PVCC Puma Press: October 2004

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	Photo by Joe DeCarlo
	Coaches Barry Van Patten and Bill Rupert discuss strategy while the players water up during a break in the action of the season opener.
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The 2004 version of the men and women’s PVCC Puma soccer teams enter the season with high expectations and a fresh new look.

The men’s team welcomes first year head coach Barry Van Patten. Van Patten has been coaching soccer for eight years and was an assistant coach on last year’s men’s team. Van Patten played soccer collegially at Phoenix College and has coached at Shadow Mountain High School and with the Juventus Soccer Club.

In addition to coaching the men’s team, coach Van Patten also will be coaching the women’s team until November, when head coach Amy Garelick returns from maternity leave. Coach Van Patten believes that he is the best coach for the job because of his “understanding of players and what they need to be able to perform their best.”

Some familiar faces return this year from last year’s successful men’s team. Sophomore forward Brandon Lespron is back looking to improve on a stellar first year. Joining Lespron is sophomore forward Beau Dively. Dively had a strong freshman year, playing in every game, scoring crucial goals.

Some new faces will accompany Lespron and Dively on their quest for regional dominance. Freshmen Paul Allen and Alan Chacon join sophomore James Glenn and seven other freshmen, in attempting to win the region and make the playoffs. The Pumas will compete hard in the region and look to topple region heavyweights Yavapai and Chandler-Gilbert.
The women welcome back super sophomores Jennifer Adams, Ashley Grubbs, Aubrey Kerlin, Jennifer Munger and Kimberlee Wechsler as they look to provide experience and leadership in hopes of improving from last year’s team.

Twelve freshmen will be joining the team this year, making up the overall look and theme for the season, youth. The lady Pumas signed recruits mostly from Arizona, but showed that they can attract from all over in signing goalie Karly Erye from Green River, Wyoming, midfielder Cassie Baker from Somerset, Kentucky and defender Liana Schmidt from Anchorage, Alaska.

Both teams have been practicing since August 2, working three days a week for an hour-and-a-half a day in preparation for the 2004 season. Coach Van Patten has high, but realistic goals for both squads as they enter the new season.

Coach Van Patten’s goal for the men’s team this season is to win the 10-team region and beat Yavapai and Chandler/Gilbert. The goal for the Women’s team is to compete well enough during the year and in the region to qualify for the playoffs at the end of the year. Both teams will work hard to try and achieve their ultimate goal of making Nationals in Tyler, Texas, Nov. 18-21.

Coach Van Patten believes that both teams can be successful if “they start new every day, keeping focused on their goals while following the guidelines set to accomplish their goals and training every day with passion.”