Men’s soccer: Panthers prepare to start season with new gameplan

Collegiate soccer is often synonymous with back-and-forth action, but for the Pitt men’s team… Collegiate soccer is often synonymous with back-and-forth action, but for the Pitt men’s team last season, soccer was synonymous with ups and downs.

While the Panthers had the best start in their history, key injuries plagued their roster.

Down the stretch, the depleted personnel weighed heavily on the team’s shoulders and led to a stretch of defeats, despite advancing to — and ultimately losing in — the Big East tournament.

But head coach Joe Luxbacher said he believes that was then, and this is now.

“Our goal as a team is to challenge for the Big East title,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a challenge, but I like our team and feel that we have the potential to do some big things this year.”

The Panthers start the regular season today when they visit Robert Morris.

It’s high praise, given that the team lost forward standout E.J. McCormick, defender Eric Jaeger and goaltender Eric Barnes to graduation.

Regardless, Luxbacher said he’s comfortable with his roster entering the 2009 season.

“We have a deep team,” he said. “There is going to be competition for every spot, and I feel that will make our team stronger in the long run.”

For a team to succeed and persevere, equally as important as healthy competition is a team’s attitude. As far as Luxbacher is concerned, his team has just that.

It will have to do so with a revamped roster and tactical methodology.

In addition to welcoming three newcomers, Alex Fischetti, Mike Whitaker and Keegan Gunderson, the Panthers will kick the ball with a different purpose in mind.

“This year, we plan on playing a more attacking style of play,” Luxbacher said. “We want to attack more in our opponent’s end of the field, which will hopefully lead to more scoring opportunities. I feel this type of play is better suited for our team, but in order for it to be successful, our players need to buy into the system and get in great shape. It will be hard work, but I feel that our players will be up to the challenge.”

An aggressive approach, however, should not be confused with recklessness, nor should it come at the expense of sound positional defensive play. For the system to work, an offensive mindset and defensive responsibility should work in unison.

The Panthers of last season — and the projected bunch for 2009 — should have no qualms about adhering to the ever-important defensive mindset. After all, defense was one of the team’s strong points last season.

The question, then, is how the team will score goals, especially given McCormick’s departure.

Luxbacher said he recognized the on-the-surface shortage on offense, but offered a potential healer.

“We don’t have one or two superstar goal scorers on our team,” he said. “But our team can score goals in a variety of different ways from a variety of players.”

Some of those goals will have to come from senior forward Chris Wilcox, who finished the season tied with McCormick in goals.

“Chris is a player who has shown the ability to score for us,” Luxbacher said. “He has been very productive in the minutes that he played, and we hope to get a lot of offensive production out of him this season.”

To help offset the loss of McCormick, Pitt added junior Virginia Tech transfer Terry Boland to the mix. Luxbacher said he is confident in the type of performance Boland might bring.

It is conceivable that the offense will flourish and the defense will shut down opponents, but it would all be for nothing if the goaltending stumbles.

Pitt lost Barnes and Jordan Marks, who were the duo at the goalkeeping position. Redshirt junior Zach Matthews and freshman Gunderson are left to replace great talent at a tough position.

Still, Luxbacher said he believes his team will be solid between the posts.

“Zach has been with the program for a few years and had a solid spring for us,” he said, while “Keegan has a lot of experience playing at the highest levels of high school soccer.”

“Between the two, I am confident we will be solid in goal, even though neither has playing experience in the Big East games,” Luxbacher said.

While Barnes’ presence will be missing from the field, he will have a great influence off it, as he signed on as a graduate assistant and a goalkeeping coach with the team.

His leadership, knowledge and experience will help shape the young goalkeeping tandem for Pitt.

“Having [Barnes] will really help out [Matthews and Gunderson],” Luxbacher said. “Goalies, particularly younger goalies, need experience every day in practice. Having a goalkeepers coach like [Barnes] around makes me feel confident that our goalies will get the necessary experience and training every time they practice.”

As is often the case in sports, there are as many reasons for caution as there are for hope. The upcoming season promises to yield excitement, and Luxbacher said he’s prepared.

“We have a new team, new assistants and we’re all really looking forward to the upcoming season,” he said. “There are a lot of challenges facing us, but we know what it’s going to take, and we’re going to be ready to go.”