Lions Soccer Ends 2004 Season

The Freed-Hardeman University men’s soccer team finished their fall season by defeating Faulkner University 10 to 0 on October 30th. The closing victory finished off the best year in FHU soccer history. Their final record of 13-6-1 was a remarkable improvement over their 7-13-0 record in 2003. 2004 marked the program’s first winning season. The 13 wins was one short of the 14 wins that the soccer program had won since it’s inception in the fall of 2000.

The season began with a mix of veteran players and a few new freshmen. The Lions started their season with two wins in Kentucky when they took on Kentucky Christian College on Aug. 27th (5-0) and Campbellsville University on Aug. 28th (6-2). A highlight for the season was defeating Harding University for the first time by the score of 3 to 1 at Searcy, Arkansas on Sept. 16th. Another highlight came when the Lions won the Berea Cup Tournament in the first weekend of October.

The Lions were led in scoring by Jonathan Edwards (junior from Searcy, Arkansas) who scored 29 goals on the year. Andrew Williams (junior from Columbia, Tennessee) scored 11 goals and dished out 5 assists. Stephen Walker added 8 goals and 6 assists. Mariano Saenz led the midfield by scoring 6 goals and distributing 8 assists. Rodolfo Herrera also contributed 6 goals and 5 assists. Jonathan Edwards was selected to the TranSouth All-Conference First Team as a forward.

The future looks bright for the Lions as they return all 11 starters to their 2005 squad. FHU did graduate two players in 2004: Jeremy Insell and Joe Askew. With the improved record in 2004, the Lions now hope to make a move in the conference next season. “We struggled this year in our conference matches,” said head coach Jason Elliott. “That is our obvious goal for the fall: make some movement in the conference standings. In order to do that we will need to add a few players at key positions and continue to work hard.”

The 2005 schedule will be a quality schedule that features several top NAIA programs. “Our goal is to play a more difficult schedule so we will be ready in our conference matches,” said Coach Elliott. “Our focus in 2005 will not be so much on our record but on winning the big conference matches.” The 2005 season begins for the Lions when they travel to face Lee University on Aug. 23rd. Home opener for the Lions will be on Aug. 27th when they take on Campbellsville University.