Monday, August 19th, 2019 -- The future is looking bright for the Arizona Christian University Men's Soccer team who won their first ever conference title in 2018.
Head Coach Andrew Belleman has turned the program around in just two years and with a talented core of returning players, ACU is looking for another successful season.
The Arizona Soccer Assocaition (ASA) had a chance to talk to Belleman about the upcoming season.
ASA: On expectations for the upcoming year...
BELLEMAN: "Our expectations are you go through the process again and to try to be playing our best soccer at the end of the season again. While the program is continuing to build and wanting to grow each year, we know that this year's team has its own journey to go on. Of course, our expectations are high, but it takes time to develop into the team you want to be even in the compact college season. The goal each year is to compete for a conference championship, and we are looking forward to our guys working each day to be in a position to achieve that by the end of the season."
ASA: On the experience the team gained last year...
BELLEMAN: "The experience the team had last year was invaluable for the program as a whole. I think it brought credibility to ACU Soccer, but more than that is showed our guys that what can be achieved at ACU. For so long, there was a negative cloud around the program and last year helped us break through that a bit. For many of the returners, it has given them confidence and belief of what can be done here at ACU."
ASA: On the key returning players and new recruiting class...
BELLEMAN: "We have many key returning players this year as we only lost five guys off of our team from last year. To highlights a few, Alex Segura, who was our first-team all GSAC and NAIA All-American player from last season is back and ready to finish off his career. German Lopez who was a freshman all GSAC player is back for his second season as well as most of our backline from last season. We are excited about the guys we have added to the group including Jurgen Renteria here from Phoenix and Daniel Jonna a transfer from England among many others. The challenge now is to bring it all together and see what this year's team can do. We certainly want to compete on the field again, but we also want to be a team that lives out our core values of Family, Discipline, Grit, and Legacy. We are excited to see what Legacy this team will leave for other teams to come at ACU."