Marshall University Athletics
Gray Has His Youngest Team in New Digs, Tough League
8/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug 19, 2013
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
HUNTINGTON - There is a distinct dichotomy between the gray-haired head coach and his team in Marshall men's soccer this season.
Bob Gray starts his 19th season guiding the Thundering Herd, the dean of coaches in the MU athletic program - hired in January 1995, six months before track and field Coach Jeff Small.
Gray's first team that will call Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex home is anything but "veteran". The 2013 Herd has 12 freshmen and eight sophomores.
That isn't to say there's a different spring in the steps around Veterans Memorial, where Gray's team makes its home exhibition debut Friday at 5 p.m. against an Alumni team on Dedication Day.
"It really has revitalized me," Gray said of the opening of the Herd's new soccer digs. "I'm at the twilight of my career and been doing this as head coach 36 years, and I think you have a natural enthusiasm for the preseason, but it's also the dreaded two-a-days.
"But now I'm actually looking forward to it, because we don't have to juggle our schedules to accommodate football and men's and women's soccer in the (Joan C. Edwards) stadium. We have a facility that every time we step out on it, it's just going to bring a smile to our faces.
"And the fact that we're going to get to play some home games this year is really exciting, considering that we never did have a home base last year."
Gray begins his 37th season as one of the game's more accomplished mentors. He ranks third among active Division I coaches in victories (422-228-48 record), behind Tom Martin (462) of James Madison and Conference USA rival Mark Berson (455) of South Carolina.
Gray is ninth all-time in wins among Division I coaches, and 24th among all coaches in NCAA history (including Division II and II coaches).
And now, after guiding an 11-5-1 team that allowed a best-in-school-history nine goals in 17 games a year ago - a club that featured MLS rookie goalkeeper Daniel Withrow, co-C-USA Player of the Year - it's almost like Gray is starting anew.
"We obviously lost a significant amount of people, and Daniel being the backbone of the team for four years." Gray said during preseason. "It will be interesting, probably the youngest team I've had since taking over the program in 1995. We'll have to see if these young kids develop quickly.
"We were pleased with our freshman class last year, had three freshmen starting for us (Jack Hopkins, Matt Freeman and Nick Edginton) last year and two others getting significant playing time. And we think that this class that we're bringing in has the potential to do the same.
"We are going to be young and we are going to be very inexperienced and it's definitely going to be difficult to accomplish defensively what we did last year, but 'young' can also be good, and they'll be enthusiastic. There will be a lot of people competing for spots in the starting 11."
Marshall returns seven starters from 2012, and Gray has only four seniors. But the 61-year-old coach appreciates their commitment.
"I'm very pleased with those four," Gray said. "Travis Brent is of our co-captains and he's a three-year starter and he'll anchor our defense as he did last year. We have Zach Hunter, a fifth-year senior, another co-captain, kind of the heart soul of the team with his work rate and attitude and effort along with his abilities, needless to say his intelligence (already has a C-USA postgraduate scholarship).
"There's Cody Partyka, a senior on the back as well, a redshirt senior with plenty of experience if he stays healthy, and then Anthony Virgara will be an attacking midfielder who has started for three years and is probably one of the more creative players I've had in my program, one-against-one."
The 'Ex' factor is former keeper Withrow.
"Who replaces Daniel?" Gray repeated. "We brought in two junior college goalkeepers; both played at top Division I junior colleges in the country. Tyler Atwell is from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, which was the national champion. Danny Sellitti played at Yavapai (Ariz.) College, which is a perennial power. We feel like we're getting some experience with those two, having played two years.
"Then we've brought in an outstanding freshman, Brady Reymond of Point Pleasant. We think he has a tremendous upside to him, but he needs to gain valuable experience. We have two other young men, (sophomores) Logan Powell (of Beckley) and Bijan Gloston (Clarksville, Tenn.), so we'll have five guys competing for that spot.
"It will be a very competitive situation and one thing we are excited about is we were able to retain our second assistant, Alex Fatovic. Alex is -- I think -- a premier trainer of goalkeepers, and he's a great asset to these guys."
OK, so the Herd roster is deeper, but so is the challenge. Whatever the membership changes in C-USA might mean in other sports, there's no question that the degree of difficulty in men's soccer has soared.
"Honestly, it will be the toughest conference I've ever competed in, from top to bottom," Gray said. "And quite frankly, it may be the second-best conference in the country this year, behind probably the ACC. We've added three schools that are all legitimate top 10 schools. New Mexico was fifth in the nation in the final polls before the (NCAA) tournament last year. Charlotte was the national runner-up in 2011, and Old Dominion has been ranked consistently in the top 15.
"Probably only you and I will understand this -- not the younger generation -- but it's like the old Yankees Murderers' Row. You've got some very strong schools there, not to mention the returning schools like Tulsa, UAB, Kentucky, South Carolina, FIU.
"From top to bottom, probably the only program that has not consistently done well -- but that has the potential -- is FAU."
Marshall faces four teams from the preseason coaches' (NSCAA) poll -- Maryland (2), New Mexico (11), Tulsa (14) and Charlotte (21). ODU and Kentucky also received votes.
The C-USA coaches forecast the Herd to finish ninth in the 10-team league. The top seven (standings points) make the C-USA Tournament.
Marshall plays its regular-season opener Aug. 30 at Appalachian State, and makes it regular-season debut at "the Vet" on Sept. 13 against Oakland (Mich.) in the Qdoba Invitational - the first of six consecutive home dates.
"The new stadium is going to make a tremendous difference," Gray said. "We're really excited to get going."
