2008 WWCC Men’s Soccer Preview
The 2008 version of the Mustangs will need to fill a few holes from those players graduating, fulfilling church missions and transferring on to bigger programs. Two regular starters graduated, four left to fulfill church missions and one player transferred onto the Penn State soccer program. They will indeed be missed but the new recruits to the program will provide Western with the needed attitude and skill level to be a team to be reckoned with.
At the forward position there will be an entire change of the guard, with Dennis Sellis (1st team all region, transferred to Penn State) and Derek Stewart (2nd team all region, on a church mission to Finland) not returning. Franchelli Albornoz, from Hunter High School, was an all-state player from Utah, will bring incredible ball skills and great speed. Devin King, from Wasatch High in Heber City UT, is a tall forward whose ability to find the back of the net will be key for the 2008 Mustangs. Kota Kimura, an international student from Tokyo Japan, will provide the team with great speed and an engine that does not stop. Finally, Kyle Talbott from Rock Springs WY, will be our final forward. Kyle brings the ability to score and show up in big games. Needless to say these forwards will be a handful for the opposition’s backline.
In the midfield the WWCC team loses three of their best midfielders and three of the first players to sign with WWCC Tyler Cox, Eric Nieters (1st team all region) and Chad Zueck (2nd team all region). The Mustangs return 3 players who saw a lot of the field last year. Allen Deru, Colt Klements, Chase Talbot, are the three returning midfielders and all three are from Evanston High in WY. Between the three of them they had 6 goals and 22 starts last season. They were a big part of the team last year and we are expecting them to step up their game even more for their sophomore campaign. The new players in the midfield will be; Chris Byers, Kyle Howe, Taylor Ford, Omar Jaimes, Erik Stembridge and Brad Yard. Chris Byers is a versatile player who could play almost any position on the field, he brought great experience helping Bountiful High in UT to a 4A state championship his senior year. A local talent from Rock Springs High is Kyle Howe, his versatility is also a plus. Kyle was a 2008 all-state player from WY and will be used to help control the middle. Taylor Ford, was a captain on his Wasatch High team his senior year and lead them to a great season and a state tournament birth. Our second member of the team from Hunter High is Omar Jaimes. Omar has great footwork and skills and has the ability to not only control the midfield but also attack from it. Erik Stembridge is a 2008 graduate from Rock Springs High, his dedication and hard work will only be a benefit to the Mustangs. Brad Yard will come back to Rock Springs after spending a year in Las Vegas. Brad is a hard nose player who looks after the team before himself, he is a Rock Springs High graduate. We are very happy with the returnees and new players in the midfield. Their versatility will allow us to explore different attacking and defensive formations.
The defense sees three starters leave Matt Kolar (2nd team all region), Sam Taylor (2nd team all region) and Chance Trotter (2nd team all region). The Mustangs will not be without talent as they return both Nic Gonalez (1st team all region) and Patrick Ritter. The defensive recruiting class is probably the best in the team’s history. Ricardo Arreola, Mason Hall, Jeff Jewell, Cameron Lowry and Ben Owens are the new recruits and should fill in the new roles with no problems. Ricardo is a graduate from Pine View High out of St. George UT, he will bring some physicality, speed and strength. He won a state championship his junior year. Mason Hall comes to us from Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, WY. He is a very solid defender who just does not seem to make mistakes. He was a key part of his high school’s state championship his senior year. Twin Falls High in ID gives us Jeff Jewell. Jeff is a big tall defender who uses his skills and his mental ability to best his opponent. He was a red-shirt player last year at KCCC. Cameron Lowry was a 1st team all-state player from UT his senior season, he is from Wasatch High and is able to control the back line plus get into the attack on set pieces and his throw-ins. Green River High brings us a 4A all-state defender in Ben Owens. Ben was a leader on his team and uses good instincts and incredible speed to his advantage. This group of players could prove to be the best defensive unit in team history.
The keeper is the last line of defense and WWCC returns their regular starter from the 2007 season and added two other great keepers. Shawn Coryell from Evanston, WY, started the majority of our games last season and looks to build on his experience to try to keep his starting job. Tyson Day, our fourth recruit from Wasatch High, will use his experience to push his way into the starting role. He possesses great hands and the ability to communicate well with his team. Steven Sharp was an honorable mention all-state player from Grantsville High in UT. Steven not only played keeper but forward for his high school team. He has the ability to shut down the opposition and can make those spectacular game-changing saves. The competition for starting keeper will be intense but we are assured that we will have a great keeper on the field and some wonderful players backing him up.
2008 should be a wonderful year for us as we host the Region IX tournament this year and it is our goal to be able to win the championship on our home field. We would like to thanks all those that support us as we try to represent ourselves and Western Wyoming Community College to the best of our abilities.
Here is the 2008 Roster for the WWCC Men's Soccer Team
#2 - Mason Hall - Freshman - Defense
#3 - Devin King - Freshman - Forward
#4 - Kyle Howe - Freshman - Defense
#6 - Ricardo Arreola - Freshman - Midfield
#7 - Allen Deru - Sophomore - Midfield - Captain
#8 - Omar Jaimes - Freshman - Midfield
#9 - Kota Kimura - Freshman - Forward
#10 - Chris Byers - Freshman - Defense
#11 - Jeff Jewell - Freshman - Defense
#12 - Taylor Ford - Freshman - Midfield
#13 - Colt Klements - Sophomore - Midfield
#14 - Ben Owens - Freshman - Defense
#16 - Steven Sharp - Freshman - Keeper/Forward
#17 - Cameron Lowry - Freshman - Defense
#19 - Galana Eshete - Freshman - Forward
#20 - Chase Talbot - Sophomore - Midfield - Captain
#21 - Nic Gonzalez - Sophomore - Defense - Captain
#22 - Kyle Talbott - Freshman - Forward
#24 - Erik Stembridge - Freshman - Midfield
#25 - Patrick Ritter - Sophomore - Defense
#88 - Shawn Coryell - Sophomore - Keeper - Captain
Head Coach: Jeff Atkinson
Assistant Coach: Sean Grube
Trainer: Lu Sweet
Student Trainer: Jessica Martinez
College President: Dr. Karla Leach
Athletic Director: Dr. Jackie Freeze
The Results for the 2008 WWCC Mustangs were as follows;
Team Record (10 - 8 - 0)
Rocky Mountain Rival - Rock Springs WY - L 4-5 OT (0 - 1 - 0)
Colorado Mountain College - Rock Springs WY - W 3-0 (1 - 1 - 0)
WWCC vs BR Soccer Club - Rock Springs WY - W 5-1 (2 - 1 - 0)
Colorado Mountain College - Rock Springs WY - W 3-0 (1 - 1 - 0)
WWCC vs BR Soccer Club - Rock Springs WY - W 5-1 (2 - 1 - 0)
*Western Nebraska CC - Scottsbluff NE - L 0-1 (2 - 2 - 0)
Iowa Western CC - Scottsbluff NE - L 3-4 (2 - 3 - 0)
Univeristy of Wyoming - Laramie WY - W 3 - 1 (3 - 3 - 0)
*LCCC - Rock Springs WY - L 0 - 5 (3 - 4 - 0)
North Idaho College - Salt Lake City UT - L 2 - 8 (3 - 5 - 0)
Colorado Mountain College - Glenwood Springs CO - W 4 - 2 (4 - 5 - 0)
Northwest College - Powell WY - W 6 - 2 (5 - 5 - 0)
Southern Utah University - Provo UT - W 1 - 0 (6 - 5 - 0)
Rocky Mountain Rival - Provo UT - W 1 - 0 (7 - 5 - 0)
University of Utah - Salt Lake City UT - L 1 - 4 (7 - 6 - 0)
*Western NE CC - Rock Springs WY -L 0 - 1 (7 - 7 - 0)
*Laramie County CC - Cheyenne WY - W 2 - 1 (8 - 7 - 0)
Southern Utah University - Provo UT - W 1 - 0 (6 - 5 - 0)
Rocky Mountain Rival - Provo UT - W 1 - 0 (7 - 5 - 0)
University of Utah - Salt Lake City UT - L 1 - 4 (7 - 6 - 0)
*Western NE CC - Rock Springs WY -L 0 - 1 (7 - 7 - 0)
*Laramie County CC - Cheyenne WY - W 2 - 1 (8 - 7 - 0)
Sheridan College - Rock Springs WY - Canceled due to snow
Westminister Reserves - Salt Lake City UT - W 2 - 1 OT (9 - 7 - 0)
Region IX Semi-Final (WWCC vs Western Nebraska) - Rock Springs WY - W 1 - 0 (10 - 7 - 0)Region IX Final (WWCC vs Laramie County) - Rock Springs WY - L 0 - 3 (10 - 8 - 0) -
