Men's Soccer Outlook

Over the past two seasons, Lee men’s soccer coach Henry Moyo has watched his Flames start slow, and then finish in high gear, winning the SSAC tournament title and earning a berth in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament.

“I certainly hope we can start strong and keep it going all the way,” said Moyo, who begins his ninth season as the men’s head coach. “Although having said that, we have never really been written off by anyone in the conference or nationally, even with slow starts! That is a testament of the tenacity of the players. They are not losers! Our new players also have a passion for the game and I think it will all be good.”

Moyo points out that the loss of his team’s two top goalkeepers will be felt. “Luidgi (Beauzile), who also was a team captain and (Michael) Simmons have been examples and a comfort to have. We also lost captain and defender Chris Hennessey and Curtis Alcide, who was very strong on offense.

“Fortunately, we have almost the entire starting line-up returning,” added Moyo. “Starting at the back, we return Cedric Beauzil, Demaro Jones, Luke Cuthbert, Oniel Crawford, Mohammed Aden, Josh Inglis, Robby Markum, Sias Reyneke, Nathan Brown, Vance Griffith, Matt Ball, Marlon Ayala and Kwame Boamah.”

Chevon Roberts and Stanley Magwano missed the entire 2009 season with injuries. “We are glad that they are healthy again,” said the coach. “They will be able to contribute significantly this season. Stanley is a veteran and his experience will be valuable.”

Newcomers include Marvin Ochieng, a veteran defender and transfer from Lindsey Wilson College. His teammate and goalkeeper, Jerome Chambers, is also joining the Flames. New keepers battling for playing time will be Preston Luci (Fla.), Otoniel Collins (Honduras), Greg Smith (N.C. via Germany). Three players from Darton College will report for fall practice. They are Sebastian Lara, Stefano Barriga and Gilbert Ruiz. Levi Lowery is making a return to the Flames after taking a break to concentrate on his academics.

“Last season our young players performed well and were strong contributors to the championship,” explained Moyo. “Players like Robby (Markum), Sias (Reyneke) and Luke (Cuthbert), hopefully will be showing their growth and maturity this year. Overall, as a team, I believe that we have more positive points than last season. We have some experience this year because we have depth as well. Players such as Marlon (Ayala), Gilbert (Ruiz), Stefano (Barriga), and the rest of the returning players should provide a big boost to our squad.”

The addition of new teams to the SSAC has created plenty of headaches and nightmares for Moyo. “Over night it has become one of the toughest leagues in the nation,” he declared. “It already was a tough conference, but adding ranked teams like Mobile, William Carey and Belhaven really makes the competition tougher.”

The staff decided to go with a tough non-conference schedule again this season. “We believe it will help keep us at the top level of competition,” pointed out Moyo. “It is a grueling schedule, but one that should yield dividends at the end. I just hope that the World Cup has stirred enough passion and enthusiasm in my players that they too will be fired up to win big this year!”

The Flames have fought hard to earn spots in the national tournament over the past two years. “We have had really unfortunate breaks as far as the national tournament pairing go,” noted Moyo. “We have drawn very stiff completion each time but that is to be expected. We are preparing ourselves again for another run at the national and we’ll see how far we can go. We have to get past the conference line-up first. We always approach it that way.”

Again, the Flames have Thuba Nkomazana coming back as the top assistant. “He has just been a stand-out for me,” stressed Moyo. “He’s a complete hard-worker and diligent in all areas. The players like him and respect him. I have added stand-out goalkeeper Luidgi Beauzile to the coaching staff and he will work with our keepers. His resume is impressive as he was a main feature of the Haitian national team before coming to Lee. He has been captain of the Flames and I have every confidence that he will do well for us.”

The Flames enter the season just outside the top five in the SSAC preseason poll. Southern Polytechnic grabbed the top spot with AUM and William Carey tied for second. Rounding out the top five were University of Mobile and Shorter. Lee was selected as the No. 3 team from the Eastern Division and No. 6 overall.