By Jack Poleto
Sports Editor
Washington College’s Men’s Soccer Team’s season was a classic underdog story.
After winning the Centennial Conference and a legendary run in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, Coach Roy Dunshee is excited to see what his squad, ranked 14th among Division III schools, can do this upcoming season. When asked about what led to the success of his team last year, he credited it to a more athletic team, especially thanks to the midfielders. This allowed them to switch gears and apply more pressure to opponents that had previously not been possible. He went on to add that other teams had been great teams as well, but this one had a different playstyle than the others.
According to Coach Dunshee, the momentum created by the 2021 Shoremen will carry into this season, saying the team culture is what will make the season so successful. He said that several of the leaders on the team are making it so the atmosphere on the team is made to win games, with the teammates making sure each other is ready to go for the season. Later, Coach Dunshee expanded on the culture conversation stating that, “The standards were high, but they are higher this year because now we know that we are a target because we have a ranking now.”
Coach Dunshee shared the love among all positions and gave insight as to what our nationally ranked Shoremen might look like. He described the dynamic front that the previous season had, with senior Eric Gwadz, Greg Adams ‘22, and James Strine ‘22 leading the charge. Adams and Strine graduated last year, but senior Ben Strine is going to step in and be this year’s center forward, senior Cole Gifford, who was previously a midfielder, will be this year’s right forward; and Eric Gwadz will be returning to the team as the left forward.
Coach Dunshee went on to show praise to the midfielders declaring, “We are going to outwork, out-possess, out-tackle and dominate that part of the field.” He then said Chris Comber, the center back, and Anthony Pinto returning as goalkeeper allowing for their team to have an advantage in experience.
“We are the authors of our own destiny,” Coach Dunshee said. He is excited to see how the 2022 Shoremen Soccer Team will deal with adversity and success asking, “What is the story of the 2022 shoremen going to be?”
Finally, Coach Dunshee addressed what the student body needs to hear from this year’s team stating, “We are going to fight for you, we are fighting for our school, we are giving it everything for the students… just know if you come to one of our games, we are going to give you absolutely everything.”
With this year’s team, it is bound to be an exciting few months. To summarize the needs of Shoremen Soccer from the students, Coach Dunshee said, “Come to the games and you will see entertaining soccer.”
Photo by Grace Hazlehurst
Photo Caption: Senior Ben Strine faces off against senior Harrison Malone in practice with senior Alyan Youssaf defending.