An historic Kentucky season:an outright Mid-American Conference regular-season championshipan unblemished league recorda third consecutive conference tournament titlean NCAA Tournament victory.
Yes, the goals of 2001 were accomplished with a mix of seasoned veterans, talented newcomers and solid coaching.

However, Coach Ian Collins does not intend to let this team rest on its laurels. A believer in continually getting better and striving for excellence, Collins is convinced the 2002 Cats can achieve greatness and excel on the field to become one of the elite programs in the country.

“The overall strength of this team is going to be the commitment of the players to succeed,” Collins said. “The work rate, the dedication and the desire to take the program to a new level is what drives all the players. Our younger players will begin to understand quickly what it is like to be a soccer player at Kentucky, the commitment, the passion and the dedication. It’s going to be a nicely balanced team of experience and youth.”

Goalkeepers

Returning in goal for the Cats is the reigning NCAA statistical champion in goals-against average, Greg Raber. Raber joined the Wildcats last season after spending two seasons with UNC Greensboro and established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country. In 12 games, he surrendered just five goals with seven shutouts for a 10-2-0 record. And against Bowling Green, he also became the first goalkeeper in UK history to record an assist.

Junior Brad Samelko played nearly 900 minutes in 2001, collecting two shutouts with a 1.03 GAA and will be fighting for playing time along with a trio of freshmen. Andy Gruenebaum and Adam Walker come into 2002 as redshirts and after solid spring campaigns have positioned themselves for a shot at playing time. Gruenebaum was the Kansas Player of the Year as a high school senior in 2000 by both Gatorade and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, while Walker earned player of the year honors in South Carolina. Add to the mix freshman Brannan Sapp from Kernersville, N.C., and the Cats will be as deep in goal as anywhere on the field.

“We are lucky to have a good, deep group of goalkeepers,” Collins said. “Raber obviously comes in as the No. 1 goalkeeper, but he is going to face a lot of pressure from Samelko, Gruenebaum and Walker. And Sapp nearly single-handedly led his team to the North Carolina state championship. There is going to be a lot of competition for the starting nod.”

Backs

With such a strong group of goalkeepers, UK should not have to worry as much about its biggest losses in the back, Marc Theriault and UK’s all-everything Ilkka Jantti.

Jantti was the anchor for the Cats’ strong defensive unit in 2001 that finished ninth in the nation with a 0.67 GAA after surrendering just 15 goals in 21 matches. He finished his senior campaign as UK’s first NSCAA All-American and MAC Player of the Year, while also earning first-team Academic All-America honors. UK will not only miss Jantti’s defense but his offense as well. He was second on the team with 15 points on five goals and five assists.

Theriault’s presence in the back stabilized the unit, giving assurance that the UK goal would be defended well, and he played nearly every minute of every game with 18 starts.However, Kentucky does have a strong group of returnees ready to continue the history of strong UK defense.

Junior Chris Austin leads a defensive corps that surrendered just 15 goals a season ago.

Junior Chris Austin leads the way having seen action in 18 contests last season with 12 starts, while juniors Craig Pykett and Clark Miller and redshirt-freshman Thomas Senecal had terrific spring seasons and gained much-needed experience.

In addition, UK’s newcomers in the back will give the Cats a tremendous amount of depth. Junior Jeremy Groves comes to the Bluegrass via Leeds, England, after two seasons at Virginia Intermont College, while the freshman class includes Lasse Lagerblom, Brandon Stewart, Anthony Peters and Toney Martin. Lagerblom garnered terrific experience on the international front playing in Finland, and Peters’ versatility could replace some of the offense lost with Jantti’s departure

“The loss of Marc and Ilkka definitely leaves some holes,” Collins said. “Chris really developed into a terrific defender last year after moving back from midfield. The new guys can play, but they may take a little while to get to know each other and gel. Our talent level is very good.”

Midfielders

Despite the fact that UK is losing two of its top midfielders from a year ago – Antti Peltonen and Chris McAlpine – to graduation, Collins sees this portion of the field as the strongest.

Junior Nathan Fleetwood was also named to the 2001 All-MAC team and, according to Collins, is “one of the top three players in the country.”

Key to the team’s play in the middle will be 2001 All-MAC honorees junior Nathan Fleetwood and senior J.D. Stephenson. In central midfield, Fleetwood led the team in assists a season ago with six to go along with three goals, and Collins believes he is one of the top three players in the country. Stephenson moves back to wide midfield after spending two seasons as part of the one of the nation’s toughest defenses. He is tied for eighth all-time at UK in assists with 10 and tied for 13th in points with 26. Fleetwood and Stephenson have strong defending ability and can attack at a moment’s notice.

