Men's Soccer Ready to Compete in 2018

SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist enters the 2018 season with optimism and has their eyes squarely on winning the Great American Conference Tournament at the end of the season.
 
Following a 7-9-1 campaign in 2017, including a 3-3 conference mark, the program reloaded with a very young core that is expected to shoulder much of the playing time this season. The Bison are projected to start four freshmen and four sophomores to open up the year.
 
"We're a little bit young, and that's kind of showed already in our preseason games," said OBU Head Coach Anthony Yousey. "We've got a group of guys that are gaining college experience as we go, but they're a talented group and they're a smart group. We've just got to catch up to the speed of play a little bit."
 
Coming off a season that saw the Bison average 2.00 goals per match but allow 1.94 to opponents, the coaching staff decided to change the formation and will now be aligned in a 3-5-2, adding more players to the midfield while retaining three defenders on the back line. The formation change is expected to improve the team defensively.
 
"We've been really good the last two years offensively, but we feel like defensively we've given up way too many goals off counter attacks and turnovers and things of that nature, so we're trying to slow that down a little bit," said Yousey. "We've always been a more possession-oriented team versus counterattacking style of team, so we're hoping that we can win the ball in the midfield and then with our numbers in there, being able to keep possession and build our attack from there."
 
The team has repositioned some players in order to better fit the new system and provide leadership for the young squad. Ten returners appeared in at least 11 matches last season for the Bison and are expected to contribute once again.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Parker Lawter returns for his second season in goal after starting 10 matches last year and finishing with a 1.88 goals-allowed average on a .627 save percentage. Bronson Wise and Seth Moles are backing up Lawter but may see time throughout the year.
 
"[Wise and Moles are] really pushing and challenging Parker for that starting position and hopefully we'll just continue that competition throughout the year and getting better all the way," said Yousey.
 
Playing in front of Lawter will be three experienced transfers in senior Abdoulaye Bah, junior Dave Brown and sophomore Ítalo Vichiatto. All three have playing experience and the trio adds a significant amount of size defensively. Bah checks in a 6-7, Brown is 6-0 and Vichiatto measures at 6-2.
 
"We definitely increased our size in the back because we've had an issue in the past dealing with balls in the air," said Yousey. "We're hoping to be a bit more physically dominant in the back and definitely in the air, more dominant."
 
Junior Michael Stewart has transitioned into the midfield and will play holding midfielder for the Bison while senior Jesus Andrade and junior Alejandro Castillo are slotted as attacking midfielders.
 
"Probably the biggest change in [the midfield] is Michael Stewart, who's played center back the last two years," said Yousey. "Jesus Andrade is our team captain this year, this is his fourth year and he's come in in the best shape he's ever been in. He's really ready to play and looks really good for this year. Along with Alejandro Castillo, those two as the center-mids this year is really kind of the backbone of our team right now."
 
The remaining two spots on the outsides of the midfield are expected to be filled by a combination of freshman Felipe Robertson and sophomores Dominic Gibson and Sean Grilley.
 
"[Those three] have all been fighting for that position. We're waiting to see who's going to really emerge as the starters," said Yousey.
 
Freshmen Bruno Feirrera and JuAn Kim are slotted as the starters at forward to begin the season. They will be backed up by senior Martin Romero, sophomore transfer Eric Sala and senior Jonathan Martinez, who is making a position change from midfielder to forward.
 
"It's kind of a downside that [Feirrera and Kim] are both freshman but it's an upside that they're going to be playing together for the next four years, so hopefully they'll get to know each other pretty well," said Yousey. "We've added quite a few new guys and we have a lot more depth up front this year and a lot more options to go forward."
 
OBU is entering the fourth season in the GAC and has positioned themselves to compete for a conference championship once again. The Bison won the regular season title in 2016 but have fallen short in the GAC Tournament championship game in two of their first three seasons in the league. That will serve as fuel for the team this season.
 
"We've won the conference outright but we haven't managed to be able to win the conference tournament yet, and I think that that's something that's lingering within not only just the coaching staff but with the players. It's just kind of something that we haven't been able to grasp, and it's definitely something we're hungry for and want to win this year," said Yousey.
 
Oklahoma Baptist hosts Adams State in the season opener on Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. at the OBU Soccer Complex.