When the men's soccer coach, Fran O'Leary, talks about the upcoming season, he likes to talk a lot about goals. And he's not just talking about the kind of goals where the ball gets past the keeper. He's talking about an improvement over last season's disappointing 6-11 record. He's talking about a drastic turnaround. And most of all, he's talking about a new and improved Big Green soccer squad.
Last season wasn't easy for the guys in green. And that's putting it mildly. It was as if they were trapped in the school of hard knocks.
In the first two weeks of preseason, the squad's starting lineup was crippled by a rash of injury and illness -- leaving O'Leary with some talented, though inexperienced, freshmen to fill the ranks.
One could say, "rebuilding season in the makings?" The team started the 1995 season off 0-6 and really had to hustle in the homestretch to snag four of its last five games. All in all, not so bad for a team whose fate seemed worse than that of Sisyphus.
Now, after going AWOL for one season, it looks like the Big Green are back in the hunt for the Ivy Title.
"I think we're a much stronger team this season," O'Leary said. "We have more depth, more experience, and overall I think we're more fit than last year."
With 21 returning lettermen on this year's roster, the team is very solid at all ends of the field.
Up front, the team welcomes the return of the 1992 rookie of the year, David Moran '96, who redshirted last season. Together with his fellow senior Augie Lopez '97, Moran is expected to add punch to the attack this season.
In the midfield, senior Methembe Ndlovu '97 will return to the center, leaving a handful of talented sophomores who can get the job done on the flanks.
In the back, the sophomore standout, Brendan Reidy '99, will cast a solid anchor in the middle. Like the midfield, the wings on defense are still up for grabs among some hard-nosed veterans. Rookie Englishman, Russell Penn '00, also looks to bolster the backfield this season.
Between the posts, the keeper duties will be shared by the Matt and Matt duo. Matt Nyman '99 had a stellar rookie season last year, allowing a stingy 1.50 goals per game in Ivy League play. Not to be outshined, Matt Streng '98 held his own with some big saves late last season to keep Dartmouth on top.
With a lineup this deep and this talented, one might think these guys have the Ivy title in their back pockets. But O'Leary is no dreamer. He's too savvy for that. He knows that his team can't afford to get cocky after seeing what happened last season.
"We need to take one game at a time," O'Leary said. "This year's schedule will be tough, but we'll definitely be competitive in every game." And so they have.
Last week, the team opened its 1996 campaign with a 2-0 blanking of Canisius -- a pretty good sign that this year would definitely be better.
On Sunday, the Big Green headed south to face off against a seasoned squad at Lafayette. Playing down for most of the game, Dartmouth stayed tough and rallied their way to a one goal deficit to end the game 3-4.
"We were disappointed with the result at Lafayette," O'Leary said, "but we were very pleased with the performance."
"By staying in the game right up until the final minutes, these guys showed tremendous character and poise," he added. "We proved that we're not willing to pack it in even when we're down."
But O'Leary is careful to note that this is just the beginning.
"There's still a lot we need to get done in order to reach our season goals," he said. "First, I think we need to get past those six wins from last season. Second, I think we need to keep ourselves above the .500 mark. And finally, I think this squad should get ready to jump back into the top 10 regional rankings."
With Saturday's punctual 2-0 win over Penn in their Ivy opener, it seems that the Big Green may well be on their way back to the top. Or as the players put it, it's back to the old "Up up Big Green."
