Men's Soccer 8/23/2012 3:33:00 PM

Experienced Stars look to rebound in 2012

OCU picked to finish second in Sooner Athletic Conference

Ryan Hunter and Adam Black will play key roles for OCU in 2012.

After a 7-6-4 showing in 2011, Oklahoma City University soccer coach Brian Harvey thinks the Stars men's soccer team is on the rise.
OCU finished 5-3-2 in Sooner Athletic Conference play a season ago and earned a No. 4 seed in the SAC Tournament. The Stars were bounced in the first round by Oklahoma Baptist 2-1 in double overtime.
Harvey enters his 39th season as a head coach. He has led OCU soccer through 26 seasons of OCU soccer and owns a record of 365-159-30 with nine SAC titles in men's play.
The Stars kick off the 2012 season at home against No. 2 Baker (Kan.) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Stars Field.
“The boys' side showed very well in spring ball,” Harvey said. “I think we can use that as a springboard to head into our fall season, and I think it will argue well for us.”
In 2012 OCU is picked to finish second in the conference behind USAO and ahead of Oklahoma Baptist.
“I think this team is capable of winning the SAC conference with a little a bit of luck,” Harvey said. “Our goals are to get into the playoffs and see where we can go from there.”
The Stars return 15 players from last year's squad including leading scorer and first-team all-SAC performer Adam Black.
“He showed tremendously well in his first year,” Harvey said. “He proved that he can score goals and he can really turn games around.”
Black found the back of the net 14 times during his sophomore campaign, en route to scoring 56 percent of the team's goals. The junior from Liverpool, England, netted two game-winning goals and passed out one assist in 2011.
Senior Ryan Hunter joins Black as a key returner from last season's squad. Hunter, a midfielder from Tulsa, Okla., has nine goals and five assists in his career at OCU. Hunter scored two goals and passed out two assists in 2011.
“He's a senior and a team captain,” Harvey said. “He's had a tremendous career here at OCU.”
A position-by-position look at OCU:

Goalkeeper

Junior Joe Shulberg made a majority of the starts in goal for the Stars a season ago, but fellow junior Jalen Howard filled in at keeper for the final four matches of the season due to injury.
“We've got a fight on our hands for the goal keeping position with Shulberg and Howard,” Harvey said. “It will be a battle to see who gets the starting position out of those two.”
Shulberg, of Huntingdon, England, made 34 saves, allowed 16 goals and recorded one shutout in 10 starts a season ago. Howard, of Oklahoma City, made 20 saves while allowing five goals in six appearances. Howard recorded one shutout in 2011.

Defense

Seniors Nathan Doll and David Kamali return to anchor the Stars' defense. Doll, of Tulsa, Okla., started all 17 matches a season ago and dished out one assist. Kamali, of Sachse, Texas, made 17 starts in 2011.
“It's a pretty experienced defense this year,” Harvey said. “We've got Nathan Doll and David Kamali who are seniors. We feel very good about this defense. It's just a case of getting them all settled and in the right position.”
Joining Doll and Kamali in the backfield is transfer Taylor Craig. The senior from Tomball, Texas, comes to OCU from Oral Roberts where he made 19 appearances for the Golden Eagles in 2011.
“Taylor was was an ever present for Oral Roberts,” Harvey said. “We hope he can come in and contribute.”
Daniel Yeom, a freshman from Tongyeong, South Korea, also joins the Stars in 2012.
“We've got a very good incoming class with Yeom from South Korea,” Harvey said. “Hopefully he can come in a fill the shoes of Steven Short at left fullback.”
Senior Daniel Kapple and sophomore Michael Shanahan will battle for playing time in the backfield.
“Kapple broke into the lineup last year as a right fullback,” Harvey said. “We have a number of other players we feel can step in, like Michael Shanahan who we feel would be capable of filling the role of right fullback or central defender.”
Kapple made nine appearances with five starts for the Stars a season ago, and Shanahan started 13 matches in the midfield in 2011.
Seniors Dillon Byrd and Drew Tonseth will challenge for playing time and add depth on defense.

Midfield

Joining Hunter in the midfield is Kieran McLachlan. The sophomore from Airdrie, Scotland, started 16 matches, scored three goals and passed out one assist during his freshman campaign.
“He had an okay freshman season,” Harvey said. “We're hoping he'll have a breakthrough year.”
Juniors Jimmy Irwin and Trevor Harmon will see increased playing time this season. Harmon started 13 matches and scored a goal in 2011. Irwin made nine appearances in his sophomore season.
“We've got Jimmy Irwin and Trevor Harmon who both had very good spring games,” Harvey said. “I'm expecting them to give a lot of contribution this season.”
Newcomers Ethan Berney, A.J. Dodson and Volney Richardson will challenge for playing time. Berney, a sophomore from Oklahoma City, made nine appearances for Colorado School of Mines in 2011. Dodson, of Broken Arrow, Okla., and Richardson, of Flower Mound, Texas, join the Stars as freshmen.
“Richardson is a left sided midfield player,” Harvey said. “I think he will surprise a lot of people this year.”
Sophomore Zach Stoner, of Piedmont, Okla., and senior Trevor Rush, of Oklahoma City, will battle for playing time and add depth to the midfield. Stoner and Rush each made one appearance for the Stars on 2011.

Forward

Joining Black up top is newcomer Sam Stulberg, a sophomore from Liverpool, England.
“Once we get him fit and used to the climate I feel like he'll be able to contribute,” Harvey said. “We feel like Adam Black won't be a surprise to anyone this year, he'll get special attention from the opposition, and we're hoping Stulberg will take the weight off him a little bit. We're looking for Kieran McLachlan, Jimmy Irwin and Trevor Harmon to do that as well.”

Harvey points to two keys for the Stars to have a successful season.
“We've got to score more goals than we scored last year,” Harvey said. “Five of the six games we lost last year were by one goal and we were in most of the games. We were a little unlucky with injuries last year as well. I think this is a team that is full of potential, and we've just got to realize that potential.”

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