Youngteam, coach for men's soccer

by Georgiana Rushworth staff writer

The men's soccer team, the defending Pennsylvania Athletic Conference champions, began their year with a shaky start is determined not to give up. They have every intention of working hard and tasting the sweet victory of winning the PAC once agam.

This year's team mainly consists of underclassmen and is lead by Doug Meder, now in his second year. Last year Meder became the head soccer coach when Duncan Hubley retired after 12 fulfilling seasons. Hubley had an incredible record of 140/87/4 with 4 PAC titles. One of these titles came with help from Meder, as his assistant coach.

Hubley began his coaching career in 1987 and ended it abruptly in 1998 leaving the players astonished.

"I have great respect for a coach with that much experience and was shocked when I heard he was leaving. He had done the recruiting of the players for the following year, so no one expected it," Mike Braun, a senior and captain for the Cavs, said.

Now that the team has begun its second season the players can compare Hubley's and Meder's coaching styles. Braun feels that they are totally different leaders as Hubley was very outspoken and outgoing and Meder is more laid back and soft-spoken. Hubley will be missed, but Meder has put a lot of time into the team and has also done a lot of recruiting. Braun knows that Meder can only get better in time. Meder admits to learning a great deal from Hubley, but is still a rookie. Meder's first season went very well last year with his team finishing the year 17/5 and going to the PAC championship.

This year's team is full of freshmen and sophomores, so Meder hopes that his captains Mike Braun, Eric Lukach and John Amerman will help to pull the team together and win the PAC.

"We have lost a lot of key players and are fighting injuries, so this has allowed the freshmen to '"pick it up a bit'" and play.

One main challenge the Cavs are experiencing is trouble with scoring, but, Meder explains, this is understandable because it is still early in the season.

"Our team's biggest weakness right now is inexperience. Our line up is full of underclassmen, but, then again, this will benefit us in the future because we have a chance to become a strong team for years to come," Braun said.

The Cavs also have to tackle a rough schedule this year because most of the team's games are away. Misericordia, and now Eastern, are among the games the team will play this year that it expects to be exciting.