Former Cougar Ready For USL-2 Championship

In his second professional season with the Charlotte Eagles, Darren Toby is ready to capture a league championship. This Saturday he will get that chance as the Eagles take on the Richmond Kickers at the University of Richmond Stadium at 8:00 PM. It be played on Fox Soccer Channel at 11:00 PM on tape delay.

Charlotte came close to winning in 2008, but fell short in the finals against Cleveland City. For Toby, this will be the ultimate stage to avenge the 08 loss and secure the league title. "First I just want to say that I'm blessed to be playing in the championship game, because not everyone has the opportunity to play in a USL finals," said Toby. "I'm excited and confident that my teammates and I are going to put our best foot forward. At the same time, I'm very humble and determined after losing in the finals last year."

Over the past two seasons Toby has been a staple in the Charlotte first eleven at the central midfield position. He ranks in the top three in overall minutes played for the Eagles this season. Eagles Head Coach Mark Steffens expressed, "Darren has been a joy to have on the team. His biggest strength is his ability to keep possession. He is so good with the ball that our guys make jokes about him having an off day when he makes one errant pass in training. His great possession rate in the back half of the field make it very hard for teams to press us because he helps us break pressure so easily. The second half of the season he has come on strong as a ball winner. We now put him on the other teams best attacking MF and Darren usually shuts him down. He has also really developed as a player who wins almost every aerial battle he encounters. I believe he is one of the top midfielders in the USL.
Of course he needs to have one more great game for us to win it all."

Best of luck and we are pulling for you Toby!

Southern Conference Preseason Poll/All Conference Nominations

The College of Charleston men’s soccer team was picked to finish in a tie for second in the 2009 Southern Conference Preseason Poll as voted on by the league’s eight head coaches. The Cougars garnered 40 votes in the balloting and two first place votes, placing them in a tie with Furman.

Meanwhile, forwards Matt Morris (Anderson, S.C.) and Kareem Yearwood (Sou Sou Lands, Tobago) were named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference team. For Yearwood, this marks the second consecutive season that he has been named to the Preseason All-Conference squad.

Coach Lundy expressed, "This is great recognition and respect for Kareem and Matt, as well as our program. To have two players nominated for all-conference and our team picked to finish 2nd is a good thing, but with this recognition comes expectations. We must meet these expectations and then go beyond them."

Yearwood stated, "I feel honored to be mentioned in the preseason all conference team. I'm excited for the new season ahead. We have a good team again this year and should definitely be contending for the Southern Conference championship at the end of the year."

Defending regular season SoCon champion Elon was voted first in the poll after receiving 44 votes and four first place votes, while defending SoCon Tournament champion UNC Greensboro was slotted in fourth position with 33 votes.

The Cougars return 14 letterwinners and 10 starters from a season ago. Last year, the Cougars with a record of 11-10 overall, 3-4-0 in the conference and advanced to the finals of the Southern Conference tournament.

Morris, a senior, has served as one of the team’s Co-Captains for the last two seasons. In 2008 Morris still ended the season as the team’s statistical leader with 19 points and nine goals despite having to battle several injuries. For his career, Morris has scored 16 goals and recorded six assists.

Yearwood, also a senior, has been one of the conference’s top goal scorers the last two seasons, registering 18 goals (eight of which were game-winners). Last season, Yearwood scored seven goals and for his efforts was named to the All-Southern Conference and All-South Region team for the second consecutive season.

Charleston opens their 2009 season on Tuesday, Sept. 1 when they take on Coastal Carolina at Patriots Points Soccer Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Branko Gavric Interview

Q & A with Branko Gavric

Cougars Co-Captain talks to CofCsports.com

Aug. 24, 2009

CHARLESTON, SC. – Charleston men's soccer junior Branko Gavric is one of the Cougars top returning players for the 2009 campaign. As one of three captains selected by his teammates, Gavric will be called on to lead the Cougars in the 2009 campaign.
CofCsports.com recently spoke to the junior midfielder about the upcoming season.

Q. What's the atmosphere like on the field with the team?

A. It is very competitive as guys are fighting for spots. The coaching staff has done a great job giving everyone an equal chance to show what they’ve got.

Q. What's been your motivation coming into your Junior season?

A. I want to win championships this year. I just want our team to get better everyday and go as far as we can possibly go. We have a ton of talent this year and a schedule that will test us as we play the last two national champions.

Q. How does the team get over a tough loss to UNC-Greensboro in the ’08 Southern Conference Final?

A. The best way to get over the loss is to learn what we did wrong and learn from it. I feel that every great team has to experience a tough loss before becoming a championship team.

Q. The team has three big home games against Coastal Carolina, Air Force, and Old Dominion to open the season. What is the team looking to do in the first week of the season?

A. We need to win all three games as it will set the bar for the month of September when we are on the road for the majority of the month.

