MSOC 2020-2021 Season Preview

1/27/2021 12:55:00 AM | Men's Soccer

MU returns six starters and 15 letterwinners from 2019

By: Communications

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's soccer team began practice last week in anticipation for the 2020-21 season. The Golden Eagles are scheduled to play in 13 games this spring, including five non-conference games and eight matches against BIG EAST foes.

Head Coach Louis Bennett is entering his 15^th season in charge of the men's soccer program in 2020-21. Although he realizes this season will certainly be different, he's excited nonetheless for his team to compete this spring.

"For us to be able to have a season this spring is a credit to all the hard work and sacrifice of our student-athletes, sports medicine staff and administration," Bennett said. "Our guys have been enthusiastic and working hard in training since the fall. We're excited to get out there and play as many games as possible."

The Golden Eagles, who had their fall 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19, ended their 2019 season with an 8-9-1 (4-5-0 BIG EAST) record. The team returns six starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2019 team. MU also added 13 newcomers for the 2020-21 season to offset the losses of four senior All-BIG EAST selections, including MLS SuperDraft picks Patrick Seagrist (first team) and Luka Prpa (second team). Connor Alba and Josh Coan both made the third team.

"We're losing several guys from a very successful senior class," Bennett said. "Our staff worked hard to find a bevy of talented players who we can develop to step in and fill some holes in our roster. We're thrilled about the talent and versatility of our newcomers."

The team returned to practice on Monday, Jan. 17 to prepare for its Feb. 3 season opener against Loyola Chicago.

There are 29 players on the roster for 2020-21, which includes 10 forwards, 10 defenders, six midfielders and three goalkeepers.

Forwards (10)
7          Kacper Chrapczynski (Fr.)
9          Lukas Sunesson (Jr.)
10        Cristian Gennaro (Jr.)
11        Beto Soto (Fr.)
14        Nick Guido (RSo.)
15        Christian Marquez (So.)
16        Alan Kim (Fr.)
18        AJ Franklin (RSo.)
19        Sam Thornton (Sr.)
27        Noah Madrigal (Fr.)

Coach Bennett has options aplenty to consider at the striker positions as he tries to replace 2019 leading scorers Josh Coan (6G-4A-16 points) and Connor Alba (3G-3A-9 points).

Two guys he'll look to as potential leaders at forward are junior Lukas Sunesson and sophomore Christian Marquez. A 2018 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection, Sunesson scored five of his eight career goals in his first year at MU while tacking on three tallies last year. Marquez was one of just two true freshmen to see significant time last year and tied for second on the team with three goals. Both will play significant roles this spring.

"It's super exciting to be able to get back out there with the team," Sunesson said. "With all the newcomers we have it's been fun to see what guys can do in practice. I'm excited to see that translate games so we can have a great season."

Other returners include senior Sam Thornton and redshirt sophomores A.J. Franklin and Nick Guido. Thornton started in the first three games of 2019 before a lower body injury caused him to miss the rest of the season. Franklin played in 13 games as a reserve last year while Guido didn't appear in any games after transferring from South Carolina.

The Golden Eagles added five newcomers to their group of strikers, including four freshmen. Cedar Rapids, Iowa native Alan Kim was named the 2019-20 Iowa Gatorade Boys Soccer Player of the Year as a senior in high school and concluded his prep career with nearly 30 goals. Noah Madrigal, a freshman out of Peoria, Ill., netted a sensational 41 goals his final year of high school and is someone who has impressed his coaches and teammates in practice.

"We have a group with the potential to score a lot of goals," Sunesson said. "It's got to be a cohesive team effort so we can be on the same page to set ourselves up for success, especially on the offensive end."

Midfielders (6)
4          Christian Albelo (RJr.)
6          Matheus Pereira (Jr.)
8          Alan Salmeron (Jr.)
22        Zak Wegner (RJr.)
23        Zyan Andrade (Jr.)
24        Thomas Priest (Fr.)

The midfielder positions in 2021 will be filled with a mixture of returning players and newcomers. Juniors Alan Salmeron and Zak Wegner spent a majority of the 2019 season in the starting lineup for MU. Salmeron started 17 games and Wegner started 13. Neither registered any points but their two-way versatility will be invaluable to the team this spring.

"Alan [Salmeron] and Zak [Wegner] are going to have big parts in what we do," Bennett said. "They're experienced, consistent and know the way we like to play. I like what we have with them and our group of newcomers."

Redshirt junior Christian Albelo has played in 18 career games, mostly as a reserve. He's fully healthy and ready to contribute this spring. Joining him are newcomers Zyan Andrade, Matheus Pereira and Thomas Priest.

Andrade is a junior who spent his first two seasons at the University of San Francisco while Pereira spent two years at Marshalltown Community College (Iowa). Andrade played in over 20 career games at USF while Pereira netted 10 goals along with 14 assists in two seasons in JUCO. He was also named to the NSCAA All-Region Second Team and helped his team to a national runner-up finish.

