BACK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: After a one-year absence, the West Florida men’s soccer team is back in the NCAA Tournament as the Argonauts earned the No. 4 seed in the South Region. UWF will face No. 1 seed and regional host Rollins in the first round on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
UWF NCAA POSTSEASON HISTORY: The tournament appearance is the fifth in school history for UWF and the fourth in the last five years. The Argos hold a record of 2-3-2 in the NCAA postseason. UWF’s best performance in the tournament was a semifinalist run in 2006, when the Argos tied Dowling in the semifinals and were eliminated on penalty kicks. Dowling went on the win the national title that season.
FAMILIAR OPPONENTS: The Argos have faced two of the other three teams in the South Regional earlier this season, including Friday’s opponent Rollins. Both matches were tight losses for UWF, as the Argos lost to Rollins at home 3-2 and fell to Tampa on the road 1-0. UWF has not faced Barry since Sept. 14, 2003, which ended in a 1-1 tie in a neutral site game at Saint Leo.
SCOUTING ROLLINS: The No. 5 ranked Tars (11-3-3) boast one of the top defenses in all of Division II. Sunshine State Conference Defender of the Year Thomas Biddinger leads the back line, while goalkeeper Keneil Baker is having a stellar freshman campaign with six shutouts and an 0.38 goals against average. Chase Neinken is a dangerous attacker, as he leads Rollins with six goals and six assists on the season.
SCOUTING TAMPA: The No. 15 ranked Spartans (14-6-1) have a high energy attack, led by Lister Warren (12 goals, five assists). Kemal Malcolm (six goals, six assists) and Ryan Griffin (seven goals, three assists) are also big parts of the attack. Freshman David Niepel has done a fine job in goal for the SSC champs, allowing 0.85 goals per game with seven shutouts.
SCOUTING BARRY: The No. 20 ranked Buccaneers (10-2-3) have a well-balanced team, as the team has scored 34 goals and allowed just nine. Mark Anderson (10 goals, nine assists) and Sascha Koettig (nine goals, eight assists) are the danger men up top, while goalkeeper Johnny Rodriguez has played every minute in goal and allowed just 0.57 goals per game with nine shutouts.
UWF VERSUS RANKED TEAMS: UWF is not ranked in the top 25 in the NSCAA national poll, but the three other teams in the South Regional are ranked (No. 5 Rollins, No. 15 Tampa, No. 20 Barry). The Argos are 1-2 against top 25 teams this year, including a win over Lynn, who was ranked No. 7 at the time. The two losses came on the road at Saint Leo, ranked No. 8 at the time, and at Montevallo, currently No. 9 in the country.
FIVE-PEAT: UWF made history last weekend with a fifth straight Gulf South Conference championship. The conference title was also the eighth in program history, with all eight coming under the leadership of head coach Bill Elliott. The men’s soccer team is now the third at UWF that has won five straight GSC titles, joining women’s tennis (1998-02) and women’s golf (2006-10).
TOURNAMENT HEROES: Senior Daniel Martini was named the Most Outstanding Player at the GSC Tournament this year after scoring three goals in two games. He was joined on the all-tournament team by four teammates: Frank Cope, Nikola Kljaic, Elliott Purdom and Marquel Waldron.
ALL-GSC TEAM: The Argos had four players earn All-GSC first team honors: Frank Cope, Daniel Martini, Sean Reynolds and Marquel Waldron. All four players were first time All-GSC honorees, and Cope, Martini and Waldron were each unanimous picks. Nick Salafrio also became the third Argonaut to win GSC Freshman of the Year honors.
PERFECT SEASON: UWF went 5-0 in GSC play this season, marking the team’s third perfect season in conference play. The Argos went 6-0 in 2006 and again in 2007, and this year’s 5-0 record marks the third in school history. UWF holds a record of 60-16-8 (.762) through 16 seasons in GSC regular season play, and the team has finished first or tied for first in the standings eight times.
MILESTONE WIN: Head coach Bill Elliott won his 200th career game as a men’s soccer head coach on Homecoming night for UWF on Oct. 15. Elliott now holds a record of 190-81-26 in 16 seasons at UWF, and he is 207-95-27 in 18 total seasons including his first two years at Tennessee Wesleyan. After combining his record in nine seasons as a women’s soccer head coach with his 18 as a men’s coach, Elliott now has 322 wins at the college level.
MR. ASSIST: Frank Cope continues to be a standout attacking player for West Florida. The junior out of Mobile leads the team with 10 assists and 50 shots, and he also ranks sixth in NCAA Division II in assists. Last year, Stephen Munoz led the team with six assists. The program’s single season record in assists is 15 and is held by current assistant coach Felipe Lawall, who set the mark in UWF’s NCAA semifinalist run in 2006.
CLUTCH PERFORMER: Senior Daniel Martini has made a name for himself this season by scoring clutch goals for UWF. Martini has five game-winning goals this year, including three in GSC play. The senior is a two-time GSC Player of the Week, a first All-GSC selection, and was the GSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He has also scored goals in each of the last seven games, including two in the GSC semifinals against Alabama-Huntsville.
PURDOM BETWEEN THE POSTS: Senior Elliott Purdom has had two fine seasons as the Argonauts’ starting goalkeeper, and he now ranks second in school history with a career goals against average of 0.98. The English keeper is also tied for fourth in school history with 10 shutouts, including the two he posted last weekend at the GSC Tournament.
GSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: UWF had five GSC Players of the Week and five Defenders of the Week this season:
UWF GSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
9/7 - Matthew Aldred
9/14 - Daniel Martini
9/28 - Andre Verardi
10/5 - Sean Reynolds
10/19 - Daniel Martini (2)
UWF GSC DEFENDERS OF THE WEEK
9/28 - Ramon Sealy
10/5 - Marquel Waldron
10/12 - Marquel Waldron (2)
10/19 - Elliott Purdom
10/26 - Trey Kramer
EIGHT IN A ROW: The Argos have won eight games in a row, and they have been fortunate to have been in Pensacola and playing either on their home field or at Brosnaham Park during that entire stretch. UWF is 4-3 away from Pensacola this season, including its last loss, a 1-0 setback at Montevallo on Oct. 12.
KEITH SAVAGE UPDATE: One of the top players in GSC history, UWF grad Keith Savage finished his third season of professional soccer this season. The Gulf Breeze native was drafted and played for Chivas USA of the MLS in 2008, making three starts and appearing in six games. In 2009, he was picked up by the Portland Timbers of the USL-1. After fighting an injury early in the 2010 season, Savage returned to the field and appeared in 10 games with eight starts while notching one assist. The Timbers were eliminated from postseason play in October after losing an aggregate-goal two-game series to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1.
MORE ALUMNI UPDATES: Former All-American defender and graduate assistant coach Eduardo Oliveira has taken a position as assistant coach for the Brazil U-20 women’s junior national team. Also, former Argonaut midfielder Matt Williams received an invitation for a professional tryout in New Zealand.
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