Season Preview: Talented BU squad setting sights high

2019 Roster
2019 Schedule
2019 NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University men's soccer team equaled or set 16 team records in 2018 and the 2019 edition of the Bruins could be even better.

Bellevue returns five starters off last year's record-setting team including a pair of All-American selections and brought in arguably the strongest single recruiting class in program history.

Head coach Mark Heath-Preston returns to patrol the sidelines for his fourth season. In his first three seasons, he has posted a 38-15-6 record and has been named the A.I.I. Coach of the Year in each of the past two seasons. He will be assisted by a trio of Bruin standouts in Scott Robertson (2013-14), Graeme Eaglesham (2009, 11-12), and Jacob Pease (2014-15, 17-18). Robertson and Pease are each in their first season and Eaglesham returns for his second season on staff.

The Bruins (18-2-2 in 2018) were ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Wednesday. They were joined in the poll by defending A.I.I. Tournament Champion and preseason A.I.I. favorite Georgia Gwinnett College (12-6-1 in 2018) who reached the Second Round of the NAIA National Tournament. The Grizzlies are ranked No. 12.

While the team has not divulged any concrete goals for the season, the resolve to win a trophy at the A.I.I. Tournament and finally break through to the quarterfinals of the National Tournament is apparent throughout the program.

Coach Heath-Preston offered up some of his goals as a coach for the season, "We just want to get the best out of every player and take things one game at a time. It has taken a lot of work to get to this point and a lot of credit goes to the local kids that have bought into the program – many of whom have played for and/or won state championships at the high school and club level."

Captain Andy Wilkinson echoes some of those sentiments when laying out his expectations for the team. "I – and I think everyone – expects everybody to play as well as they can each game and maintain an ability to do what we know we can do."

The Returners:

All-American midfielder Toby Millward and All-American forward Inaki Aldao are back to lead the Bellevue attack that averaged over three goals per game last year. The duo played a huge role in helping the Bruins score a program record 68 goals; they combined to score 24 goals and 13 assists last season

Junior defender Andy Wilkinson and lone senior Finlay Bloodworth, all-A.I.I. selection, along with AJ Jarvis, the 2018 A.I.I. Goalkeeper of the Year, were essential in seeing Bellevue limit opposing team to less than a goal per game (0.73) and just 4.3 shots on target per game in support of a +53 goal differential across 22 games.

Junior midfielder Morgan Penn (14 games | 1 goal), sophomore midfielder Kortlan Franke (20 games | 2 goals), and Marvin Ramirez (19 games | 2 goals) all played significant roles an minutes a season ago as well and will give the coaching staff additional options and quality.

The remainder of the returners from last year are comprised of juniors midfielder Juvenal Jacinto (7 games), forward Jack Finocchiaro (11 games), goalkeeper Harry Wray (10 starts | 1.47 GAA in 2017), defender Brannon McIntosh (7 games | 1 goal), and sophomore Alexis Martinez (7 games | 1 goal).

Also returning are several players who redshirted last season in midfielders Ricky Reyes and Jaeger Erickson, forward Austyn Brinkley, and defender Eduardo Castillo.

The Newcomers:

Seven internationals and six local players make up Bellevue's 13-player 2019 recruiting class.

All six freshmen internationals are expected to contribute and fit into the team immediately. That group features forwards Jan Scheiwiler (Diessenhofen, Switzerland) and Andy Janssen (Lincoln, England), defender Alex Cuenca (Spain), and midfielders Joel Roesler (Mainz-Kastel, Germany), Ramy Katit (Frankfurt, German), and Federico Umani Ronchi (Segrate, Italy).

Janssen came to Bellevue with his eyes set on the National Tournament, "My expectation for the year is for the team to get back to California."

Junior defender Brandon Hardy (Huddersfield, England/Northwest Kansas Tech) and junior goalkeeper Alejandro Reynolds (Marshalltown, Iowa/Iowa Central CC) are the lone newcomers with collegiate experience.

Bellevue brought in five players from the Cornhusker State during the offseason; a trio of players from Gretna, Neb. in midfielder John Cover, midfielder Nate Fibich, and defender Zac Voss as well as midfielder Eli Brown (Lincoln, Neb.) and goalkeeper Jared Robles (Nebraska City, Neb.).

Keys to the Season:

In his four seasons, Coach Heath-Preston has been making his mark on the Bruin program. The fruits of his labor came to fruition last season with a program-record 18 victories and the Bruins first appearance in the National Tournament under his direction (sixth overall).

Coach Heath-Preston counts his team's considerable depth and talent among the squad's strengths. "We are deeper at every position with more quality across the board," but, cautions Heath-Preston, "we also have a lot of new players to work into the team, both foreign and domestic. We were unable to get a preseason game in but the team is already starting to come together after our trip to Colorado."

Wilkinson agreed with the benefits of the preseason trip, saying, "The team bonding has gone as well as expected. That, combined with our training sessions, has really gotten the team to gel together."

"When I got here we had a good Starting XI but now Coach Heath-Preston has put his stamp on the program and we have a lot more depth," Wilkinson said of his time so far at BU.

The attacking options are as numerous as any coach on staff or current player can recall in their time as Bellevue. In addition to returning their top two goal-scorers from last season in Aldao (14 goals) and Millward (10 goals), the Bruins saw high-scoring reinforcements arrive over the summer in the form of striker Scheiwiler and forward/attacking midfielder Janssen.

"With Inaki (Aldao) coming in healthy after a full summer of playing and the players we brought in, we feel we can be a constant threat to opposing defenses," said Heath-Preston.

That quartet of Aldao, Millward, Scheiwiler, and Janssen should see numerous scoring opportunities with the likes of Erickson, Katit, and Bloodworth and their ability to play quality balls seemingly at will.

"Already, I feel like I've been incorporated into the team," stated Janssen of joining a new team in a new country. He continued on to say, "The lads, Mark, and the rest of the coaches have made that easy."

The Schedule:

Bellevue opens their 2019 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 15 in Sioux City, Iowa at Elwood Olsen Stadium against Morningside at 6 p.m.

Despite a 16-0-2 regular season in 2018 which included several notable victories, the Bruins' overall strength of schedule did not grade out as well as it was initially envisioned.

The same should not be a concern in 2019 as Bellevue faces four Top 20 teams, including defending National Champion Central Methodist on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. from Davis Field in Fayette, Mo.

Bellevue will also challenge No. 6 Oklahoma Wesleyan on the road on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. from the OKWU Soccer Complex in Bartlesville, Okla.

The Bruins host No. 20 Columbia on Wednesday, Aug. 28 and No. 15 Hastings on Wednesday, Oct. 16 from Bryan Stadium at 7 p.m. Final details of the Columbia match are still being worked out.

Fans will get their first chance to see the Bruins at home on Tuesday, Aug. 15 when Bellevue hosts Grand View at 8 p.m. at Creighton University's Morrison Stadium. The remainder of BU's home matches are scheduled to be played at Bryan Stadium.

Other notable match-ups see the Bruins playing at (RV) Benedictine (Saturday, Aug. 24) and a pair of games against teams that were receiving votes at the end of last season with an away date at William Woods (Thursday, Sept. 5) and hosting Concordia (Tuesday, Sept. 17).

BU closes out the regular-season with a tasty home-and-home match-up against purple-clad rival Waldorf University. The Bruins travel to Waldorf on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. before hosting the Warriors on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.