Men's soccer predicted to appear in UMAC post-season tournament
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Julie Thomas

2010 UMAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. 48 Points - College of St. Scholastica (6 First Place Votes)
2. 39 Points - University of Minnesota, Morris (1)
3. 38 Points - Northwestern College (1)
4. 26 Points - Bethany Lutheran College
5. 25 Points - Presentation College
6. 24 Points - Crown College
7. 14 Points - Martin Luther College
8. 10 Points - Northland College


The Bethany Lutheran men’s soccer team finished 6-14 overall, and 5-9 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) in 2009. This year the Vikings are slated to finish fourth in the conference, predicting a post-season tournament birth.

This year’s squad returns every player who scored last season, including first team all-conference midfielders Felipe Ortega (Worthington, Minn./Worthington) and Evans Tackie-Yarboi (West Jordan, Utah/Cooper Hills). Tackie-Yarboi scored six goals a year ago while Ortega finished with one goal. All-conference honorable mention Joe Nuah (St. Paul, Minn./Arlington) also returns. Nuah was the team’s leading scorer last year with eight goals.

In addition to its core group of returning players, Bethany Lutheran welcomes 11 promising newcomers. Freshman Johnny Luna (Reno, Nev./Incline) who was a part of the state championship team in Nevada last year, and all-conference player Chase Kappel (St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) are expected to make an immediate impact.

The Vikings lose their starting goal keeper in Will Tatge (Lowell, Ind./Lowell), but return senior leader Cameron Koopman (Phelps, Wis./Phelps). Koopman will be vying for the spot along with a group of talented newcomers, including Ryan Bolte (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain Fort Carson) who was a captain and two year starter at his high school.

The first game of the season for the Vikings will be played at home on September 1 at 7 p.m. versus Buena Vista.