time on the backline.
Heading up the attack will be a quadrant of upperclassmen in Martyn Sayer, Avery Patton (SR/Pickerington, Ohio), Nick Dowdell (SR/New London, Ohio), and Joe Lamont (JR/Edinburgh, Scotland). Sayer had three goals and four assists as a sophomore in 2014. Patton recorded a team-high six assists last year as a junior. Dowdell added two goals and two assists despite only starting eight games as a junior last season. In his junior season, Lamont had three goals and an assist in 2014 to give the Bears a total of 13 assists and eight goals coming back – from the middle of the offensive attack by itself. Mauricio Solis (JR/San Jose, Costa Rica) and newcomers Caspar Nolte (FR/Germantown, Ohio) and Matt Williams (FR/West Salem, Ohio) will also figure into the rotation in the middle of the field.
In the goal, Brandon Pfeiffer (SO/Canal Winchester, Ohio) took over starting duties at goalie beginning with the eighth game of the season against No. 1 ranked Lindsey Wilson and after forcing the Blue Raiders and the Bears into a draw, never looked back with the position, averaging a 1.87 goal against average and recording 54 saves en route to a .711 save percentage on the season. The sophomore is expected to be the primary keeper for the duration of the season.
At forward, Matyas Krivan (FR/South Point, Ohio) is expected to jump right into the starting lineup to replace the departing Joseph Webster as one of the primary offensive players on the frontline, with Krivan scoring 28 goals and eight assists in his senior season at South Point High School.
As for Columbia International, they bring back two players who scored at least one point per game last season, as Daniel Mallard and Maksym Yakovenko each scored four points last year. Mallard, a senior from Greensboro, North Carolina by way of Wesleyan Christian Academy, nailed two goals while Yakovenko, a sophomore from Irpin, Ukraine by way of Carmel Christian School, had a goal and two assists.
