'Necks conclude bounce back season

By: Bill Welt

Posted: 11/21/08

The Leathernecks soccer team enjoyed a surprisingly successful season this year under Dr. Eric Johnson's 12th year as head coach.

The squad surpassed all expectations as they finished second in the conference with a 12-4-3 regular season record.

The 'Necks were picked in pre-season polls to miss the conference tournament and finish fifth in The Summit League.

Western started the season with six straight victories on the road after coming off a disappointing 2007 season, when they finished with a 7-10-3 record.

"Our team chemistry was so much better than last year," said sophomore midfielder Cosimo Patano. "We see people on the field just fighting for each other and working hard as a group as a whole for one another rather than individually."

The 'Necks maintained stability throughout the season, despite losing several games in conference play. The season came down to one last regular season match, when they had to defeat conference foe Oral Roberts to advance to the postseason for a chance to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Western defeated Oral Roberts 2-0 to advance to the conference tournament as a No. 2 seed and face UMKC. The 'Necks were unable to defeat the Kangaroos, losing in double-overtime 1-0 last Friday. Western outshot UMKC 15-9, but could not find the back of the net.

"It's always tough to lose in overtime," Johnson said. "Our seniors were pretty devastated on Friday. Just try to remind them what they accomplished over the year, to have competed so well in so many games. (We) overcame a lot of adversity. When (the season) ended so abruptly, it's hard to remember all of that. It'll all come back to them as they think over all the good games they won and how far they came this year."

Seniors Jona Andrade and Nikola Katic earned all-league and all-tournament honors this season as they helped guide a fairly young team in 2008. Midfielder Andrade finished the season with six goals and one assist. Five of his goals turned out to be game-winners for the 'Necks.

Defender Katic helped lead the defensive backfield to a school record of allowing only 17 goals this season, a record which had stood since 1986.

"We had great leadership this year with Jona and Niko," said junior goalkeeper Stephen Patterson. "They stepped up and did their part leading the team."

Junior transfer attacker Darryl Odom credits his transition to Western as an easy one, thanks to the seniors doing their part guiding a young team.

"It was always nice to know they had your back," Odom said. "You never had to worry about anything when you took the field. You always knew they were going to back you up whether you were wrong or right, and as a team, that's what you're supposed to do."

Next year's returning players look forward to coming back and starting where they left off in 2008.

"We have a couple gaps we need to fill in the backfield with Niko and (Jeff) Shields gone," said Patterson. "We're going to have to fill it in, but I think we'll be fine. I guess every year is a stepping-stone into the next year. Hopefully, we can do better than we did this year. Hopefully, we can build on it."