News Release

2008 Texas-Tyler Men�s Soccer: Rested, Reloaded & Ready

The 2007 men�s soccer season was filled with many ups and downs for The University of Texas Tyler and its six-year head coach Kenny Jones. Coming off of two straight American Southwest Conference regular season championships, the Patriots entered 2007 as the pre-season conference favorite and ranked 25th in the country by D3kicks.com.

However, 2007 was going to be different for UT Tyler. Despite two ASC first place finishes in the previous two seasons, the Patriots were unable to advance due to being a provisional member of the NCAA. After four years of waiting to go past the regular season, Jones� squad was finally able to compete in post-season play and their eyes were on conference gold.

Despite being early favorites in the ASC, halfway through the season the Patriots found themselves with a 4-6 record. Facing elimination from playoff contention, UT Tyler found the kind of play that had won them two straight ASC regular season titles and won the next seven games, outscoring their opponents 22-1 over the span. The late season push was enough for the Patriots to finish in sixth place and earn the final spot in their first-ever ASC Championship Tournament.

The Patriots downed Mary Hardin-Baylor, 2-0, in the first round and earned a date in the semi-finals with rival UT Dallas. Both teams would score a goal in regulation to take the game into two scoreless overtime periods. In the shoot-out, UT Dallas squeaked by the Patriots 3-2 to end UT Tyler�s season at 12-6-1.

Almost immediately after the loss against UT Dallas, Jones began building this season�s team.

The veteran coach has high hopes for his 18 new players, including 14 freshman and four transfers. �The is one of the most talented recruiting classes we have had in a while, but it is hard to tell just how good they will be without seeing them play at the collegiate level,� said Jones; who is entering his seventh year at the helm of the Patriots. �Out of all my classes, I feel like these guys are one of the best-suited groups to come in and make an immediate impact.�

Among those returning to the pitch for UT Tyler from the 2007 team are a core of five seniors and one junior, five of whom were All-ASC selections last season. Seniors Michael Kendall, Adam McAlpine, Rudy Galvan, Tony Bowles and Travis Fletcher, along with junior Tony Guillen, are all expected to serve in leadership roles to help direct the young but talented 2008 side.

Perhaps the biggest question mark going into the season will be at the goalkeeper position. All-ASC first team selection and UT Tyler all-time saves leader Geoff Sherman graduated in 2008, leaving huge gloves to fill between the posts. But Jones is positive that sophomores Mark Oliphant and Bailey Williams will rise to the challenge.

�Having two quality goalkeepers is a good problem to have. They both have a year of experience in which they were able to watch Geoff [Sherman] play and get some game experience themselves. We expect good things out of both of them; they should be the key to our season.�

The Patriots will have to adapt early in order to survive some very tough tests. Jones will be able to get a good feel for his squad on Aug. 25 when they host Division I Centenary (La.) in an exhibition.

Jones� has a simple reason for opening with a Division I school, �I want to see what these guys can do against good competition. Hopefully we can play the whole roster that day and get a good look at everyone.�

Things will get no easier for UT Tyler, opening the regular season with Southwestern (Tex.) and Trinity (Tex.) in Georgetown, Texas. The Patriots will take on host Southwestern on August 29, followed by Division III National Runner-Up Trinity on August 30. Southwestern finished their 2007 campaign at 12-6-1 and second place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference behind Trinity. Meanwhile, SCAC champions Trinity finished last season with a 23-1 record and came within a shoot-out of winning the national championship with a perfect record.

The Patriots will round out their non-conference schedule on Sep. 11 when they host Division II Harding in their first regular season home game of the year. Other notable home dates on the calendar include an Oct. 11 meeting with Schreiner as part of Homecoming 2008, and an Oct. 30 rematch with defending ASC champion UT Dallas. UT Tyler will close out its regular season at home with senior day on Nov. 1 with the 2007 ASC regular-season champions Ozarks.

Despite the tough matches slated for the first part of the season, there is a sound philosophy behind this season�s schedule.

Jones explains, �We need to see where we are in the beginning of the season. We don�t need false pretenses going into our conference schedule� That�s why our schedule is what it is. We have a lot of guys coming in who need to experience college soccer to get on the same page. But there is no doubt we will be better at the end than at the beginning. That is a guarantee.�

Submitted 2008-08-18 01:00:35 by University of Texas-Tyler Sports Information Department