Senior J.D. Stephenson earned All-MAC honors in 2001 and returns to the midfield after two seasons in the back.

“Nathan has outstanding ability and should prove to be the anchor of our midfield,” Collins said. “J.D. has a tremendous amount of experience, and we believe he will step up and be one of the premier players in the MAC.”

The Cats also got quality minutes in left midfield last season from senior Brian Mitts, junior Jamal Shteiwi and sophomore Olli Lehtimaki. The trio combined for three goals and 11 assists, five of which came from Mitts. Senior Monty Frazier saw action in 19 games as a defensive midfielder, while senior Scot Shewey saw action in eight games, including both NCAA matches. Shewey, who brings versatility and good pace to the team, scored the Cats’ lone goal against Mercer in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We are good at the back,” Collins said, “but I think our strength will lie in the midfield. We will have a couple players push for individual honors, but collectively we’ll be a fun group to watch.”

Adding depth to an already solid group will be two more Finnish freshmen, Jani Modig and Dani Kamras, as well as Joey German, Blake Smith, Scott Savage, Nikolas Moreno, Lucas Grayson and Eric McKechnie.

Forwards

Offensively, 2001 was a banner year for the Wildcats as they tallied 39 goals (third all-time in UK history) off a school-record 47 assists; however, the squad is facing the loss of 46 percent of its goals and 36 percent of its assists this season.

Senior John Monebrake, the 2002 MAC Newcomer of the Year, led the Cats in scoring last season with eight goals and three assists for 19 points.

Fortunately, UK’s leading scorer returns. Senior John Monebrake, who transferred to Kentucky from Ohio State last season, led the team in 2001 with eight goals to go along with three assists for a team-leading 19 points. For his efforts, Monebrake was named MAC Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-MAC, and this season could make a push for All-America honors.

Senior Chris McDaniel is tied for 10th all-time at UK with 10 goals and is 15th in points with 23.

Joining Monebrake up front will be senior Chris McDaniel, who makes the move from midfield. Despite tallying just one goal and one assist a year ago, he has tremendous striking ability and is tied for 10th all-time at Kentucky in goals with 10 and is 15th in points with 23. Collins believes they will complement one another very well.

Adding depth and experience up top will be junior Brook Pearse and transfers Brian Carmany (Hartwick College) and Jonathan Brunet (Alabama-Huntsville), along with freshman Anthony Peters.

“I feel great about the situation up front,” Collins said. “We have a number of players with experience, and Monebrake and McDaniel have the potential to score a lot of goals. Both are quick and like to run at people. We will definitely be an attacking strike force with some guys who have the potential to do some damage.”

Schedule

Even in its infancy, the UK soccer program never shied away from tough competition, and 2002 is no different. A year ago, Kentucky faced six teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament recording a 4-2-1 record. This season, the Cats will face eight teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason including national-runner up Indiana.

The Cats open the season at the IPFW/adidas Classic in Fort Wayne, Ind., where they will take on Big Ten-powers Indiana and Michigan State in the exhibition tournament.

The season gets underway in earnest the next weekend when UK travels to the University of Virginia Invitational to square off against Virginia and Maryland, both second-round NCAA participants. A trip to Greenville, S.C., follows for the Furman Invitational, where the Cats will face 2001 NCAA participants Creighton and Butler.

UK will finally begin its home campaign on Wednesday, Sept. 11 against Cincinnati before playing host to the UK Invitational, which includes matches with Cleveland State and Coastal Carolina, which lost to Seton Hall in the first round of NCAA action. MAC play begins the following weekend against Bowling Green in the Bluegrass.

After a two-game road swing that takes Kentucky to Louisville and Winthrop, UK returns home to face Alabama A&M and Indiana before finishing the season with a five-game conference stand that begins with a home match against MAC-rival Marshall. Trips to Buffalo and Western Michigan precede the home finale against Northern Illinois. The regular season wraps up with a trip to Akron on Nov. 2, a game that decided the MAC title a season ago.

“Every year we play a very difficult schedule,” Collins said, “and this year could be the most difficult. We are trying to get this program among the elite, and the only way to do that is play the best. This schedule boasts some of the biggest names in college soccer. It will be very difficult, but at the same time, to be an elite team you have to play the elite programs.”