Men's Soccer Team Plugging Holes in Dike

News Release Date:
Friday, August 28

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Despite losing a small armada to graduation, including NWC Defensive Player of the Year Brett Axelrod and leading scorer Stephen Phillips, Whitman College men’s soccer coach Mike Washington is back at the tiller and determined to keep his ship afloat.

Mike Washington

“Every team is going to lose players every year, but for us to lose so many in one year is a bit out of the ordinary,” Washington says.

“All I expect from this group is what I expect every year,” he says. “If they work as hard as they can at every practice and every game, I will be happy. If anything, we need to work even harder this season. We’re going to be ultra-competitive.”

Whitman kicks off it season at home, starting with a 5 p.m. scrimmage against the College of Idaho on Monday, Aug. 31. The Missionaries then entertain Northwest University and Saint Martin’s on Sept. 4 and Sept. 9, respectively.

Washington, now in his 12th season at the Whitman helm, guided last fall’s team to what was arguably the best season in the program’s history. The 2008 Missionaries rolled to an 11-2-7 record overall, which included a 9-2-3 mark and second-place finish in the Northwest Conference.

Whitman’s only two defeats, both of which came in overtime, included a 3-2 setback at Whitworth when the Missionaries played a man down for more than half the game. At season’s end, Whitworth took the title because it had one more conference victory, and one less tie, than Whitman.

No fewer than seven starters from last year’s team have left by way of graduation, however, leaving Washington with numerous holes in the dike.

Cooper Crosby

“On the positive side, we have a good group of returning players, and we’ve had two good recruiting classes,” Washington says. “This team can win its share of games. None of us like to lose. We’ve come a long way the past few years in terms of earning respect for our program, and we want to keep that momentum headed in a positive direction.”

The most gaping hole in the Missionary line-up is at goalkeeper, where Axelrod started for four seasons and shut out 10 of the 13 NWC teams he faced last season. He also ranked among the NCAA Division III national leaders in save percentage and goals-against average.

“It’s almost impossible to replace someone of Brett’s stature,” Washington says. “But we’ve always had good goalkeepers here, and we’re hoping that trend continues this year.”

Nic McDonald

The three keeper candidates waiting in the wings are juniors Nic McDonald and Tim Shu and freshman Devin Kuh.

“Until we play three or four games, I won’t have an answer as to which of the three might emerge as our primary goalkeeper,” Washington says. “We need to see all three in game situations. We need to see how their teammates react to them in those situations. It’s up to the three of them to show us who should be playing most of the time. This might also be a season where we rotate the keepers and make decisions from game to game.”

McDonald, who missed all of last season because of injury, saw playing time in four games as a freshman. Shu made it into two games last fall after playing in one game the year before.

“Nic and Tim don’t have much experience at the college level, but each one has his strong points,” Washington says.

Kuh, a graduate of Boulder (Colo.) High School, did a “good job in high school, but he’s starting over now and has to establish himself at this level,” Washington says. "He has good leadership qualities for a freshman, but there’s a good chance he will make some rookie mistakes. We’ll do what we can to get him through these first few weeks.”

Key defenders Kevin Sigley, Mike McKenzie and Joe Johnson are also gone from last year’s team, but junior Cooper Crosby returns to anchor the defensive front.

Tim Shu

Crosby, a team captain who earned All-NWC Honorable Mention recognition as a sophomore, helped run practices last spring and then stayed in Walla Walla over the summer to work, train and stay in touch with teammates.

“I can’t say enough good things about Cooper,” Washington says. “He’s a very tough kid who has the respect of his teammates. He continues to improve as a player. He’s a bit tenacious and overhits at times, but we think he’s learning to tackle at the right times. His leadership ability and his play on the field are both excellent.”

John Fleming

John Fleming, a junior who played in 25 games during his first two seasons, will join Crosby in the middle of the Missionary defense.

“John is another really talented player who does a lot of good things on the field,” Washington says. “He’s quick and strong and technically sound. The only reason he didn’t play more last year is because of all the senior talent we had.”

Other candidates on the defensive side include returning sophomores Nathan Ord, Jamie Muldoon and Stefan Wheat, and first-year senior Ryan Piela. A fourth sophomore, Jordan Thomas, is a possibility on defense or in the midfield.

