The Carthage College men's soccer team opens its 2010 season on Wednesday, Sept. 1 by playing host to St. Norbert College in a 7:30 p.m. game at Art Keller Field. Carthage will continue to play at Art Keller Field while construction continues at the adjacent student center building. When that project is complete in 2011, Art Keller Field will feature new home stands, as well as an indoor press box within the student center building.
Coach Steve Domin returns 22-of-30 letterwinners and eight-of-11 starters from last year's 7-8-4 team. The key graduation loss was midfielder/forward Andrew Gamarra (Lexington, Ky., started 15-of-19 games, 3 goals, 2 assists). Second-team All-CCIW midfielder Aleks Urosevic leads the returnees, along with forward/defender Jordan Innis (So., Lake in the Hills, Ill./Crystal Lake-South, started 18 games, 3 goals, 4 assists), forward Tyler Cortez (Jr., Naperville, Ill./North, started 16 games, 2 goals, 2 assists), midfielder Drew Liogas (So., Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township, played in 15 games, 3 goals, 3 assists) and goalkeeper Aaron Dirck (Jr., East Moline, Ill./United Township, 8 starts, 1.19 goals-against average, 50 saves, 3 shutouts).
Leading newcomers include midfielder Billy Hamilton (Fr., Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator, 2007 and 2008 All-East Suburban Catholic Conference), midfielder Christian Harvey (Fr., Woodstock, Ill., 2009 Northwest Herald all-area), midfielder/forward Mike Heika (Fr., Inverness, Ill./Palatine-Fremd, All-Mid-Suburban League West), midfielder/forward Kevin Hilgart (Fr., Geneva, Ill., all-sectional, All-Western Sun Conference, conference MVP, Aurora Beacon-News all-area, Daily Herald all-area and Kane Country Chronicle all-area), midfielder Mark Lada (Fr., McHenry, Ill./Arlington Heights-St. Viator, All-East Suburban Catholic Conference), midfielder Marko Markovic (Jr., Niles, Ill./Park Ridge/Illinois-Chicago, 2007 All-Fox Valley Conference and Northwest Herald) and forward/defender Greg Pignataro (Jr., Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs/Marquette University, 2007 All-Fox Valley Conference and Northwest Herald all-area)
Carthage plays a very-challenging schedule in 2010. The Red Men open the season on Sept. 1 by playing host to St. Norbert College. The Green Knights finished the 2009 regular season ranked 10th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America North Region poll. Other highlights of the schedule include games against:
- Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Sept. 5 at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh “Valley Cup.” The Titans have made 11 NCAA appearances. The 2007 team advanced to the NCAA sectionals, while the 1994, 2000 and 2003 squads all finished third at the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
- Loras College on Sept. 12 at the Loras/Wisconsin-Platteville Invitational. The Duhawks have made five-straight NCAA appearances. Last year's team, ranked seventh in the final, regular-season NSCAA national poll and first in the North Region poll, reached the NCAA sectional semifinals. Both the 2007 and 2007 Duhawks advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
- Calvin College on Sept. 15. The Knights have made nine NCAA appearances, and last year's team advanced to the title game of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
- The University of Dubuque on Sept. 18 at the Carthage “Battle on the Border.” The Spartans were ranked ninth in the final, regular-season NSCAA North Region poll.
- The University of Chicago on Sept. 22. The Maroons, ranked 21st in the final, regular-season NSCAA poll and third in the Central Region, have made four NCAA appearances.
- Defending CCIW-champion and 2009 NCAA qualifier Elmhurst College on Sept. 25.
- NAIA scholarship school Robert Morris University (Ill.) on Sept. 29.
- Carroll University on Oct. 6. The Pioneers have made two NCAA appearances, and last year's Midwest Conference championship-team team was ranked 12th in the final, regular-season national poll.
- Two-time NCAA champion and 15-time CCIW-champion Wheaton College (Ill.) on Oct. 13. The Thunder were ranked 16h in the final, regular-season NSCAA poll and first in the Central Region
- NAIA scholarship school St. Ambrose University on Oct. 20.
- Three-time CCIW-champion and two-time NCAA qualifier North Park University on Oct. 27.
Carthage finished the 2009 year with a 7-8-4 record and finished third in the highly-competitive CCIW. The Red Men tied for the 2008 CCIW Men's Soccer Tournament title after winning the 2007 conference championship and reaching the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship for the first time. Midfielder Aleks Urosevic (Jr., Skokie, Ill./Wilmette-Loyola Academy) was named 2009 second-team All-CCIW. Urosevic scored a team-leading 13 points for the Red Men (6 goals, 1 assist).
“Our 2009 season got off to a rocky start,” said Domin, “and I think people counted us out, because we graduated 11 players, including several starters from the year before. We're got better every day as the season went on, because we are only interested in playing the best-possible teams I knew we wouldn't see all of the results that we're accustomed to, but I felt we found an identity and a style as the season progressed. The course of the 2010 season may be similar because of our strength of schedule.”
