MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 21 Bethel Wildcat Soccer squad opens the 2019 season Saturday at Wildcat Stadium hosting the Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands. Action begins at 3 p.m. It will be the sixth meeting between the two programs with U of C holding a 4-1 advantage in the series.
Follow the action with live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
Fans can also watch the action at: http://www.bethelathletics.com/WildcatVision
The Wildcat squad finished 15-4-1 overall in 2018. They had a 7-1 mark in the tough SSAC. The Cats lost to William Carey in the SSAC title match-up. Highlighting the season was an eight game winning streak which included a 2-0 victory over No. 3 Mobile.
The Wildcats look forward to continuing their momentum in 2019 with several key returning players along with several top newcomers added to the fold.
The Cats will need to replace goalkeeper Marco Taaffe who recorded 89 saves the last two seasons.
Coach Malang Jarju said the Cats have several key returners who he feels will lead the team to even greater success in 2019. "Leading our returners is Pascal Mohungsi who scored 20 goals and had seven assists last year. He was 1st Team All-SSAC. He won the conference Golden Boot award and was named 3rd Team NAIA All-American."
The Wildcats also return 1st team SSAC standout Alexander Racanovic, 2nd team SSAC performer Jaiquan Bristol, Brian Mbauni and Michael Nwafor. SSAC All-Freshman Don Obare returns along with Ryan Davey."
The Cats had another outstanding off season in recruiting adding several players. Leandro Faira (GK) from Nebraska CC joins the fold. Three other freshman will be counted on including Silvio Henrique Xavier, Alphonso Gooden and Damani Haris.
Coach Jarju said, "We lost several valuable members of our program but feel really good about our returners. They know what it takes to win and we look forward to building off the success we had last year."
He added, "I am really excited about the players we have brought in for 2019-20. We have a great group of newcomers and along with our returners we feel really good about this season. We have a very tough schedule but I think we can always get better by playing good games. We were really close to winning the title last year and we are excited to see what this season brings."
Coach Jarju is in fourth season as head coach of the Wildcats. He is 33-20-2 with the Cats. He was a member of the Wildcats from 2003-2007. He owns the record for goals scored in a career at Bethel with 56. He is the only Bethel men's soccer player to have his jersey retired at the school.
