ICCC soccer 8/21/09

Tritons take question marks, confidence into 2009
by Josh SandinPhoto Courtesy of Paul DeCourseyPosted on 8/21/2009
FORT DODGE – There’s a certain excitement in the voice of Iowa Central head men’s soccer coach, Brandon Ermels, when he talks about the upcoming season. For a coach with only five sophomores on his roster, this would not be the reaction you would expect. However, Ermels has pretty high hopes for the 2009 season.
“We have a lot of freshmen, only three of our returners were starters last season,” said Ermels. “That said; we still have very high aspirations for this club. We think we should compete for the top spot in the conference.”
Returning for the Tritons this season are Kyle Roach, who was named preseason captain, Max Peterson, Alex Van De Laarschott and Guillermo Carillo. That number will mix with one of the more talented freshman classes Iowa Central has had.
“Our roster is very deep and talented,” said Ermels. “We have a lot of guys coming in with (Olympic Development Program) experience and even more with very strong club backgrounds.”
Ermels and the Tritons are quite aware that talent can look great on paper, but games are won and lost on the pitch. With 22 freshmen earning a varsity spot, experience will be something that will have to be earned on the fly.
“Our sophomores our going to have a huge leadership role,” said Ermels. “They are familiar with the conference and the level of play we need to be at every day. They know our high program standards and have set the bar high.”
DefenseThe Triton defense will be the main question mark for the Triton in 2009. With only one defensive returner this season, Kyle Roach, and two rookie goalkeepers, Ermels is putting a lot of stock into his freshmen.
Ermels expects to see freshmen Jensen Smith, Tommy Catania and Morgan LeBeurre to head the defense for the Tritons. The freshman trio all come from very different backgrounds a Smith, the only American in the bunch, hails from Provo, Utah, Catania is from East London and LeBeurre hails from France. Smith and LeBeurre will be on the outside while Catania will play in the middle or center back with Roach.
The Triton coaching staff also expects several others to be key contributors as well. Expect to see Taylor Hancey (Layton, Utah), Long Vo (Soiux City West), Graham Nugent (Meath, Ireland) and Tyler Wood (Springville, Utah) all to contribute as well.
MidfieldThe middle of the field will have to most experience in it as sophomores Peterson and Van De Laarschott will return for the Tritons. After that Ermels is very excited about the freshmen hat are going to fill the gaps.
George Curry (Warwick, England) and Jaciel Perez (Sioux City North) are expected to spend time in the middle of the field for Iowa Central. Also look for Jared DeHart (South Jordan, Utah) and Ryan McGowan (Ames) to see a lot of time as well.
On the outside, Ermels says that freshmen Jacil Perez (Sioux City North) and Jake Fahrenkrug (Solon) will be on the outside and they are making an impression daily. “Jake has tremendous speed and pace,” said Ermels. “He also has the ability to consistently serve balls in with either foot.”
Also expect to see Sean Miller (Draper, Utah) and Jordan Collins (Dubuque Senior) to get action as well.
ForwardsThe excitement that Ermels has in his voice about this season may be due in large part to his freshmen forwards, John Morgan (Meath, Ireland) and Austin Otto (Iowa City West). Both come in as very accomplished players as well as compliments of each other.
“John has a very strong left foot, and Austin is the quickest guy on our team,” said Ermels. “These guys have the ability to wreak havoc on other teams.”
Otto, one of Iowa’s most decorated soccer players last season, was name ESPN RISE All-America Honorable Mention as a senior as named Most Valuable Player in the Iowa All-Star Game. Otto also led the Trojans to their fifth straight State Title. Morgan cones across the pond from Meath, Ireland where he competed for Colaste Ide, one of the top teams in Ireland.
The talent doesn’t stop there though. The Tritons feel that the Forward position is the deepest on the roster. Sophomore Guillermo Carillo and freshman Mario Reyes (Sioux City West) will also help to lead what could be a very explosive offensive attack thanks to the NJCAA’s unlimited substitution rule.
“We are so deep at this position that we can really take advantage of the substitution rule,” said Ermels. “We want to take advantage of this rule and make lots of subs and run teams into the ground.”
GoalkeepersTwo freshmen have taken the lead in the goal as Derek Apple and Kyle Fitch have made it a two-man race, but don’t expect to see just one there this season.
“I expect both of them to share time,” said Ermels. “They are both really talented and are pushing each other to get better every day in practice.
Fitch, fresh off a state title for Spencer, and Apple, at Iowa Central from West Virginia, have both made the Triton coaching staff rest a little easier despite having zero collegiate minutes between them.
ScheduleAs always, there won’t be many cupcakes on the Tritons radar this season in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. Coach Ermels expects another long season with tough games each week, but thinks his squad can handle it.
“We have very high expectations as a program,” said Ermels. “We want to compete for the top spot in the conference, but Region XI is one of the strongest nationally so it won’t be easy.”
To help prepare the Tritons for the grueling schedule, two scrimmages have been added to the preseason. Iowa Central will travel to Des Moines to face Grand View University on Friday, August 21. The NAIA program is consistently ranked and is a national contender yearly. Sunday, the Tritons will travel to Lamoni to play Graceland in its final tune up before the regular season. Graceland won the 2006 National Championship, and has a very strong soccer reputation.
“It’s not going to take us very long to see what we’ve got,” said Ermels. “We play two high-level scrimmages ion three days this summer against Grand View and Graceland. They should get us ready for our home opener against Laramie CC who’s always tough and our ICCAC opener against Iowa Western, who won the ICCAC last year.”
Ermels expects defending champion Iowa Western to again be tough as well as preseason No. 7 Marshalltown. Ermels said that NIACC will also again be a strong program, but also expects Iowa Lakes and Indian Hills to compete as well. Iowa Lakes just started a soccer program and Indian Hills hired a new head coach.
So to recap. Coach Ermels has a roster with 22 freshmen, only three returners with experience, one of the toughest conferences in the nation to compete in everyday and he still has smile on his face.
“I’m very excited for this season,” said Ermels. “I think we have the opportunity to do some great things.”