2014 Schedule  |  Roster  |  Video Preview With Coach Stock

The Malone University men's soccer team is looking to advance to the next level this season as the squad finished with a 5-10-1 record last season under third-year head coach Brian Stock.

The Pioneers finished 4-9-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) and are looking to move forward in 2014.

Nine seniors, three of which finished in the top three in scoring on the team, graduated from last year's squad. With many new shoes to be filled, Stock is expecting the most from this year's seniors.

"The core of the team is our seniors; they will be leading the way for us," said Stock. "Ryan Brumbaugh, Matt Akindipe, Caleb Jones, and Luan Tufani are mature, experienced players, and have the understanding of the qualities we need to bring daily to the field to be successful at this level."

In addition, Stock said he is also looking to Nick Astalos, Sam Tonelli and Kurt Moore for production and goals.

With five freshmen this year, mainly covering the midfield and defense, this group of new players has the ability to challenge for match time. "A couple of guys have shown a lot of promise for us; in time, they will be top level contributors," commented Stock.  

Knowing that defense is crucial to winning games, Stock realizes that if the Pioneers are looking to advance, the defense is an element that needs to improve.

"One key early on will be defensively," Stock noted.  "We want to trim our goals against and step up our organization and chemistry.  The culture, style and chemistry in our team will continue to improve as we develop the finer parts in our philosophy."

The Pioneers lost two senior starting defensemen, Bryan Smith and Treg Lunger. Returning defenders are Tufani, junior Christian Schmikla  and sophomore Troy Malsky, who all started seven games or more last season. 

With Felipe Monteiro graduating last fall, junior Jon Crabbs (Archbishop Hoban H.S.) will be this year's starting goalkeeper. 

Coach Stock has a simple objective for this season – be excellent in everything they do. After just missing the GLIAC tournament a season ago, he is eager to get back and win it all.

"We're working to get better every day," Stock stated.  "To be in the thick of competing for the title, there are no easy days; anyone can win on any given day in the GLIAC.  We're fighting for a championship.  More than that, we are setting a standard for our program in how we train, how we compete and how we live.  That level of pride goes beyond the field and we want our efforts to honor the gifts that we have been given."

In the GLIAC last year, the team finished third in goals (32), second in assists (27), and sixth in shots (213).

The Pioneers will be kicking off the 2014 season against Ohio Valley University (WV) at home on September 4^th at 4:00 p.m.