CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's soccer team enters their second season in Division II and the Gulf South Conference after an extremely successful 2014 campaign.

The Choctaws won the National Christian College Athletic Association MidEast Region championship with a 2-0 victory over Bluefield College at Robert P. Longabaugh Field.

MC was then named the #1 national seed at the NCCAA Tournament. The Choctaws earned a 2-2 draw in the first game against Roberts Wesleyan and fell 1-0 in the second game to Palm Beach Atlantic.

The Choctaws finished out their regular season with an overall record of 12-6-2 and 5-4 in the Gulf South Conference. The Choctaws graduated six seniors last year, placing four players on the NCCAA All-MidEast Region Team.

Coach Kevin Johns said "now that we're going into our second year of the GSC we know what to expect. We hope to go back to the NCCAA nationals."



FORWARDS

Senior Ewahia Amhanesi (Mesquite, Texas) and junior Victor Marinho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) return to the attack this year. Amhanesi placed fourth on the team with six goals in 2014. He had a season-high two goals in the 4-0 victory against Lee (Tenn.). Marinho saw action in nine games and tallied an assist in the victory over LSU-Alexandria.

Coach Johns has a lot of confidence in the additions to the front line this season, as he believes Kendall Carballo (Goicoechea, San Jose, Costa Rica) and Conor Corboy (Aptos, Cailf.) will develop into strong forwards for the Choctaws. Carballo is a transfer from Young Harris College, while Corboy transfers from University of Nebraska Omaha where he scored two goals with one assist last season.

MIDFIELD

Returning to the midfield this year is junior George Fradenburg (Tupelo, Miss.), who saw action in all 20 games, starting in 16 for the Choctaws. He placed fifth on the team scoring four goals with four assists. Fradenburg tallied the winning goal in the 4-0 victory over LSU-Alexandria and the 2-0 victory over Spring Hill. He had a season high of two assists against Talladega College.

Senior Jorge Delgado (Juarez, Mexico) missed the season last year due to injury but comes back this year as a valuable asset in the midfield.

There are some promising additions to the midfield this season as sophomore Hayden Cochran (Brandon, Miss.) and freshman Kevin Cortes (Alajuela, Costa Rica) join the Choctaws. Cochran comes to MC from the University of Memphis where he scored two goals. Cortes was the highest scoring player of all the private schools in Costa Rica.

DEFENDERS

The back line is very experienced and mature this year as seniors Daniel Lang (Jackson, Miss.), Josh Barrera (Houston, Texas) and Dyllon Beasley (Wiggins, Miss.) return. 

Lang (Jackson, Miss.) was out last season due to a knee injury but is healthy and ready to compete in his final season. He has played in 58 career matches, starting 54 and provides leadership on the field.

Barrera currently has an ankle injury but his coach is confident that he will be back soon. He started in all 20 games, leading the team in minutes played with 1,777. Barrera tallied three goals including the winning goal against West Alabama.

Beasley played in 19 games last season, starting 18 and tallying 1,302 minutes on the field.

Perry Goldsbury (Derby, England) joins MC this year from University of Texas Brownsville where he helped lead the team to an NAIA National Runner-Up in 2014 and was named RRAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. Goldsbury is a graduate student and has a lot of experience to bring to the back line.

GOALKEEPERS

Sophomore Humberto Pelaez (Panama City, Panama) is returning to the goal this year after starting in 17 games his freshman season. Pelaez tallied 1,564 minutes between the posts with 70 saves and six shutouts.

Two players that will push Pelaez for playing time will be sophomore K.C. Felix (Miami, Fla.) and freshman Hayden Mays (Olive Branch, Miss.). Mays helped lead his Olive Branch High School team to a state championship.

OVERALL

The Choctaws have a great deal of potential this year as they enter their second season of Division II. Johns said his team and him have a better idea of what to expect with regards to their competition this season, which allows them to be better prepared.

Johns said "we want to play an attractive style of soccer this season and to us that is a possession-oriented game. But apart from soccer we want to encourage our players to be successful both on and off the field. We want to hold our players accountable and see them excel in the classroom as well as on the field."

The Choctaws will host their annual alumni game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Robert P. Longabaugh Field. They will open up their regular season on Thursday, September 3rd against Nova Southeastern at 2:00 p.m. at Robert P. Longabaugh Field.