GNAC Men's Soccer

Montana State Billings Favored To Win GNAC Title

Sam Charles

Montana State Billings and Western Washington were two of the most improved teams in NCAA Division II men's soccer last season.

The Yellowjackets finished with a 13-4-1 record after winding up 5-11-2 the previous year, a 7 ½ game improvement. Western Washington's improvement was even more dramatic (plus 11), going from 2-17-1 in 2006 to 13-6-1.

But, when the dust had settled, both teams barely missed the NCAA Division II Far West Regional playoffs, placing fifth and sixth in the final regional poll. The top four teams advanced to the regionals.

The Yellowjackets and Vikings also finished second and third in the conference race as Seattle University won its sixth conference title in seven years.

The Redhawks, however, have since departed for Division I leaving a new champion to be crowned this fall.

MSUB is a narrow favorite to earn its first-ever men's soccer title (in any conference) as it received three of five first-place votes in the GNAC Coaches pre-season poll to barely edge WWU, which last won a conference title in 2002.

Seattle Pacific, which will be under the direction of a new coach for the first time in 39 years, finished third in the balloting.

Saint Martin's, which begins its second season of intercollegiate soccer, finished fourth, while Northwest Nazarene, which is playing its first varsity season since suspending the sport following the 2002 season, finished fifth in the poll.

Both MSUB and Western Washington appear to have the horses to make runs at the conference title and an at-large post-season berth. The GNAC does not receive an automatic berth in the national playoffs.

Both teams have a league-best 18 returning letter winners. Western Washington also returns 10 starters (the Yellowjackets have seven) and a league-best six returning all-stars.

MSUB has five returning all-stars including 2007 GNAC Player-of-the-Year Sam Charles (Jr., Chiswell, England, - Budmouth Tech), who was one of the nation's most prolific scorers last season with 19 goals (including seven game winners) and 41 points to earn third team Daktronics All-American honors.

The Yellowjackets also got six goals from returning forward Chris Andre (So., Billings, MT – Billings Senior) in scoring a school-record 46 times. Midfielder Scott Dixon (So., Weymouth, England) was the conference's top playmaker with 10 assists and despite playing in only 12 of MSUB's 18 games earned second team all-star accolades.

Defensively, the Yellowjackets, under fourth-year head coach Dan McNally (23-28-3), allowed only 13 goals as midfielders Justin Hoskins (Sr., Billings, MT – Westminster) and Tom Milroy (Jr., Aberdeen, Scotland – Cults Academy) and goalkeeper Sander Tollefson (Jr., Missoula, MT – Missoula Hellgate) all earned all-star recognition for their defensive efforts.

Hoskins, who scored one goal, was a first team selection, while Milroy earned honorable mention honors.

Tollefson was ranked 16 th in goals against average (0.74) in last year's final NCAA Division II national statistics and recorded six shutouts.

Also returning from last year's starting unit is midfielder Brian Huskey (Sr., Billings, MT – Billings Senior), who started 15 of 18 games and earned an assist.

Among last year's returning reserves is midfielder Jarred Weisen (Jr., Great Falls, MT – C.M. Russell), who came off the bench to tie Andre for second-place on the team in scoring with 15 points (6 goals, 3 assists).

Also back are midfielders Jeremy DeHerrera (Jr., Kalispell, MT – Flathead), who had three goals and two assists, Jurell Linford (Sr., Missoula, MT – Sentinel), who had two goals and four assists, and Kyle Moriarty (So., Bozeman, MT), and defender Dylan Barnard (Sr., Bozeman, MT),

Western Washington scored 39 goals, a year ago matching its combined total for the previous two seasons.

Forwards Gibson Bardsley (5-11, So., Fall City, WA - Mount Si) and Samir Vejo (5-10, Sr., Trebinje, Bosnia), who were the 2007 GNAC Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year respectively, accounted for 18 of the goals.

Bardsley ranked third in the conference with 28 points, including a freshman school-record 11 goals. Vejo scored seven goals to rank second on the team, and both he and Bardsley had three game-winning goals.

Both were first-team all-league picks. Also winning first team honors was midfielder Matt Pele (6-4, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Kamiakin), who had a goal and five assists.

Midfielder Oliver Wellman (6-4, Sr., Bellevue, WA - Sammamish), who started every game recording two goals and five assists, was a second team selection.

Also back in the midfield is Joel Grossman (5-9, Sr., Anacortes, WA), who missed last season because of a knee injury after being a team captain in 2006.

Goalkeeper Michael Lockwood, who recorded seven shutouts with a 0.81 goals against average, is the lone 2007 starter not back for Viking head coach Travis Connell (83-82-8, 9 years).

Expected to be Lockwood's replacement is Cameron Copps-Tilley (6-1, Jr., Vancouver, WA - Fort Vancouver), who started the first three games last season after transferring from Washington before suffering a season-ending leg injury.

While the Vikings will be going with a new starting keeper, three starters are back at the defender positions including Chris Jepson (6-0, Jr., Bellingham WA - Sehome), who was co-GNAC Freshman of the Year in 2006, Nick Saletto (6-3, Jr., Bellingham, WA - Squalicum) and Thomas Kauffman (6-1, So,, Evanston, IL - Evanston Township).

