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Aug. 27, 2008Lofty ambitions for Dutch in 2008
PELLA—A Central College men’s soccer season filled with lofty team goals and an equally ambitious schedule opens at home Friday and Saturday.
Concordia College (Wis.) visits the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field Friday at 4 p.m. Saturday, with the Dutch taking on Augsburg College (Minn.) Saturday at 4 p.m.
Just three starters are missing from a team that recorded a 14-4-3 mark last year, placing third in the Iowa Conference. Midfielder Cruz Herr (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) was a first-team all-league selection while goalkeeper Greg Foote (senior, Maple Grove, Minn.), defender Scott Erie (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) and midfielder Cody Jandik (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Valley Christian) were second-team honorees. Also back is defender Erik Lundgren (junior, Long Grove, Ill., Adlai Stevenson HS), who was a second-team pick in 2006.
It’s a first-ever meeting with Concordia.
“History shows it’s a strong program,” said coach Garry Laidlaw, who enters his 11th season with a 98-77-13 record, including an 81-27-9 mark over the past six years. “They’ve been in the national tournament. It’s the type of team we want to play on a regular basis.”
Augsburg has seven starters returning from a 9-9 team and is expected to make a run towards the top in the highly competitive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
“They have an excellent team,” Laidlaw said. “They could very well challenge for the MIAC title.”
Augsburg opens its season Friday at Simpson College, so both clubs will be on short rest for Saturday’s game in Pella.
Another strong recruiting year has bolstered the Dutch outlook as Laidlaw has assembled a lineup.
“There are still one or two positions we’re honed in on but what we really feel good about is the depth of the team,” he said. “We’re prepared to use that depth, especially going back-to-back in the first couple matches.”
Laidlaw said a good start to the season is important.
“Our non-conference games could be very difficult this year,” he said. “But we want it that way so that we know how to play the tough matches we know we’ll have later in the season.”