Season in Review
The Wittenberg men's soccer team went on a mid-season win streak that put it on the brink of making the NCAC Tournament for the first time in school history.
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Sebastian Missura makes a play.
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Setting the Scene:
Setting the Scene: The Wittenberg men's soccer team went on a
mid-season win streak that put it on the brink of making the NCAC
Tournament for the first time in school history. However, a
four-game swoon to close the season, including two home overtime
one-goal defeats did Wittenberg in and left the Tigers with a 7-11
overall record, including a sixth-place finish in the NCAC with a
mark of 4-5.A lack of success in one-goal games has been a trend in recent years for the Tigers and it continued again in 2004. Wittenberg lost 6-of-10 one-goal decisions during the season, including four in overtime. The backbreakers were 1-0 home overtime losses to Wabash and Oberlin that took the Tigers out of contention for a first-ever berth in the five-year-old NCAC Tournament.
Postseason Awards:
Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Missura
(Quito, Ecuador/American School)was named
second-team All-NCAC for a second straight year after leading the
Tigers in scoring. Junior midfielder Matt Berry
(Tipp City, Ohio/Tecumseh) made honorable
mention all-conference for a second straight season and freshman
defensive back Bryan Lopes (Dublin,
Ohio/Coffman) also claimed honorable
mention.Lone Ranger:
The 2004 Wittenberg men's soccer program featured just one
senior - forwardJason Ziegler (Waukesha,
Wisc./West). He earned his first varsity letter in
2004 by appearing in 12 games and contributing one goal and two
assists to the cause.The team's junior class was a bit deeper, featuring seven players on the 2004 roster, including four players who were regulars in the Tiger lineup, either as starters or as reserves.
Leading the way in the 2004 junior class was Berry, who appeared in 15 games and started 12 as the team's captain. Injuries limited his playing time late in the season, but he still finished as the team's third-leading scorer with nine points.
Also earning varsity letters from the junior class in 2004 were midfielder Levi Van Reeth (Norwich, Ohio/John Glenn), who appeared in 17 games and made seven starts. Midfielder Jesse King (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) appeared in all 18 games off the bench and Isaac Boye-Arthur (Tema, Ghana/St. Peter's Secondary)appeared in 12 games off the bench and scored two goals.
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Ben McAnnis-Entenman (in goal) and Nick Hauff
try to make a stop.
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Youth Movement:
Nine freshmen and 13 sophomores made up the bulk of the 2004
Wittenberg men's soccer roster.The sophomore class featured numerous regular or part-time starters during the 2004 season. The headliners are the Missura twins, Sebastian and Eduardo, who are the leaders of the offensive attack.
Sebastian has been the team's leading scorer in each of his first two collegiate seasons, including 2004 when he scored five goals and added nine assists for 19 total points. He has been the Tigers' lone second-team all-conference honoree in each of the last two years. Eduardo appeared in all 18 games and started 10 of them in 2004. He added two goals.
Two other sophomores started all 18 games in 2004 - defensive back Nick Hauff (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) and midfielder Brian Mutton (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury), who finished with one goal and one assist. In addition, forwardJason Sucher (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual), who scored two goals, and midfielder Ian Acker (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who had one score on the season, each started 17 games and played in all 18.
Other sophomores to log significant, letter-winning playing time were defensive back Andre Lozano (Danville, Ky./Boyle County), who appeared in 14 games off the bench, defensive back Kenny Proops (Charleston, W.Va./Catholic), who started 15 games and appeared in all 18, and goaltender Adam Horrocks (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes), who shared time evenly with freshman Ben McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, Ore./Cleveland). Horrocks, the starter for most of the 2003 season, made seven starts and 11 total appearances, allowing 16 goals and making 56 saves.
McAnnis-Entenman made 11 appearances, including nine starts, and he was credited with at least a share of all four Wittenberg shutouts. He allowed 15 goals and made 50 saves while playing about 40 more minutes on the season.
Two freshmen started all 18 games in the season - defensive back Joe Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North) and Lopes, who started out as an offensive player but showed his versatility with a midseason move to defense. The other freshman to make a major contribution in his first collegiate season was forward Evan Ingram (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who made four starts among his 18 appearances. Ingram was second on the team with 10 total points.
Not Enough 'O':
The Tigers were a solid enough team defensively in 2004,
allowing 31 goals in 18 games, and just 27 in regulation (four
goals were game-winners for opponents in overtime periods). But
offensively, the Tigers managed 25 goals, a deceiving number
considering that 17 of those scores came in wins over Notre Dame
(OH), Kenyon, Urbana and Hiram.Wittenberg was shut out eight times in 2004, meaning that the Tigers had a more than respectable 8-3 record in games in which Wittenberg scored at least one goal. Four of those shutout losses were by 1-0 margins, and three of those came in overtime decisions.
The Coach:
Steve Dawson (Loughborough '78) ends
his 21st year guiding the Tigers with a record of 214-151-17. Under
Dawson's guidance, the Tigers have won at least seven games in each
of his 21 seasons and have advanced to the NCAA Division III
tournament four times (1991, '92, '93 and '96).The Tigers have won at least four games every year in the NCAC, one of the toughest soccer conferences in the nation, and the 1993 team tied for the NCAC championship. Dawson ranks among the top 50 active NCAA Division III men's soccer coaches in total wins and win percentage. He has been assisted by Kris Hazard, Wittenberg class of 1991, the last two seasons.