Leadership seen in all ages

The Gonzaga men's soccer team started its 2010 season Wednesday, Sept. 1, with a 4-0 loss to the University of California Irvine Anteaters, the 20th- ranked team in the nation.  

It didn't take long for the Anteaters to get on the board, scoring two goals in the first five minutes of play. The Bulldogs did not get their first shot until the 38th   minute of the match, but kept U.C. Irvine out of the back of the net for the remainder of the first half.

The Bulldogs came out slow in the second half and surrendered a goal in the first five minutes.  The Anteaters scored their final goal in the 83rd minute to seal the victory.

Gonzaga did not get a shot on goal the entire match and the Anteaters had a 21-3 shot advantage.

Senior forward Nick Love attributes a portion of the loss to a slow start at the beginning of the match.  Love is the Bulldogs' top returner; he recorded four goals and four assists for 12 points last season.

"We need to come out strong, not lackadaisical, where we need 10 minutes to get into our game," Love said. "I felt that hurt us because it took us about 20 minutes in the first half to settle down and actually do what we know we can do."

Love thinks that the Bulldogs did a good job bouncing back after falling behind quickly to a 2-0 deficit, but also believes they returned to their slow play again at the beginning of the second half.

"If we do let a goal in in the first minute, we shouldn't just give up, we need to be able to fight back, forget about it and get the next one," Love said. "I thought we did kind of bounce back in the first half, but then we kind of came out slow again in the second half."

This season, the Bulldogs have 14 true freshmen on their roster and graduated many key players last season including forward Ben Funkhouser and goal scoring leader Tye Perdido.  Gonzaga has only nine upperclassmen on the roster.

That youth and inexperience is a key concern for the Bulldogs this season.  Senior goalkeeper Andrew Hickman was projected to start this season, but due to a foot injury has been sidelined. Still, he believes that the Bulldogs will grow over time.   

"Experience is huge. We are just trying to get a feel for each other and learn how to play with each other," Hickman said.

Some of the freshmen have already started to impress Love and have him excited about the talented youth.  He identified freshman Nick Hamer as a player who has adapted quickly to the fast and competitive nature of Division I soccer.

"He has really stepped up to the plate and I feel like he is a really strong player to have," Love said.

Hamer has filled in at the midfield position for sophomore James Matern, who is out due to a hip injury.

Vital for a young team like the Bulldogs is veteran leadership. Hickman identified Collin Harrison, the sole fifth-year senior who transferred from the University of Portland his sophomore year, as a distinguished leader. Hickman also credited junior James Partee for his leadership in a youthful backfield.

"Everybody else in our back four is brand new, so he is definitely trying to assert himself and help the players get assimilated," Hickman said.

In the coaches preseason poll, the Bulldogs were projected dead last in the West Coast Conference.  Neither Love nor Hickman was surprised by the poll and said it is typical for Gonzaga to be found near the bottom, but both agree that it does not affect their hopes for a successful season.

"We try to prove everybody wrong and we know where we stand and that's all that we really care about," Hickman said.

The Bulldogs play their first seven matches on the road, next heading to the University of Seattle tournament Sept. 10-12.  The Bulldogs play their first match at home on Sept. 29 against the University of Portland.

Despite the loss to UC Irvine and the abundance of youth on the team, Love has confidence for the 2010 season.

"We can have a strong year, prove people wrong that this is not going to be a rebuilding year and hopefully it will be a winning season," Love said.