Q. What is Coach Ralph Lundy like on the field?

A. Coach Lundy tells it like it is. You always know what you’re doing wrong and what you’re doing well because he will be the first to tell you. As a player, you can’t ask for much more than that because that’s the best way to get better.

Q. What is it like to see your former teammate Wes Knight with the Vancouver Whitecaps?

A. I am so happy for Wes and that he is doing well. He has put so much time and effort into becoming the player he is and it’s only fitting that he gets rewarded for that by playing professionally.

Q. How excited are you to return to Patriots Point?

A. I can’t wait to show everyone what we can do. Everyone on the squad is on the same page and with the group of returning players along with the new additions, we will have a very good team.

Knight Back in Charleston

Tonight our team had the pleasure of watching Wes Knight and Keith Wiggans compete versus one another as the Charleston Battery hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps. The match ended in a 1-1 tie and Wes tallied the assist for the Whitecaps!

Knight expressed, "It was incredible to be back in Charleston and feel the support of all my former teammates and friends. Having two cougar alumni on the pitch made the already heavily anticipated night special, while adding an assist was the icing on the cake for me personally. I'm truly proud to have been a Cougar and can't wait to follow the 09 Cougars on their road to the championship!"

It was exciting to watch Wes and see how his game has matured over the last year since graduating. This was his first time back to Charleston since being drafted by the Whitecaps in February. Coach Lundy and I had a chance to catch up with Wes after the game and not much has changed! His passion for the game is unmatched and he's a great example for each of our current players to model themselves after, both on and off the field.

Great to see you Wes, keep up the great work!

Are You Fit?

It's that time of the year again and 2009 promises to be exciting for the Cougars! The players have reported back to Charleston and, after a few meetings, the first order of business was our fitness test. This allows the coaching staff to measure the preparation of each player coming into the start of the season.

This years test was a series of shuttle runs. Each player had to complete 12 runs within a given time frame. The test results were very solid overall. Out of our 30 player roster, we had 21 players pass 12/12. Two players couldn't participate due to injuries that they carried coming into preseason.

The test was broken up into 4 groups and below were the top performers from each group.

Group 1: Jake Helmig, Steven Nagy, Matt Morris
Group 2: Sean Flatley, Justin Fojo, Branko Gavric
Group 3: Wes Murphy, Andrew Autenzio, Rudi Hellberger
Group 4: Robbie Benson, Shawn Ferguson, Tyler Vukoder

2009 Recruiting Class Ranked #37 in the Nation

Our 2009 recruiting class was recognized as one of the Top 40 recruiting classes in the nation today by CollegeSoccerNews.com. Coach Lundy stated, "We knew our freshmen class would be very solid and this ranking confirms our expection. This is a great honor for our program."

Go Cougars!

For a complete list of the Top 40 Recruiting Classes, visit http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page2463.htm

Wiggans vs. Gilstrap

Remember these two old boys? Former Cougars Keith Wiggans ('04) and Hunter Gilstrap ('05) will square off in goal at Blackbaud Stadium when the Charleston Battery take on Cleveland City Stars at 7:30 PM tonight.

Gilstrap has had a fantastic season for Cleveland this year and has been selected to the USL-1 Team of the Week two times. He carries a 1.7 Goal Against Average through 17 games, making 71 saves. Gilstrap came to the College of Charleston for his senior year after transferring from Clemson University. As captain, he led the Cougars to big wins vs. Brown University, University of Penn, and University of South Carolina in 2005. Gilstrap is excited for his return to Charleston and expressed, "These are the games I look forward to the most. There's nothing more exciting than playing in front of friends and family in a place I love. I think Charleston is my favorite place to play and that's largely due to the great experience I had at the College of Charleston."

Wiggans has also done very well for the Battery this season playing behind Dusty Hudock, who has only given up a stingy 5 goals throughout the entire season and collected 12 shutouts. When called upon Wiggans has been very solid, getting big results against Carolina, Austin, and Rochester. "It will be a tough game tonight after returning from the West Coast yesterday. If we come out and play well, there is no reason for us not to earn a much needed three points," Wiggans conveyed about playing tonight.

Come out tonight and watch these two compete. The Cougar Soccer family is proud of you both!

Prince represents Cougars in PDL Finals

Senior midfielder Zach Prince was in the team for the PDL final last night with the Chicago Fire. The Fire came up a little short in a 2-1 loss to Ventura County in Los Angeles, CA last night. Congratulations to Prince and the Chicago Fire for making a great run. This league is highly competitive and provides players a great opportunity during the summer to stay sharp.

Last season former Cougars Scott Milroth, Jeremy Gold, and Casey Gold won the PDL championship with the Thunder Bay Chill.

Knight on Fox Soccer Channel

Congratulations to Wes Knight who played the full 90 again last night on Fox Soccer Channel. The Vancouver Whitecaps got a big away victory at Rochester to move into 6th place in the USL First Division. Keep up the great work Wes!