Saint Louis University Men’s Soccer Head Coach Mike McGinty will not tolerate his team throwing in the towel and settling for a rebuilding year. There is too much talent embedded in all his players, even if they are young.
“I don’t think our philosophy is ‘lose today so we can win tomorrow,’” McGinty said. “We are going to start the best 11 we can come up with, and it just so happens in these early matches that the freshmen have been playing. I don’t think we’re sacrificing anything on any given weekend.”
McGinty has adapted his coaching style to better suit the available players, opting for a more conservative and fundamental style of play. These types of adjustments are the signs of a coach who is looking to win now.
His starting lineup has featured up to five freshmen in the first three games. This amount of youth and inexperience on the field may or may not be a permanent fixture.
2010 Second Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference midfielder Alex Sweetin is currently relegated to the sidelines while his partially torn Achilles tendon heals.
Team captain Mike Roach missed the first two games due to injury as well. The squad is anticipating the return of the two stars.
“We have some guys coming back from injury, which will be key to our development as a team,” junior midfielder Michael Robson said. “As a team, we’re still in the process of getting on the same page and developing the type of chemistry we expect to have [by the end of the year].”
Meanwhile, freshmen Raymond Lee, Kingsley Bryce, William Hidalgo, Robbie Kristo and Anthony Manning have flourished in their early roles on the field. Lee has led the pack, netting a team-leading two goals on the season.
Robson has done his part to show this group the ropes, especially Lee.
“I can’t say how much Robson has helped my growth,” Lee said. “He’s helped me become a more mature player and a smarter player. The mental side of the game in college can be difficult to grasp, and he’s helped me out a lot there with that.”
McGinty has tailored his approach to coaching for not only the young players, but also for his veterans. He looks to put his players in the best position to win, even if it may be in unorthodox fashion.
With this being his second year at the helm of the program, he is still shuffling his lineup to put players in the best position to succeed.
McGinty’s style places more stress on good defense, ball movement and harmonized teamwork, rather than constantly pressing for a highlight reel goal.
For baseball fans, it’s soccer’s version of “small ball.” McGinty coaxes his players into bunting and stealing bases, rather than swinging for the fences.
The defense will be rock solid with vocal senior Blake Schneider at back. Also, look for sophomore back John Roeckle to jump start attacks after he tallied a jaw-dropping five assists last season- a surprising number for a defender.
Even though he still has some shuffling of the lineup to take care of with Sweetin’s return, the players are starting to buy into McGinty’s preaching.
“Obviously, we just picked up a big win this Sunday,” Roach said. “No one tried to do too much. We kept it simple, and look how it worked out in the end.”
This is no time to get complacent. The rigorous schedule that McGinty pieced together has shades of Fresno State University’s Head Football Coach Pat Hill’s motto, “Anyone. Anyplace. Anytime.”
Games against the likes of Notre Dame, Indiana University and Akron University will help boost the team’s RPI when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee evaluates the Billikens’ resume.
These non-conference battles will test the squad and may bruise their record, but come A-10 play, the squad should be clicking on all cylinders. At least, that’s what McGinty is hoping for.
