Men's soccer success on the field

Despite losing in the conference championship game, the Viterbo's men's soccer team had a breakout year. Their regular season record of 10-5-2 is an improvement from last year's record of 7-11. The V-Hawks finished second in conference play behind Ashford University, Clinton, Iowa, and tied with Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa.

"The success really has been the combination of a lot of hard work over the past three years, and a very specific policy on recruiting and the type of players we wanted in the program," Coach Andy Lee told Lumen. "Last season we started to see the signs that we were doing the right things, and with the addition of some key players this year everything has came together well."

Sophomore Adam Porteous a communication major from Manchester, U.K. said, "As a team our proudest moment would have to be beating Grand View University 2-0 in conference play. We hadn't beaten them for eight years and they have been repeat conference champions since 2006."
 

The V-Hawks went undefeated in October. "October was just a stellar month for us," Porteous said. "Game after game we were just clicking, building more confidence and comfort with each other."

The V-Hawks entered the Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament Nov. 1 with the No. 2 seed, their highest since 1999.

The V-Hawks showed why they entered the playoffs as the No.2 seed in the first round of the conference tournament by defeating William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, at home in double overtime 1-0 on Nov. 1.

Their second round opponent was Grand View University. They beat Grand View University 3-2 at home, on Nov. 8, to advance to the championship round.

One of the improvements from last year has been the V-Hawks' defense, allowing 23 goals. Thanks in part to first year V-Hawk goalie Josh Lines, a freshman English major from Bristol, England. "The low number of goals reflects on our defense as much as me," Lines said.

The V-Hawks were nearly unbeatable on their home field, earning a 6– 1 season record. "We're just really comfortable on our field," Lines said. The lone loss was to Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill.

The V-Hawks are not only comfortable on the field but also off the field. "The players spend a lot of time together, even away from training and games," Lee said. "Again, we recruited players that we felt would fit in socially and keep the balance right."

Before home games the V-Hawks have a team breakfast at Fayzee's, 35 South Fourth St. La Crosse. "The breakfast helps get us focused and into a routine," Lines said.
 

"The team chemistry is very good on our team. Although, we have nine foreign players on our team, there is no conflict and everyone is moving in the same direction," Porteous said. "Anybody on the team can be made fun of in a light hearted way. I was ridiculed for several weeks after tripping over a ladder in a quick feet drill. Although some players may be more extroverted and more outgoing than others, everybody gets involved."

Porteous gives credit to teammate Tony Madigan a junior from Dane Wis., for getting people involved. "Many of us have bizarre nicknames. Tony Madigan has a habit of calling everybody on the team by anything but their name," Porteous said. "Madigan has coined the nickname "Popto" for Porteous.

Lee, who became head coach in 2006, took over a losing program that needed changes. "Attitudes overall were poor and the reputation of the team was not very good. To be honest we changed just about everything," Lee said. "We re-branded the team with new equipment, a new logo and new methods to create a sense of forward thinking, like it was a new start."

He also changed the out-of- season approach for the program. "We implemented a serious off-season, spring, and summer work-out schedules to make the players feel like they had responsibilities to the team all year round."

Lee wanted his players to be in spring leagues, winter indoor leagues, and summer leagues. He wanted them to be lifting and staying in shape. He tried recruiting players that wanted to play all year round. Out-of-season leagues are optional for the students and can't be forced by Lee.

"We encouraged the players to think of themselves as student athletes and Viterbo soccer players, not just as students or soccer players only," Lee said. "That way we could make them think about how their actions reflected on the whole team, the coaches, and the school."

"We tried to foster a professional club atmosphere where we are all equally accountable, including the coaches," Lee said.