Pacific University Men's Soccer Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S SOCCER
CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS AT PACIFIC
Match No. 3/Home Match No. 3
Fri., Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Park Stadium, Forest Grove, Ore.
Live Stats: www.goboxers.com/livestats
Live Audio/Video Webcasst: www.goboxers.com/webcasts
TRINITY LUTHERAN AT PACIFIC
Match No. 4/Home Match No. 4
Sun., Sept. 11, 2:30 p.m., Lincoln Park Stadium, Forest Grove, Ore.
Live Stats: www.goboxers.com/livestats
Live Audio/Video Webcasst: www.goboxers.com/webcasts
BOXERS' HOME STREAK HALTED
The Boxers began the 2011 season with a three year home unbeaten streak, but a season-opening 3-0 loss to Warner Pacific halted a run of 25 consecutive home matches without a defeat. During that span, Pacific went 21-0-4 overall, including a perfect 8-0-0 home record in 2010. The loss to Warner Pacific came almost three years to the day after their previous home loss, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the NAIA Knights.
BOXER BYTES
• The Boxers are starting their youngest lineup in Jim Brazeau's 12-year tenure as head coach. In the season opener against Warner Pacific, the Boxers had four freshmen and three sophomores on the field at the opening whistle, with three seniors and one junior starting. In game two agasinst UC Santa Cruz, the Boxers got even younger, with sophomores Mason Nakana (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Devin Shull (Seattle, Wash.) replacing injured seniors Patrick Murray (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Conor Peterhans (Seattle, Wash.)
• Despite the youth, the Boxers have one of their toughest non-conference schedules in Coach Brazeau's tenure. Warner Pacific, UC Santa Cruz, Claremont Mudd Scripps and Trinity Lutheran combined to go 42-22-9 in 2011.
• Pacific returns only one player from the 2010 All-Northwest Conference Team. Senior midfielder Patrick Murray was a Second Team selection and is Pacific's leading returning scorer.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS
The Stags won the SCIAC Tournament for the second straight year with a 1-0 road victory against Redlands to earn their 15th appearance in the NCAA tournament, where they lost 1-0 in the first round to Texas-Tyler. In 2009, CMS won at UC Santa Cruz 2-1 in the first round before falling to Whitworth University 2-1 in the second round. The Stags are led by a pair of First Team All-SCIAC juniors, midfielder David Taylor and forward Harrison Doyle, who have started on each of the last two NCAA tournament teams. The Stags open the season at home against Cal Baptist on Sept. 7 before traveling to Forest Grove to take on the Boxers.
ALL TIME SERIES: First Meeting AGAINST BRAZEAU: First Meeting
LAST MEETING: First Meeting
TRINITY LUTHERAN
The Eagles will already have seven games under their belts when they take on the Boxers. A member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, Trinity Lutheran plays an independent schedule against teams from NAIA, the Canada West Conference and NCAA Division II and III schools. The Eagles already have a 2-1 win over 20th-ranked NAIA University Of Great Falls (Mont.) and feature players from Sweden, Norway, Brazil and West Africa on their roster.
ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 1-0 AGAINST BRAZEAU: 1-0
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 3-1 at Everett, Wash. on Sept. 5, 2010
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
YOUTH MOVEMENT: After graduating six members of the All-Northwest Conference team, including two-time NWC Defensive Player Of The Year Andrew Stevermer, the Boxers begin the 2011 season with the youngest lineup in head coach Jim Brazeau's 12-year tenure. In the Boxers' season-opener Sept. 1 against Warner Pacific, four freshman and three sophomores were on the field in a 3-0 loss to the Knights. In game two on Sept. 5, two seniors sat with injuries and two more sophomores were on the field for the opening whistle in a 1-0 loss to UC Santa Cruz.
GROWING UP FAST: While the Boxers struggled in their opening game, they showed much improvement in their second contest against NCAA Division III independent power UC Santa Cruz. Without the services of three starters due to injury, the Boxers battled the Banana Slugs for 75 evenly played minutes, holding an edge in shots on goal and corner kicks. The Slugs were able to rally late, scoring the game-winning goal in the 81st minute of a 1-0 victory.
FILLING BIG SHOES: Replacing an all-star is never easy and trying to follow the reigning Northwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year Andrew Stevermer in goal is a challenge that sophomore Chris Reimer (Ferndale, Wash.) is taking on early in the season. Reimer won a preseason battle with fellow sophomores Zach Cohen (Graton, Calif.) and Michael Summers (Beaverton, Ore.) to get the starting nod and played all 90 minutes in each of Pacific's first two games. The 6-2, 200-pound Reimer had four saves in each contest and showed his range and fearlessness by coming all the way out to the 18-yard line to fend off a couple of scoring opportunities against UC Santa Cruz. His eight saves ranks him in a tie for third in the NWC after the first week of the season.
A HEAD ABOVE: Devin Shull stands out on the soccer field thanks to his size. A six-foot-seven former member of the Pacific men's basketball team, Shull has shown early on that he will be a significant strategic weapon with his ability to rise above the pack to get a head on the ball and his willingness to play physically in the midfield. Shull came off the bench in game one and got his first collegiate start in game two against UC Santa Cruz, recording two shots and one shot on goal.
COMPLETE SEASON PREVIEW: The complete 2011 Pacific men's soccer season preview can be viewed by Clicking Here.
PACIFIC PICKED TO PLACE SECOND: Northwest Conference coaches don't see a rebuilding year in Pacific's near future. Despite graduating six all-conference seniors, their top three scorers and the conference's top goalkeeper, Boxers were picked second in a preseason poll of NWC coaches. The Boxers received 40 of a potential 64 points in the poll and received three first-place votes by the league's eight coaches. For the first time, coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Pacific Lutheran received one fewer first place vote, but edged out Pacific with 43 points.