Both Saletto and Jepson, who had two goals and an assist, earned honorable mention all-star honors last year.

Other returning starters for the Vikings include midfielders Michael Ricci (5-8, Jr., Bellevue, WA – Newport) and Mitch Barrows (5-11, Jr., Ferndale, WA) and defender Cris Geday (6-0, So., Vancouver, WA – Skyview).

Ricci scored two goals last season. Geday had three assists and Ricci and Barrows each had one.

Midfielder Sean Connor (5-10, So., Mount Vernon, WA), who started 13 games for the Vikings two years ago and had two goals and two assists, also returns after redshirting last season at Gonzaga.

Other key contributors from a year ago include forward Brandon Quilici (5-10, So., Battle Ground, WA – Columbia River), who scored four goals and had four assists to earn honorable mention GNAC honors and midfielders Keith Ferris (5-10, So., Richland, WA) and Kenny Parker (5-10, So., Seattle, WA – Ballard).

Ferris had three goals and three assists and Ballard had one assist.

Mark Collings, a 1999 grad of Seattle Pacific, takes over as the head coach at his alma mater, replacing Cliff McCrath, who compiled a 512-190-87 record in 38 seasons.

Twelve letter winners are back off a SPU team that finished with a 7-6-7 record, but just a conference-low four were starters.

Midfielder Alex Nelson (5-11, Jr., Lynnwood, WA – Meadowdale) and defender Jordan Dettmer (5-11, Jr., Snohomish, WA), are the lone returning all-stars.

Nelson, who had three goals and three assists, was a second team selection, while Dettmer earned honorable mention honors.

Also back from last year's starting unit are defender Colin Kosco (5-11, Sr., Edmonds, WA – Meadowdale), who had two goals and two assists, and midfielder Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone (6-2, Sr., Burnaby, BC – Burnaby Central).

Four other players who participated in at least 10 games also return for SPU including forward Corey Sinser (6-0, Jr., Bellevue, WA – Eastside Catholic), midfielders Brendon Cloyd (5-8, So., Bothell, WA – Inglemoor) and Andy Wolverton (5-6, So., Portland, OR – Jesuit) and defender Jono Henness (5-10, Sr., Casa Grande, AZ).

Sinser had three goals and an assist, while Cloyd and Wolverton had goals and Cloyd and Henness had assists.

Saint Martin's returns two all-stars from its inaugural collegiate campaign – midfielders Vlad Voin (5-11, So., Everett, WA – Cascade), who had a goal and three assists, and Tucker Maxwell (5-10, Sr., Eagle, ID – Highline CC). Both players were second team selections.

Also back is midfielder Chase Franklin (5-9, So., Covington, WA – Kentlake), who led the Saints in scoring with 11 points, accounting for five of their 11 team goals.

Other returning starters for second-year coach Rob Walker include forward Chris Laise (6-0, So., Tacoma, WA – Franklin Pierce), midfielders Daniel Palermo (5-10, Sr., Seattle, WA – Mt. Rainier & HCC), Victor Kelmer (6-2, So., Port Orchard, WA – South Kitsap), Jesse Ramos (6-1, Jr., Seattle, WA – Roosevelt & South Central CC), Kramer Cross (5-10, So., Lacey, WA - Timberline) and Erik Orozco (5-7, So., Federal Way, WA - Decatur) and goalkeeper Zac Lubin (6-5, So., Bozeman, MT), who posted a 3.48 goals against average and had one shutout.

Northwest Nazarene begins its first season of official competition since 2002 under head coach Coe Michaelson with a squad that features only four players with intercollegiate experience, all at the JC level.

Seven players – forward Josh Grewe (6-3, Jr., Colbert, WA – Northwest Christian), midfielders Theron Fereday (5-11, Jr., Meridian, ID – Mountain View & Yuba CC), Jeremy Mangeac (5-10, So., Nampa, ID – Skyview) and Brad Yuly (6-1, Jr., Ferndale, WA), and defenders Chad Pearsall (5-11, So., Nampa, ID – Skyview), Dane Manley (6-2, Jr., Puyallup, WA – Rogers) and Joe Mangeac (5-11, Jr., Nampa, ID – Skyview) – did, however, play on NNU's club team a year ago.

Midfielder Brock Ogami (5-8, So., Boise, ID – Borah & Walla Walla CC) and Alonso Avila (5-8, Jr., Yuma, AZ – Yuma Catholic & Arizona Western), defender Michael Sykes (6-3, Jr., Meridian, ID – Mountain View & Treasure Valley) and Fereday all have previous JC experience.

Jeremy and Joe Mangeac are joined on the team by their brothers Alex (5-8, Fr., Nampa, ID – Skyview) and Benjamin (5-11, So., Nampa, ID – Skyview). Alex scored 39 points and had 18 assists last seasons at Skyview High School to earn his league Player-of-the-Year award.

A fifth brother, Dan, graduated from NNU in 2003 and is an assistant coach for Michaelson.

Bardsley Set To Lead Western Washington

When Gibson Bardsley takes the soccer field as a Western Washington sophomore this fall, he'll do it wearing the same jersey as the rest of his teammates.

No red X on the back. No circle with a dot in the middle. No flashing lights.Still, Bardsley will know better - there's a target on his back.