USD Men's Soccer 2005

2005 Season Outlook 2 ,....__ ______ ~

Entering hi s 27 th year as the head coach of the University of San Diego's men's soccer team, Seamus McFadden has built a program rich in tradi– tion and success as one of the top soccer powers on the West Coast. Under the guidance of McFadden, the Toreros reached the NCAA Championship Final in 1992 and have produced double-digit wins in 17 seasons. In addition , USD has captured five West Coast Conference crowns, the last one coming in 2000. However, 2004 proved to be quite an anomaly in San Diego soccer history, as the Toreros finished with an uncharacteri stic 7- 10-3 overall record and a fifth-place fini sh in the WCC with a 4-6-2 mark. Injuries to key players and a young starting line-up played a large role in San Diego's performance last year and the team never adjusted

2005 Team Seniors (l-r):

Calle Rendahl, Tommy Von Bramsen. Seo// Martin , Jan Prochazka

to the hurdles it faced . "We 've gone from a program that's had 17 years with double-digit wins to one that went through a little transition last year. We played the third-hardest schedule last year," said McFadden. "We had a very young team and we had a lot of injuries." One of the reasons why the Toreros did not fare quite as well as they hoped last season was because of their inability to put the ball in the net. USD had many opportunities to score goals, but was just unable to capitalize in given situations. Mc– Fadden expects that with a year of experience under their belts and a hunger to return San Diego back to the top, his team will be able to finish their chances more often than not this season. "We've had guys in position to score last year, but just weren't able to pull the trigger. That was the biggest bogey for that team," said McFadden. "If we can put our shots away and finish our opportunities, we'll be a much better team." San Diego returns IO starters from last year's squad, only losing First TeamAll-WCC selection Kevin Wilson to gradua– tion, and will tum to this season's trio of captains, senior Tommy Von Bromsen and redshirt juniors Kevin Meissner and Michael Caso, to lead the way. Von Bramsen is expected to anchor the Torero defense and Caso, a 2004 First TeamAll-WCC honoree, is USD 's returning goal scorer after scoring six last season. Meissner is still recovering from an injury and will be brought along

slowly, though he will strengthen the core of the team when he returns to full strength. "Huge," commented McFadden on the impact his captains will make in 2005. "If they are all on the field , I'll be expecting big things from them. " Aiding the tri-captains on the field in 2005 will be seasoned veterans Scott Martin, Calle Rendahl, and Ryan Guy. Martin, who enters his senior year after starting 19 out of 20 games the previous season, will be playing defense for the Toreros this year after spending much of hi s career at the forward position, while fellow classmate Rendahl has the versatility to play either midfielder or defender. Guy, a junior forward who was tabbed a First Team All-WCC and a NSCAAAll-Far West Team selection in 2004, is San Diego 's returning point scorer after tallying 15 points on three goals and a WCC-leading nine assists. McFadden will also anticipate contributions from senior midfielder Jan Prochazka, junior goalkeeper Lance Friesz, sophomore transfer Tannen Weis, sophomore defender Brett Hiroto, and freshman forward Leland Wright. Although the Toreros were picked to fini sh fourth in the WCC this season according to the preseason coaches poll, McFadden knows that his team has the potential and ability to do some damage, not only in conference play, but also during the postseason.

Returning scoring leader Michael Caso

USD NCAA Tournament Appearances - 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1990