Freshman defenders are Jed Jacobson (Mercer Island, Wash.) and Dhavan Vengadasalam (Kent, Wash.).

“We’ve talked about controlling the defensive tempo of games as we tried to do last year,” Washington says. “It’s hard to score three or four goals a game in this conference, so everything has to be based on how you defend.

Jasper Lipton

“With new goalkeepers and defenders, we might need to defend a little higher up the field. If we can develop more depth, we can work harder and substitute more. We need good, solid minutes from a lot of people, and we have a lot of options.”

Key cogs in the midfield are senior Jasper Lipton and junior Conner Bottomly. Lipton is stepping back after playing forward in his first three seasons, and Bottomly is hoping to bounce back after an injury-riddled sophomore campaign.

“We’ve tried to look at what’s best for this group of players, and we’ve moved a few people around,” Washington says. “Jasper has accepted and embraced the idea of playing in the midfield, and he’s looked very good in that role so far. He’s physical and quick in short distances, and he also the ability to finish from the midfield. He’s become a little more aggressive without losing control, and that’s good to see.”

“Connor could be a huge player for us,” Washington adds. “He looks healthy and fit, and we think he could be an exceptional player.”

Returning players in the midfield include senior Sam Chasan and sophomores Brian Percival and Sam Freedman. “The two sophomores should both contribute, and Sam Chasan has a chance to step up and make that spot his."

Beau Morton, a junior transfer from Walla Walla Community College, gives Whitman another capable midfield option. Morton, a graduate of East Valley High School in Yakima, Wash., “should be a real asset for us,” Washington says.

Todd Wallenius

Two of the freshmen, Andrew Clark (Pasco, Wash.) and Leland Matthaeus (Redmond, Wash.), also have shown good potential in early workouts. “Leland is quicker over longer distances, but Andrew has quick feet in confined places,” Washington says. “Andrew also comes from a very good high school program that won a couple of state titles in the time he was there.”

Senior Todd Wallenius, a team captain, leads the troupe of returnees at the forward spot. While Stephen Phillips, an All-NWC First Team selection last fall, was leading Whitman in scoring for a third straight season, Wallenius was next in line with six goals and three assists. Four of his goals were game winners.

“Todd is more fit and stronger than ever,” Washington says. “I’m happy with where he’s starting the season. He works hard and his team leadership is phenomenal.”

The coach also has high hopes for senior forward Jerreh Badjie, who brings a rare combination of blazing speed and natural strength. “Jerreh is probably the most underrated player we have,” he says. “I don’t think he’s reached his potential in past seasons, but he’s looking very good right now and we’re hoping this is his season. He has tremendous physical attributes.”

Chris Reid, a second transfer from Walla Walla Community College, is a third possibility to play at the front of Whitman’s attack.

Chris, who hails from West Valley High School in Yakima, Wash., scored “some vital goals” at the community college, Washington says. “He’s strong, he’s in great shape, and he has the potential to be a go-to guy for us.”

Washington has his sights set on a more diversified offense this fall. “We underachieved a bit last year in goal-scoring ratio,” he says. “It was Stephen and Todd and not much scoring from anyone else. We’re hoping we can spread the goal-scoring wealth around more this season.”

Jerreh Badjie

Despite its heavy graduation losses, Whitman its picked to place fourth in an NWC preseason poll of coaches.

“After losing so many players, we think it’s quite flattering to be picked as high as fourth,” Washington says. “There’s still a chance for us to surprise some teams early in the season. If opponents overlook us a little bit, we might win a few games before people realize we’re for real.”

Washington plans to distribute playing time over the course of Whitman’s opening scrimmage and four non-conference games. 

“We’d be foolish not to a take a good look at everyone before the conference season starts,” he says. “We need to see everyone in game situations. We need to find 16 or 17 guys who can play a lot and then two or three more who can give us minutes off the bench.”

Not many players have starting roles locked up, Washington says. “That’s the message we’ve been giving to the players. They know they need to battle each other for every minute they might get.”

“There’s no reason why a lot of these new players couldn’t give us good minutes this season,” Washington adds.

“Some of our returning guys didn’t get to play too much last year because of the big senior class. But they did get to practice with those talented seniors all season. We talk about that all the time -- how important it is to practice as you’re going to play in a game. We hope our younger players learned a lot last year, even if they didn’t get a ton of minutes in games.”

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu