Contact: Chris Woodley
Phone: (850) 474-2428
E-mail: cwoodley@uwf.edu
December 7, 2005

2005 Men's Soccer Recap

PENSACOLA, Fla. - After a summer training trip to Brazil, the West Florida men's soccer team was looking forward to the start of the 2005 season. With a roster of 26 players, West Florida looked to return to the GSC Tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

West Florida started the season with a 1-1 tie at Tampa. After their match against Saint Leo was postponed, the Argonauts won their home opener 2-1 over Thomas. West Florida then returned to Central Florida and dropped a pair of matches to Rollins and Florida Southern.

The UWF Soccer Complex welcomed back the Argonauts a week later, and West Florida responded with two wins over Spring Hill and Eckerd. West Florida extended their winning streak to three after a 5-2 triumph over GSC West foe Ouachita Baptist. But the Argonauts could not complete the weekend sweep in Memphis, Tenn. Playing in driving rain and wind conditions, Christian Brothers knocked off West Florida 3-1.

Keith Savage gave the Argonauts a 1-0 lead at home against tenth ranked Central Arkansas. But the Bears responded with two goals in an 11-minute span to edge West Florida 2-1. After a victory over Harding, West Florida faced their second ranked opponent in a week, 17th ranked Lincoln Memorial. Even though West Florida held Frederico Moojen, the conference's leading scorer, to no points, Lincoln Memorial came away with a 3-1 triumph.

The Lincoln Memorial loss turned out to be the last loss of the 2005 season. West Florida defeated Alabama-Huntsville before earning a 1-0 Homecoming win over William Carey. After drubbing Delta State 7-2, the Argonauts faced another ranked opponent in 25th ranked Montevallo. Mason Hupp and Patrick McLean scored two minutes apart early in the second half, and West Florida held off a late Montevallo rally for a 2-1 win. The victory kept their GSC Tournament hopes alive. The regular season ended with the same way it started, a 1-1 tie against NAIA University of Mobile. In the end, however, West Florida's 9-5-2, 5-3 GSC record left them just short of qualifying for the GSC Tournament. Due to their regular season victory, Christian Brothers won the tiebreaker and advanced to the tournament.

"Injuries plagued us during the entire season, and we were not able to use the same line-up twice," said head coach Bill Elliott. "We still managed be competitive in every game, and we played well down the stretch after we struggled early."

Even though West Florida failed to earn a spot in the conference tournament, four Argonauts earned All-GSC honors. Savage followed up his 2003 Freshman of the Year campaign with a selection to the All-GSC First Team. Savage led the squad with 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists. After collecting a point in 12 of 16 matches, Savaged finished the season ranked seventh all-time with 22 points, and tied for eighth all-time with 54 points. "Keith stepped up his game to a higher level this season," said Elliott.
Three Argonaut defenders were named to the All-GSC Second Team. West Florida posted a solid 1.45 goals against average this season. Freshman Austin Love started 14 matches and helped post four shutouts. "Austin played very well as a freshman," said Elliott. "He has great strength and speed to go along with a great work ethic."

Fellow freshman Nolan Intermoia made the most of his first full season in 2005. Intermoia was a part of four Argonaut shutouts, and five matches where West Florida only allowed one goal. He earned GSC Player of the Week honors after holding Lincoln Memorial's Moojen to only four shots and no points. "Once Nolan's knee brace came off, he played and defended very well," said Elliott. "He made an immediate impact this season."

Eduardo Oliveira also received All-GSC Second Team honors. Oliveira started all 16 matches, averaging 72 minutes per match. Oliveira anchored a defense that only allowed 22 goals. One of Oliveira's best matches of the season was holding Central Arkansas's All-GSC First Team performers Jimmy Nummy and Matt Marlin to a combined three shots.

"We will look to recruit one or two impact players for next season," said Elliott. "We will have more of a purpose to our off-season training now that we have a full season behind us to evaluate."