The talent appears to be in place for the University of La Verne men's soccer team as it sets to open its 2013 campaign Friday at home against Carthage.
For head coach Crescencio Gonzalez, the theme for his squad this season is chemistry. Though he believes his squad has all the components to succeed and compete against the elite in the SCIAC, he hopes the mixture of the veterans and a strong influx of talented newcomers will successfully blend into a winning formula.
The Leos look to improve their fortunes from a year ago, when they finished 7-11-2 overall and 5-10-1 in conference play.
Optimism is high with the infusion of new talent, which Gonzalez says gives the team more options to compete at a higher level.
"We have a few players on this year's team that have tremendous versatility, and that will hopefully translate into more success this season," Gonzalez said. "The challenge will be to gel as a group with the systems we will implement."
The trio of midfielder Boye Christiansen, defender Andrew Geenen and midfielder Fernando Almejo are among the Leopard returnees expected to make a significant impact this season.
A junior from Stavanger, Norway, Christiansen started in 16 of his 17 games a year ago and tallied a team-high four goals along with two assists. A senior from Upland, Geenen was the lone Leopard representative on the 2012 All-SCIAC in earning Second Team accolades. He started in 18 of his 19 contests as he helped anchor the Leopard defense. In addition, he tallied a pair of goals on 15 shots. Almejo started 18 contests for the Leos a year ago. The senior registered a pair of goals and an assist in 2012.
Additionally, the Leos return a pair of starters at midfield in seniors Joshua Hill and Ryan Estrada, who combined for 37 starts last season.
Gonzalez is also excited about the prospects of his freshman class and says he expects the freshman trio of goalkeeper Dylan Roberts along with forwards Saul Uribe and Nathan Gonzalez to help fortify the Leopard lineup.
After the season opener against Carthage, the Leos will host George Fox on September 8 before opening conference play at Pomona-Pitzer the following day on September 9. La Verne's first home conference game will be September 18 against Caltech.
