By Gabe Bain
The Taylor men's soccer team's successful 2011 season is in the rear-view mirror, and the team is preparing to enter the 2012 season. They are bringing back most of the players from last year, so they are expecting their results to be strong this season.
The Trojans are not the only ones who believe they can reach new heights. They were ranked No. 20 by the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll. This is the first time in school history the soccer team has been ranked in the preseason poll.
"Anytime you are the champion or the guy who comes in first, the target is on your back," said Head Coach Gary Ross. "We were preseason ranked 20 in the country . . . people see we're a ranked team and they want to give us their best."
The team's success last season can be attributed to tough defense. Only two opponents scored more than two goals against the Trojans all season. Until the last game, the Trojans held their opponents scoreless for seven straight games.
Last season, the Trojans were the regular season champions in the Crossroads League, formerly called the Mid-Central College conference, and they won their first conference tournament since 1997.
The successful season didn't stop with the regular season and conference tournament, as Ross was named Crossroads League Coach of the Year. Seven players were named All-Crossroads. Seniors Tyler Beachler and Josh Giuliano and sophomores Tim Daniels and Matt Poland were all named to the first team. The second team included sophomore Danny Cawley, junior Jordan Grant and senior Daniel Miller.
Taylor finished the season with a 19-2-1 record, ranking as high as 17 in the coaches' top 25 poll, but eventually fell to the Saint Xavier Cougars in double overtime of the NAIA National Tournament opening round.
Despite losing four seniors, Ross is confident in the team's strength as they bring back a strong core, including six sophomores who scored more than half of the team's goals. Taylor is also bringing in five freshmen and two others who joined the team last spring.
The expectations and goals for this team are high.
"With the new facilities and everything, we will be more in the spotlight, and more people are going to see games," Ross said. "More people are going to be aware, so I think the tendency to have more pressure on you is there, but there is no pressure that is as strong as the pressure we feel internally to make sure we are successful."
Ross said this season the team wants to prove to the rest of the conference that last season was not a fluke.
"There is a sense that we were a one-hit wonder," Ross said. "My anticipation is that every conference team is going to be looking at us and saying, 'We are going to prove that that's the case.' I think we have what it takes to [repeat] but it is going to take a lot of hard work."
The Trojans will begin their season tonight at the Judson University Invitational in Illinois against Saint Ambrose University. They will play their first home game Aug. 31 against the Houghton Highlanders.
