MSOC set for unofficial start of 2018 season
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 2:02 am
Twenty-eight Mountaineer MSOC players (14 returnees and 14 recruits) will report to campus on Monday, July 30 for a week of rigorous training with their team captains in preparation for the official opening of fall camp on Wednesday, August 8. Just four days later (August 11) the team will hold its annual Black & Gold Scrimmage in preparation for a friendly exhibition contest at Radford at 6 PM on Wednesday, August 15th.
The team experienced significant attrition following the 2017 season with a minimum of 12 players leaving due to graduation, transfer or simply hanging up their boots. The most significant losses include three graduates (defender Jeremy Tshongo of Hammersly, Western Australia, defender John Walrath of Raeford, NC and defender Thibaut Arpinon of Nimes, France) along with undergrad junior keeper Jake Agnew of Farmington, MN and senior midfielder Raheem Somersall of Basseterre, St. Kitts. All five were at least part-time starters. As of this post, Agnew's future remains uncertain. Somersall will play his senior season for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles of the ASUN Conference.
Coach O'Keefe's 2018 recruiting class is said to be near the top of the Sun Belt conference and is composed of a mix of US and international talent. The 2018 team will be exceedingly young, but Coach O'Keefe has been quoted as saying that all of the pieces are now in place to field a very competitive team.
The team experienced significant attrition following the 2017 season with a minimum of 12 players leaving due to graduation, transfer or simply hanging up their boots. The most significant losses include three graduates (defender Jeremy Tshongo of Hammersly, Western Australia, defender John Walrath of Raeford, NC and defender Thibaut Arpinon of Nimes, France) along with undergrad junior keeper Jake Agnew of Farmington, MN and senior midfielder Raheem Somersall of Basseterre, St. Kitts. All five were at least part-time starters. As of this post, Agnew's future remains uncertain. Somersall will play his senior season for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles of the ASUN Conference.
Coach O'Keefe's 2018 recruiting class is said to be near the top of the Sun Belt conference and is composed of a mix of US and international talent. The 2018 team will be exceedingly young, but Coach O'Keefe has been quoted as saying that all of the pieces are now in place to field a very competitive team.