The Monmouth College men’s soccer team would like very much to forget about the 1997 season and get on to the business at hand. The Fighting Scots staggered through their worst season in five years last fall, suffering devastating injuries to key players throughout the entire campaign, and limped home with a record of 4-12. Only a year after claiming its first Midwest Conference South Division title with a school-record 8-1-1 finish, Monmouth went a dismal 1-8 in nine conference matches and ended in 9th place among the ten-member league.
Despite the poor showing of a year ago, head coach Rue Carthew enters his eighth season with a touch of optimism and enthusiasm. Carthew has recruited several talented players from the prep ranks to refill the Monmouth arsenal and hopefully return the Scots to the conference postseason tournament. In addition to the 1996 division title, the Scots’ soccer team also qualified for postseason action in 1992 and 1994 and Carthew is hoping that the even-numbered year magic is at work again in 1998. The Scots will also be shooting for their fifth double-digit win season in the last six years after seeing their streak of four consecutive ten-win campaigns snapped last fall.
Gone is 1997 MVP and scoring leader Josh Oakley, who virtually carried the squad while scoring a team-high 14 goals, but a number of veteran players return with their sights set on erasing the memory of last year. Senior Sean Lowery (St. Peters,MO/Francis Howell North) contributed 13 points (5 goals, three assists) to the Monmouth offense from his midfield position and will serve as one of three captains. Leading the team along with Lowery will be senior Washington Mukumbila (Addis Ababa,Ethiopia/Tigoni International), an All-MWC selection in 1996 who returns to the Scots’ midfield after suffering a season-ending knee injury early in his junior year, and junior Matthew Carl (Aurora,IL/Waubonsie Valley), a veteran of the defensive line.
"We are hoping to have a good season this year, " says Carthew, whose seven-year career mark at Monmouth stands at 56-49. "With more depth at virtually every position than last year, we will be able to have competition for starting time and will have a better bench. The lack of bench strength really hurt us last year with all the injuries we went through."
Several other upperclassmen will be counted on to fill starting positions. The lack of a proven goalscorer is a problem on the frontline but junior forwards Kai Riber (Des Moines, IA/Singapore American) and Matthew Burge (Champaign,IL/Central) will attempt to spark the offense. Freshmen Andrew Zimmerman (Darien,IL/Hinsdale South), Reggie Smith (Berwyn,IL/Morton West) and Justin Wheeler (Charleston,IL/Charleston) will challenge for striker time with the versatile Wheeler also switching to defensive fullback in certain situations. "Justin may be one of the best players we have had here at Monmouth in a long time," added Carthew. "I’m looking for a great freshman season from him."
Carthew also has shored up the midfield and defensive positions with the new class. "Our midfielders should be one of the team’s strong points," said the Scot coach. "We have many fine players who can fill these spots and we will need to get good play from the middle of the field in order to challenge for a playoff spot." First-year players David Gallagher (Dublin, Ireland) and Joshua Zaffino (Midlothian,IL/Bremen) and sophomore Craig Hanson (Galesburg,IL/ Galesburg), who was primarily used off the bench in a reserve role last fall, provide depth and experience at halfback.
Christopher Swanson was one of Monmouth’s top defensive players the past two seasons and returns as Carthew’s assistant coach after exhausting his college eligibility to help with the defense. Gary Schneider (East Moline,IL/United Township) and Matt Carlson (Frankfort,IL/Lincoln-Way), two members of a strong junior class, will push for starting spots along with prospective freshmen Jeffrey Samp (Schiler Park,IL/East Leyden), Timothy Drenth (Berwyn,IL/Morton West) and Patrick O’Bryan (Indianola,IA/Indianola).
With the graduation of All-Conference goalkeeper Jeff Sutton, Monmouth will need to find a dependable stopper in the nets. Burge served as the Scots’ number-two goalie last year and will be used both at keeper and in the field. The starting job may fall to freshman Joel Cowan (Alton,IL/Alton), an All-Conference and All-South selection in high school, who has looked good in preseason drills.
"We hope to get back to the playoffs after having such a bad year last fall," said Carthew. "With all the injuries and setbacks the boys never gave up but we didn’t have the depth to overcome the loss of key players. This year we have much more competition on the team and should have a deeper bench."
Ripon is the defending MWC men’s soccer champion and is definitely the team to beat again in 1998. The Red Hawks stormed through the regular season with a perfect 9-0 league record and finished with a 1-0 overtime victory over Beloit in the championship match. Grinnell and St. Norbert also advanced to the league tournament and are expected to field strong teams, with Lake Forest the likeliest challenger to the top four. Monmouth begins its season with a non-conference match at Iowa Wesleyan on September 4th and opens league play at home on September 9th against Illinois College.

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