The Montreat Men’s Soccer program is coming off its best season in school history, posting a 15-4-1 record while knocking off NCAA Division I opponent High Point University and nationally ranked Virginia Intermont College. The Cavaliers also advanced to the AAC Conference Tournament final and Region XII semi-final for the first time in school history and finished only two wins away from going to the National Tournament.
The Cavaliers return 6 of their 11 starters from last year. “We lost very good players and leaders last year, but we are expecting Chad Britts (3rd Team All AAC), Jonathan Viana, Shaka Bangura (2005 Freshman of the Year), Abdul Bangura (3rd Team All AAC), and Howard Fisher (2006 Freshman of the Year) to step up and carry the load for us this season,” says Head Coach Jamath Shoffner. With another top recruiting class already joining the core of this record- breaking team, the Cavaliers are in the hunt for an AAC Conference title, and a berth in the Region XII Tournament. Key additions include Troy Watson (Jamaica U17 National Team), Sami Bin (Brazil), Kemar Brown (Kingston, Jamaica), Adnan Bangura (Sierra Leone U17 National Team), and Badum Maalo (Miami, Florida). “Because these players are freshman, they will have to come in and learn the system quickly if we are to be successful this season,” says Shoffner.
The Cavaliers are taking on one of the toughest schedules in their program history. They will play a total of six NCAA II opponents and two NCAA III opponents along with their conference line-up. “We have a very good conference that I think will be very deep this season. So we have created a demanding schedule to challenge ourselves out of conference in order to prepare us for our AAC slate,” says Shoffner.