Aug. 27, 2008

For the first time since 1993, Johns Hopkins will have a new men's soccer coach on the sidelines in 2008. Craig Appleby begins his first season on the bench for the Blue Jays, inheriting a team that won its second straight and seventh overall Centennial Conference title last season.

"I'm excited about the program and what I see on the field," said Appleby. "We have a high level of technical ability but we're still trying to form into a total team. And when we do, we'll have something exceptional."

Leading the way for Hopkins in 2008 will be senior captains Matty Carlson, Robbie Carper, Ethan Mulligan and Akash Naik.

Carlson, a three-time captain for the Blue Jays, has started 61 of 62 games in his career with seven goals and three assists to his credit. A First Team NSCAA All-American last season, he will play on both the midfield and back lines in 2008. Carper and Mulligan, who are both coming off injury-shortened seasons in 2007, return to anchor the defense. Naik will patrol in the midfield, seeing time at both central and outside midfielder. A two-year starter, he's scored nine goals and added six assists in the last two seasons.

Junior Nate Wysk, sophomores Chris Wilson, Rob Lehnhoff and Kevin Hueber and freshmen Corey Adams, Will Goeller and Drew Holland will join Carper and Mulligan in the backfield this season. Wysk (13 games, 10 starts), Wilson (19 games, nine starts) and Heuber (eight games, two starts) all saw significant time on the backline in 2007 and will look to build on that experience this season.

Joining Naik in the midfield will be senior Nick Gauna, junior Max Venker, sophomores Scott Elliott and Evan Kleinberg and freshmen Sean Duggan, Derek McAbee, Neil Vranis. Gauna, a two-time All-Centennial Conference selection, led the Blue Jays with eight assists and was tied for second with 30 points last season. He enters his final season ranked in the top 10 in school history in career points (T-10th • 72) and assists (T-4th • 22). Venker has been clutch for the Blue Jays in his two seasons as seven of his 13 career goals have been game-winners. Last season he finished second on the team with a career-high seven assists.

Seeing time on both the midfield and back lines this season will be junior Rami Zeidan and sophomore transfer Tony Gass.

Junior Evan Giles and Nick Kosik and sophomores Scott Bukoski, David Drake and Brian Esoda will lead the attack for Hopkins this season. Bukoski, a First Team NSCAA All-Region pick in 2007, led the Blue Jays in scoring with 20 goals and 46 points as a rookie. He is just the fifth player in the program's history to score 20 or more goals in a single season. Drake, a 2007 Second Team All-Centennial selection, had an immediate impact as well last season, scoring 14 goals and finishing with 30 points. Like Venker, he has the knack for the clutch goal as five of his 14 goals were game-winners last season. Giles saw significant minutes last season and notched career-highs in goals (4), assists (4) and points (12). Kosik is making the move from defense to the forward line to utilize his size (6'4") and speed. Esoda also saw a lot of time in his rookie season, notching four goals last season.

Junior Matt Mierley and sophomore Neil MacLean, who shared time in the goal last season, will be joined in 2008 by junior transfer Ravi Gill. Mierley started 18 games in 2007 and posted a 0.96 goals against average with a .730 save percentage. MacLean started four games and posted a 0.44 goals against average and a .778 save percentage.

Hopkins was the top pick in the Centennial Conference Preseason Coaches Poll for the sixth consecutive year. The Blue Jays earned 77 points and seven first place votes. The two-time defending Centennial Conference Champions have won more titles than any other school in the conference.

The season opens for JHU with the Blue Jay Invitational. Buffalo State, Montclair State and Penn State Altoona will all participate. Hopkins and Buffalo State will square off in the first game with Montclair State and Penn State Altoona meeting in the second. The winners will meet in the championship game on Aug. 31. The Blue Jays will begin their Centennial Conference title defense on Sept. 20 when the Swarthmore Garnet visit Homewood Field.

"We have a very tough conference schedule," noted Appleby. "I'm excited about the challenges that it presents in that every game matters."

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