CONWAY -- It’s been a rough couple weeks for the Coastal Carolina football team, a stretch of setbacks that has left the Chanticleers well outside the postseason picture after seven games.
But across the road from Brooks Stadium and through the trees, the Chants are nonetheless developing a growing national identity this fall – on the pitch.
The Coastal men’s soccer program is off to its best start since 2003, and while the crowds may not be all that grand for home games, the college soccer world at large has indeed taken notice.
With a 13-2 record and marquee wins over then-ranked Ohio State and Virginia Commonwealth teams, the Chants entered the week ranked No. 13 by Soccer America, No. 17 by College Soccer News and No. 17 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
“I think it just goes to show that Coastal Carolina University can produce very strong sports teams,” veteran coach Shaun Docking said after his Chants finished off a 4-1 win over VMI last Friday.
“You’ve got baseball that has done it, golf and I certainly think men’s soccer is in that arena. I think it goes to show that a mid-major program like ours can compete at the top national level and possibly over time win a national championship in one of these sports. So I hope that people in the area begin to understand that they have wonderful sports teams in their own back yard, and I think they need to take advantage of that, get behind it and support it and come out and enjoy it.”
The Chants themselves are no doubt enjoying this stellar if not surprising start of theirs plenty.
A year after relying on defense to spur a late-season run through the Big South tournament and into the NCAA tournament, Coastal entered the week ranked second in the country in scoring (2.87 goals per game), off to 6-0 start in Big South play with three contests remaining and, in general, rolling with the momentum of a nine-game winning streak.
“It’s funny because we see so much that we need to do better,” Docking said. “I think we’ve got a talented group of guys individually and I see that there’s so much room for improvement, and I think they do too. And I think that’s the great thing.
“It’s such a great surprise to be 13-2 right now, but it’s an even more positive outlook for the program in the fact that I think we’ve got so much more potential to get better as a group.”
Potential was what the Chants were banking on when this season started. After losing several key contributors from 2010’s team, Docking shared his uncertainties before the season about how quickly the team’s new pieces would come together.
The verdict? Pretty darn well.
Junior newcomer Ashton Bennett, a transfer from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, entered the week tied for the national lead in goals with 16, tied for sixth in goals per game at 1.07 and also tied for first in total points with 37. He was named the TopDrawerSoccer.com national player of the week after tallying two goals and two assists last week.
Sophomore forward TeeJay East, a transfer from Marquette, has also come on strong and ranks second on the team with six goals.
And returning veterans like sophomore midfielder Pedro Ribeiro (four goals, two assists), senior midfielder Cyprian Hedrick (three goals) and senior goalkeeper Scott Angevine (0.88 goals-against average in 2011 and one behind the program record of 16 career shutouts) have helped the program build on its 2010 finish.
“I’ve been here for three years – this is my third season,” Hedrick said. “I’m a senior. I mean, I’m on my way out of here and it [means a lot] because for the last three years I’ve been here, this is personally what I’ve wanted. I’ve wanted to contribute any way I can to help my team get on the map. … And I think this is the year we’re breaking out and we’re finally doing it. And we have to keep rolling with it.”
Indeed, Docking hopes this is only the start. Looking ahead, he thinks the Chants could be even better the next couple seasons.
In the short term, the standard for his program remains the 2003 team that went 20-3-0 and reached the final 16 of the NCAA tournament. Coastal topped Davidson and North Carolina in the tournament that year before losing in overtime to Santa Clara in the third round.
Docking says it’s still too early to tell what this group is capable of, but that is the kind of feat the players are working toward.
Angevine, a transfer from Northern Illinois after the 2007 season, said he used to hear about that 2003 team from former Chants goalkeeper Mark Lenahan, who coached him back home in the Kansas City, Kan., area. And that’s what he’s kept in his mind since arriving on campus.
“He always told me stories about that Coastal Carolina team, and that’s what I was hoping to be a part of when I first transferred here,” Angevine said. “And unfortunately it took three or four years to get back to that level, but I’m proud to be a part of this team. And I’m proud to wear the Coastal Carolina shirt and hopefully we can just keep rising through the rankings.”
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