A freshman from Neenah, Wis., Thomas Priest helped lead his school to a pair of conference titles and a runner-up finish at the state tournament in 2019. He was the Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2019 and co-MVP in 2018 and earned all-state, all-region and all-conference honors as a senior.

Defenders (10)
2        Gabe Kash (RSo.)
3          Jonathan Robinson (RFr.)
5          Manuel Cukaj (RJr.)
12        Tasker Wheeler (Fr.)
17        Clay Smith (So.)
20        Harvey Read (So.)
21        Alex Mirsberger (RSo.)
25        Jai Hsieh-Bailey (Fr.)
26        Joey Fitzgerald (Fr.)
29        Oliver Posarelli (RSr.)

The Golden Eagles are set to return three of their four starters on the backline, with the most notable departure being 2020 MLS SuperDraft first round pick Patrick Seagrist. A tenth overall selection of the New York Red Bulls, Seagrist was a four-year contributor and a two-time first team All-BIG EAST player.

The returning starters are redshirt senior Oliver Posarelli, redshirt junior Manuel Cukaj and redshirt sophomore Alex Mirsberger. A native of Verona, Italy, Posarelli came to MU in 2018 after transferring from Montana State. He played all 19 games in 2018 including 15 starts, providing immense value on the back line. He suffered a preseason injury in 2019 and only played in one game. It's safe to say coach Bennett and company are happy to have him back in the fold.

"We definitely missed having [Oliver] Posarelli last season," Bennett said. "He's one of the best defenders we have and his experience will be vital this year."

Manuel Cukaj, who played in 15 games in 2019, finished tied for fourth on the team in points (7) and tied for second on the team in goals (3). The highlights of his season included heading in the game-winning goal in overtime to open the season against UAB and netting a brace in a win over Green Bay. He battled injuries and redshirted in 2018 but made the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2018.

Brookfield, Wis., native Alex Mirsberger burst onto the scene as one of MU's most reliable defenders last season after redshirting in 2018. He played in 16 games (starting 15) in 2019 and finished the season with one goal and two assists. He'll again be an important part of what MU does this spring.

Sophomores Gabe Kash and Clay Smith played in 14 and 10 games, respectively, in 2019. Kash started four times and Smith made his first career start at Milwaukee in the annual crosstown battle. Jonathan Robinson sat out last season but has shown tremendous growth during his redshirt year and has a shot to grab a starting role in 2021.

Rhode Island transfer Harvey Read is a sophomore who played in 16 games as a freshman in 2019 and helped his former team to an Atlantic-10 title. He'll compete for a spot in the rotation along with freshmen Joey Fitzgerald, Jai Hsieh-Bailey and Tasker Wheeler.

Goalkeepers (3)
1          Cedrik Stern (Jr.)
31        Chandler Hallwood (RSo.)
32        Jackson Weyman (RSo.)

MU returns two regular contributors in net from last year's team. Junior Cedrik Stern and redshirt sophomore Jackson Weyman essentially split time in 2019, each starting nine games. A Friedburg, Germany native, Stern started the final nine games in 2019 and finished the year with a 4-5-0 record to go along with 42 saves and a .712 save percentage.

As a redshirt freshman, Weyman started the team's first nine games in goal and posted a 4-4-1 record in nine starts with 33 saves and a .702 save percentage. After his first two games as a starter, he was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week when he tallied six combined saves against UAB and UC Davis. On Sept. 30 he earned BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honors when he saved six shots again in two road wins over Wisconsin and Xavier.

Adding to the mix to compete with the two returnees is Chandler Hallwood, a redshirt sophomore from Halifax, England who transferred from Division II Gannon University (Pa.). He's coming off a stellar season in 2019 when he set a school record for wins (18) and logged almost 2,000 minutes in net. He was named the 2019 PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year in addition to being named to the PSAC West All-Conference First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team. Hallwood has impressed since coming to MU in the fall and has a chance to break into the keeper rotation this spring.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles begin the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 3 against Loyola Chicago at 6 p.m. inside the Valley Fields dome. GoMarquette.com will provide the live stream and stats.

Quotables:
-Head Coach Louis Bennett: "It's huge when you have guys that understand the culture and how we want our program run. We have some really good players here and our job is to put them in the right places to be successful and help the team."
-Assistant Coach Danny Jarosz: "We've seen a lot of progress from the fall. With all our new players, it took us awhile to get on the same page. Now we're getting into the swing of things and learning to play Marquette soccer."
-Junior Lukas Sunesson: "All throughout the past year we've been playing against one another in game-line situations. We feel like we're going to be ready to go when it's time for games this spring."
-Redshirt Junior Zak Wegner: "It feels great to be back our here with the team. It's been a difficult few months with the pandemic, but being able to practice and be around the guys again is really exciting for all of us."
-Junior Cedrik Stern: "This has been a great opportunity to compete against one another. We've been put in scenarios that are as close to game-like as possible. It's going to be a great feeling to finally play games again."

Keep up with the Marquette men's soccer program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteSoccer) and Instagram (@MarquetteSoccer) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteSoccer).