AIKEN, S.C.--When the USC Aiken men’s soccer team steps on the field for the first time this season, they’ll be doing it with an 800-pound gorilla on their backs. The Pacers endured a winless season in 2003, going 0-11-0. Their first chance to say goodbye to that gorilla comes Thursday night when USC Aiken hosts Brewton Parker College at 7:00 p.m., at “Pacer Pit” on the USCA campus.

“The toughest thing I have to do is making sure that psychologically everyone is up,” said USC Aiken Head Coach Ike Ofoje, now in his ninth season with the Pacers. “So far it has been very positive, the majority of the returners see that we don’t have anywhere else to go but up, and I see it the same way.”

In 2003 Ofoje’s team was competitive in nearly every match, losing six times by just one goal and three of those came in overtime. Goalkeeping and defense kept the Pacers in games, but scoring became an issue. USCA was shutout in the first three games of the season, scored one goal in each of the next three games and then totaled just two more scores over the final five games of the season. Add it up and it totals only five goals all year.

Eight letterwinners, including six starters, return to form the core of the 2004 squad. They will be joined by a group of 21 new players.

“We’ve brought in a good number of players that will give us numbers on the roster, that’s one thing we didn’t have last year,” Ofoje added.

One of the biggest returning players, both physically and figuratively, is 6-foot-6 inch, senior Mamadou Ndoye. Ndoye led the team in scoring in each of the previous two seasons. In 2002 he scored seven goals and totaled 17 points. Last season he scored two of the team’s season total of five goals. His scoring ability will be a ‘big’ key to the Pacers’ success in 2004. Conditioning will be important in the early part of the season for Ndoye. He missed most of preseason camp when his return from his home nation of Senegal was delayed.

In terms of leadership, Ofoje is counting on seniors Neil Berment and Plamen Peev. In many ways Berment and Peev have been like assistant coaches, helping the new players get acclimated to college life and orienting the new players to the system.

On the field, Berment became a defensive fixture for the Pacers last season and will be counted on in 2004 to anchor the USCA defense once again. Ofoje says Peev is on a different level than many players that have come through the USC Aiken program, and through the Peach Belt Conference as well.

Another senior, Andre Joseph, is being looked upon by Ofoje to carry a portion of the scoring load. Joseph returned to campus in great shape and has surprised the coach with his fitness.

Newcomers to watch include Emmanuel Maduka, a junior transfer from Clayton State, sophomore Dennison Scipio and junior Kashetu Usman. Maduka has come on very strong in the past week of preseason practice and is showing scoring skills. Scipio and Usman look to be factors defensively.

The following is a position-by-position look at the 2004 Pacers.

Goalkeepers
The biggest question mark heading into the season is who will replace departed senior Peter Calabrese in goal for the Pacers. Calabrese’s play last season allowed USC Aiken to remain competitive in many of its matches. He held the opposition to two goals or less in seven of USCA’s 11 matches. In the regular season finale, Calabrese held 10th ranked UNC Pembroke to just one goal during regulation and held the Braves at bay for 14 minutes of overtime before allowing the game winner in a 2-1 defeat.

The front-runner at this point to gain the starting nod is Harold Tate, a sophomore transfer from St. Andrews Presbyterian College. Tate started every match for the Knights as a freshman. He posted a 7-12-1 record, had a 2.46 goals against average and made 111 saves.

Juniors Marcos Rodriguez and Zac Van Frank, both junior college transfers, are pushing for playing time as well.

Defenders
Berment and junior Benjamin Cawley are the only returning defensive starters. Both of them should continue to anchor the defense. Cawley started all 11 games last season, his first with the Pacers. Scipio and Usman figure to see significant playing time as well. Jonathan Berry, Joseph Cawley, Henry Pommells, Olamigoke Ayara and Jay Wall provide depth on defense.

Forwards
Joseph and Ndoye return for their senior seasons and are Ofoje’s starting forwards. Maduka, Matt Cawley, the third of the Cawley brothers on the team this season, Matthew Martin and Juan Sanbria offer the coach a number of options.

Midfielders
Peev and senior Kevon Aberdeen are returning starters at the midfield position. Mamadou Samba and Tommy Rushing return from last season, but saw only limited playing time in 2003. Freshmen Keol Newton, Kenny Bell and Stephen Martin, sophomores Wacey Benjamin and Georgi Peev, and junior Eugene Eshun-Philips, and will compete for playing time in 2004.

Ofoje sees the midfield position as a strength of the team. He has high expectations of Georgi Peev and Philips to go along with Plamen Peev and Aberdeen.

On the opposite side, Ofoje sees one glaring weakness at this point.

“Our biggest weakness right now, because we have so many players, is trying to tie everything together and have everyone playing on the same page,” said Ofoje. “Because our preseason is so short, our game is not quite well balanced yet, but hopefully in the next two days we will be where we need to be.”

The coach figures USC Upstate (formerly USC Spartanburg) is the team to beat in the Peach Belt Conference in 2004. Ofoje’s fellow coaches agree, voting the Spartans as the league favorite in their coaches poll. USC Aiken was picked to finish last in the seven-team conference, but Ofoje doesn’t necessarily agree with that.

“ I feel lucking to be coaching in the Peach Belt, its good to know that as a player and a coach you can say you played against the best,” Ofoje said. “But you can never tell what is going to happen on a give day. My goal is to pull some surprises and with the caliber of players we have now, I think we can do that.”

With that 800-pound gorilla still firmly attached, at least for right now, Ofoje will continue to work to keep his players positive, knowing the adversity they face now will help them off the field.

“Sometimes you can see that doubt, you can feel that doubt, but overall I think the experience has been very positive for them. Its good to know that they are using this experience in terms of personal growth.

(PICTURED ABOVE: 2004 USC Aiken seniors, back row, left to right, Mamadou Samba, Neil Berment, Andre Joseph, Kevon Aberdeen. Front row, left to right, Plamen Peev and Mamadou Ndoye.)

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