After two seasons where it reached at least the national semifinals, the University of Charleston men's soccer team seems to have settled into a national spotlight in NCAA Division II. After all, if that's the pattern created with the Golden Eagles, what team would want to be the group to break it?
"I guess we've painted ourselves into a corner a little bit," UC coach Chris Grassie joked, "in that is what's acceptable every year. That's the target every year. Obviously, we have to perform. The buzzword around here is 'culture of excellence' in everything you do."
The Golden Eagles begin another quest for a Division II national crown, hosting Gannon at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Schoenbaum Stadium. That national title has been a goal UC has come very close to attaining in the past two seasons.
Charleston reached the national semifinals in 2015, losing to Pfeiffer, after playing Lynn University for the championship in 2014. And the Golden Eagles will return plenty of the weapons that made them so dangerous last season.
Among the most potent is senior forward Will Roberts, who finished second in the nation in Division II with 21 goals last year. He was named a 2015 D2CCA first-team all-American and the Mountain East Conference offensive player of the year. He'll be joined by senior forward Felipe Antonio, who earned D2CCA all-America honorable mention after a 10-goal season, and sophomore midfielder Patrick Guier, an all-MEC honorable mention and all-freshman team member in 2015.
Grassie also mentioned former junior college all-American Jermaine Windster, who will enter his second season at UC.
"Felipe Antonio should have a big year," Grassie said. "He's one of the most difficult players to play against in the country and just has an unpredictability and creativity that is pro-level. Patrick Guier is a very talented footballer. He can dish passes and move the football really well. Jermaine Windster worked hard and is always reliable."
The Golden Eagles finished 2015 with Division II's 10th-best scoring average, 2.96 goals per game.
The defense takes a hit with the loss to graduation of Conor Branson, himself a D2CCA first-team all-American and last season's MEC defensive player of the year. Yet the Golden Eagles will return several other standout members of the defense - all-MEC first-teamer Jake Young, all-MEC second-teamer Bruno Oliveira and all-MEC first-team goalkeeper Fabian Veit.
That crew helped UC finish with Division II's sixth-best goals-against average, .60 per game.
"It's funny," Grassie said. "Our three captains are Fabian, Jake Young and Bruno Oliveira. They're all seniors and all defensive-minded players. We feel like we haven't missed a beat."
Grassie also mentioned some international newcomers to the active roster who could make an immediate impact - redshirt junior defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele from France, redshirt freshman Danilo Dias from Brazil and sophomore midfielder Williams N'Dah from Italy.
The rest of the country knows how tough a contender Charleston could be. The Golden Eagles ranked No. 2 behind Pfeiffer in the NSCAA preseason national top 25 poll. But UC knows how tough the road to the postseason can get in the MEC, where the Golden Eagles have won three straight tournament crowns and seven straight conference tournaments overall. Charleston is one of three Mountain East teams in that preseason top 25. Urbana is ranked 16 and Notre Dame College is ranked 20th.
"This season comes down to, if you have to play a team three times and four times to win the conference and advance in NCAAs, it's going to be entirely a mental test," Grassie said. "You can't worry if you beat a team twice before. You have to fight against that. If this group can show the same mental strength as previous years, we should be OK."
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.