NORFOLK. Va. - The Monarchs open up the 2016 season with six consecutive home matches, starting with their home opener on August 26 against UNLV at 7 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex.
Old Dominion men’s soccer finished the 2015 campaign with an 8-5-3 record and fell in the Conference USA tournament to FIU 4-2. The Silver and Blue were picked to finish the season sixth in the 2016 C-USA coaches poll, ahead of UAB, Marshall and Florida Atlantic.
The Monarchs have 10 letterman returning from the 2015 squad and add a large recruiting class of 12 to this year’s roster. Of the 12 new faces that have a chance to see minutes this season, 10 of them are incoming freshman with coming four from overseas.
On offense the Monarchs have two of their top four scorers returning in senior Jesse Miralrio and sophomore Niko Klosterhalfen. They tied for second in goals scored during the 2015 season with four a piece. Klosterhalfen also led the assists category in 2015 for ODU with three goal assists. Junior Tyler Edwards returns to help up front and is joined by freshmen Doni Pollock and Sebastien Hauret.
On the defensive end of the field, redshirt-senior Alex Tiesenhausen, the 2016 pre-season All-Conference USA goalkeeper, returns to take his place between the pipes. Tiesenhausen has played every minute of every game for the last two seasons helping the Monarchs record 10 shutouts.
Key defenders seniors Nick Hutchinson and Christian Wirth and junior Garrett Walke return to help ODU on defense. Last season, the Monarchs recorded five shutouts and held opponents to a 1.12 goals against average, good for fourth in Conference USA. Jimmy Filerman looks to make an impact on defense as well, after redshirting in 2015 during his freshman year.
Head Coach Alan Dawson enters his 20th season at the helm of the Monarchs and boasts a 343-146-45 (214-116-35 at ODU) coaching record. Joining him on staff are two soccer Monarch alumni in Chris Harmon (‘12) and Sean Stowe (13’). Also helping lead ODU is Wingate graduate Travis Myernick (’06) who is in his 4th season assisting Dawson and the Monarchs.
The team plays a competitive slate this season with four opponents in the top-25 in the NSCAA pre-season poll. Coastal Carolina (No. 21), Charlotte (No. 22), FIU (No. 23) and South Carolina (No. 24) all received rankings while Radford and VCU each pulled votes.
The 41st Annual ODU Soccer Classic is scheduled for September 9-11 with the Monarchs taking on Vermont and Radford. The classic is the longest-running men’s soccer tournament in the NCAA.
ODU opens the season this Friday at home versus UNLV at 7 p.m. at the ODU Soccer Complex. The Monarchs then return to the pitch on Sunday for another 7 p.m. showdown with Stetson at the ODU Soccer Complex.