GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's soccer team embarks on its 2021 schedule beginning Friday, Sept. 3 with a visit to Spring Hill College.
The Pioneers played a total of seven matches during the rescheduled and abbreviated 2021 spring season, bookending the year with wins in the season opener and finale to end with a record of 2-4-1.
A total of 16 of the 24 players who played in the spring season for the Pioneers are back for the 2021 fall campaign, including 13 of the 19 players who made at least one start. Head coach Allen Vital begins his 11th season at his alma mater and the 25th of his career knowing that blending the returning players with the newcomers was the most important task of the preseason.
"We added a lot of new players since the 2019 fall season. Integrating all the new players and getting everyone to be on the same page will be our biggest challenge," said Vital, who has 245 career coaching wins and has led the Pioneers to three SAC Tournament championships. "If we can develop a good work ethic as a group, I think this team has enough talent to achieve great things in the conference and beyond. It's going to take all of us to step up."
After a spring season that included a pair of shutdowns for COVID protocols and a grueling stretch of five matches in a span of 12 days, Vital is thankful for the opportunity to follow a more traditional training and game schedule this fall.
"It's been fantastic to have a full squad to work with. I'm so happy for our players," Vital said. "I've always taken it for granted to have a full locker room, and all which makes preseason one of the things the majority of players miss the most when they graduate."
FORWARDS
Junior Damien Baltide (Fort-de-France, Martinique) was the Pioneer team Most Valuable Player last spring and earned honorable mention All-SAC honors after being involved in six of the team's seven goals, on three goals and three assists. Baltide, who started all seven matches, was honored as SAC Offensive Player of the Week after earning a pair of assists against King, and scored a pair of goals in a victory over Lincoln Memorial.
Sophomore Jean-Pierre Vital (Greeneville, Tenn.) also started all seven matches and tallied a goal and an assist while ranking second on the squad with 16 shot attempts. Sophomore Pedro Concheso (Gijon, Spain) played in six matches, including five starts, and junior Ignacio Alconchel (Palma del Rio, Spain) made two appearances and assisted on a goal in the season finale.
MIDFIELDERS
Four starters are back from last season's squad, led by senior Marcos Franco (Madrid, Spain) and sophomores Pedro Bolizan (Montverde, Fla.), Michele Di Miele (Weston, Fla.) and Andres Lagos (Concon, Chile).
Franco, Di Miele and Lagos each played in all seven matches during the spring, with Franco and Di Miele each scoring one goal. Bolizan appeared in six matches and made five starts while ranking sixth on the team with 509 minutes played.
Junior Levi Vasconcelos (Gravata, Brazil) joins the program after starting two years at Marshalltown Community College. Juniors Matheus Assuncao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Tyrell Squire (Bristol, England) each saw limited action during the spring season.
Ready to make their Tusculum debuts this fall are junior Lucas Romeiro (Vila Velha, Brazil) along with freshmen Carson Anderson (Thompson's Station, Tennessee), Janvier Fataki (Roanoke, Va.) and Allen Meza (Lenoir, N.C.).
DEFENDERS
A trio of starters return on defense for the Pioneers, led by fifth-year senior Dani Gongora (Malaga, Spain). Gongora, a preseason second-team All-SAC selection in the spring, started all seven matches for the Pioneers and has made 24 starts over his four seasons with the Pioneers. Senior Xavi Sandoica (Tarragona, Spain) made five starts last season, and junior Marc Caceres (Sant Cugat Del Valles, Spain) started six matches in his first season in the Pioneer lineup in the spring.
Senior Adam O'Sullivan (Cobh, Ireland) joins the Pioneer program after starting three years for Division I Florida Atlantic. Additional veteran experience is provided by seniors Rodrigo Pascual (Madrid, Spain) and Vini Rosario (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Junior Ethan Lau (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) played in eight matches over two years with Hannibal-La Grange University.
More depth is provided by juniors Phillip Hall (Dayton, Tenn.) and Ira Heppard (New York, N.Y.), along with sophomores Alejandro De Mingo (Madrid, Spain) and Rasmus Nylander (Sundsvall, Sweden) and freshman David Evans (Johnson City, Tenn.).
GOALKEEPERS
Tusculum does not have a keeper on its roster who has previous game experience with the Pioneers. The only upperclassman keeper is sophomore Bruno De Freitas (Indaiatuba, Brazil), who did not play in the spring but appeared in seven matches with a 0.42 goals against average for Marshalltown CC in the fall of 2019.
Three freshmen join De Freitas on the Pioneer roster -- Rayane El Mehdi (Casablanca, Morocco), Nicolas Leite (Santo Andre, Brazil) and Mack Waters (Lenoir, N.C.).
SCHEDULE
Tusculum will play its first four matches on the road, including the conference opener at Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The Pioneers will host Mars Hill in the first of their five home matches on Sunday, Sept. 19. Three home matches are on the October schedule, with the season finale at home against Queens on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
