Men’s soccer looking for early season spark

There are only a few things that are harder than repeating as champions two consecutive years: bowling a perfect game, splitting the atom and ordering a freshly cooked burger from the Grille.

Therefore, Virginia Wesleyan’s men’s soccer team has begun the 2004 season with some added pressure on its shoulders.

Despite a preseason national ranking of 21, the Marlins have had a slow start with a 2-2 record, but the coaching staff is confident in their squad and the skill that they have.

“We have a talented bunch,” said head coach Sonny Travis. “They have had little time to mesh, but I am encouraged by their talent. There will be some bumps along the way.”

Following a season in which the Marlins finished 17-4 overall, including an 11-1 home record; won the ODAC championship for the first time since 1999; and advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament, the soccer team understands the challenge and is ready to try as hard as possible.

Due to graduation, the first main challenge is to fill the void left by 2003 first-team All-ODAC goalkeeper Sean Wheaton.

“You can’t replace him,” said Travis. “He was one of the all-time best I have coached, and we have some extremely good keepers to fill in.”

Competing for the job are senior Mark Hackett, junior Matt Gillespie and freshman Kyle Williams. To date, Gillespie is the front-runner having started two of the four games.

Junior Co-Captain Kelvin Murray returns after being named 2003 ODAC Player of the Year and his second straight All-America team. Other co-captains include Senior Steve Leahy and 2003 second team All-ODAC senior Caleb Hill. Other All-ODAC returnees include junior Chris Mills, junior Matt Greene and sophomore Ryan Cassel.

The Marlins have also brought in some highly recruited rookies, including Williams, defender Travis Cober and midfielders Pat Overton and Damien Woodley.

Attributed to the slow start of the 2004 season is the foot injury Murray suffered during the season opener, in which the Marlins lost to York College by a score of 1-0 at the Christopher Newport University Invitational on Sept. 4. Murray should come back between games against University of Mary Washington Sept. 15 and Guilford College Sept. 18.

Bouncing back the next day, the Marlins played 22- ranked Denison University and won 3-1 with two goals from Cassell and one from Woodley.

The Marlins then improved to a 2-1 record after Hill took advantage of a penalty kick in the second overtime against William Patterson University in the first game of the Blue Marlin Adidas Classic. However, after a tough 2-1 loss to Baldwin Wallace University the next day, the Marlins fell to 2-2.

Nevertheless, as a veteran coach who has been through multiple scenarios and seen success on many levels, Travis is upbeat about his team’s play.

“The 2-2 start is due to injury and a team chemistry factor,” he said. “We are real close to being 3-1 or even 4-0. We have only lost two one-goal games, and we played very hard in both.”

Conversely, some players feel that the effort is weak.

“We have the potential to be a great team,” said Hackett. “But some guys think they can just walk on out on the field and win a game, when we need to go out and play to win.”

Looking farther down the season, Travis has some big expectations for his 2004 squad. Even though he realizes that his hybrid team of freshman impact players and consistently hard- working veterans cannot connect the way a team full of veterans could, he still expects that by the end of the regular season, this team will be as strong as 2003’s.