As of Monday, Sept. 22聽the team is 2-4-2, with several double overtime games under their belt.聽Mast聽hopes that competitive edge puts his team back into the postseason tourney for the 22nd time in his 24 years at the helm.

Lessons learned from 2013 season

“The 2013 season was one that I would capture as being one of near misses: one game out of making the ODAC Tournament and numerous one goal losses,” Mast explained. “That plays into our team this fall in that we will train to compete. Much of our training will be geared towards competition. We want to instill in our 2014 team a competitive will and work ethic that will turn those close matches into victories.”

The Royals had five one-goal losses last year, including four in conference play. Two of those were in overtime. A win in any of those games would have given 91短视频 the three points they needed to make a jump in the ODAC standings to make the tourney.

In Mast’s mind, his team needs to play their “A” game for every conference outing.

“The competitive balance in the ODAC is hardly fair,” he said. “We must come to play our best each time we have an ODAC opponent on our slate. There is not a team that we can take lightly. The preparation that it takes for each conference team is critical, but even more crucial is having the team intensity and work ethic at a high level for each of these matches.”

All-ODAC players return for new season

Headlining the returners is a pair of former All-ODAC honorees, although one was a pleasant surprise return.

惭颈诲蹿颈别濒诲别谤听聽(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) is back for his senior season playing for his father. He had three goals and four assists last year, tying for the team lead with 10 points. Mast was an All-ODAC Third Team honoree as a sophomore.

顿别蹿别苍诲别谤听聽(Limon, Costa Rica/Colegio de Limon Diurno) is back to finish up his classwork under a fifth season. He scored three goals last year, but his suffocating presence in the middle of the backline earned him All-ODAC First Team and VaSID All-State First Team awards.

“Chris returns this season as a fifth year senior,” explained Coach Mast, “as he was a medical redshirt his freshman season at Old Dominion before transferring to 91短视频. Chris is a very good organizer of our back four defenders. He also brings good leadership to the team.”

The team also returns super-sub聽聽(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton), with his three goals and one assist as a junior, as well as senior midfielder聽聽(Harleysville, Pa./Christopher Dock), who had two goals and an assist, and junior defender聽聽(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), who had a goal and an assist.

Mast says his returning core will give this year’s team strength.

“We have good leadership in our upperclassmen,” he explained. “The work ethic of our upperclassmen is high. We also have depth in the goalkeeper position and we have strong enough numbers on our roster to create a competitive atmosphere for training and earning playing time.”

Senior keeper聽聽(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) is a two-year starter with 188 career saves. He will give leadership to, but also be pushed by, some talented newcomers.

Freshman and transfer student add depth to team

“Matt Overacker聽(Mount Crawford, Va./Turner Ashby) and聽Ryan Zerkel聽(Mount Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) are incoming freshmen who will add depth and compete for playing time in the goalkeeper position,” said Mast. “Andrew brings in some quality experience and our young keepers bring some athleticism and competitive desire.”

While the team must replace All-ODAC forward Christian Rhine (13 goals in two season before transferring to Penn State), along with seven graduated seniors and a handful of other role players, the Royals got a boost from the local schools.

“Juan Luna聽(Mount Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) is returning to the soccer field after a stint as a place kicker at James Madison University,” Mast said, “and he has decided to transfer to 91短视频. Juan is a dynamic attacking player. Local freshmen players are聽Zach Sauder聽(Lyndhurst, Va./Stuarts Draft),聽Grayson Mast聽(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite),聽Brandon Fern聽(Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) and聽Braden Herman聽(Waynesboro, Va./Fort Defiance). In all, we have 37 players reporting for preseason and competing for 28-32 roster spots.”

Difficult non-conference schedule sets the stage for ODAC wins

Once again, Mast scheduled a number of quality non-conference sides to get his men ready for the rigors of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

“We have added Johns Hopkins, Gettysburg, Frostburg State, Southern Virginia and Ferrum to our non-conference venue,” said 91短视频’s coach. “We also have teams that we played in 2013 such as Lebanon Valley, Mary Washington and Marymount. We have chosen to play a difficult non-conference schedule to help to prepare our team for our ODAC opponents.”

Coaching changes at assistant level

There are also some changes on the sidelines, as assistant coach Ted Erickson was hired as 91短视频’s head women’s soccer coach. Juan Flores, who played in 17 games in his final season of eligibility last fall, and Patrick Bain, an All-ODAC and All-Region player at Roanoke, join the staff this year.

“I look forward to working with Patrick and Juan,” said Mast in late August.聽“Our goal is to have the players working very hard on both sides of the ball and to be professional in all aspects of our soccer program.”

Learn more about 91短视频 , , and the on the .

And to competitors around the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Jo茫o 鈥淐hris鈥� Downs is regarded as one of the top defenders in the league.

The Costa Rican-born Old Dominion University transfer, who joined 91短视频 following a freshman campaign with the Monarchs that was completely wiped out when he tore the ACL in his right knee, earned first-team all-league honors last year and will begin his senior season when the Royals visit Mary Washington in Fredericksburg on Friday.

鈥淭here are a couple things that Chris does really, really well: He鈥檚 very athletic 鈥� he鈥檚 a Division I athlete. He鈥檚 strong,鈥� longtime Royals coach Roger Mast said. 鈥淚 think his speed may have been affected a little bit from his ACL injury, but physically, he鈥檚 strong. 鈥� He鈥檚 very composed on the ball. Even under pressure, you never see him panic.鈥�

Pronounced JAY-ow, Jo茫o 鈥� a Portuguese surname 鈥� is what the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Downs said he prefers to go by. But the difficult spelling and pronunciation of the name led him to adopt 鈥淐hris鈥� in Harrisonburg for the sake of simplicity.

Downs was born in rural Lim贸n, Costa Rica, and his father, Cristobal, who now works as a port agent in the Central American country, has raised cattle for both dairy and meat products as a hobby since Chris was a boy.

In fact, Chris Downs said his father sold 鈥渁 couple鈥� of his livestock to pay for his son鈥檚 plane ticket to the United States when he left for ODU prior to the 2011 season.

That background, Mast said, made Downs鈥� transition to the beach life in Norfolk 鈥� his first time being in the United States 鈥� immensely more challenging.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say growing up in Costa Rica was as hard for me as other kids because I had both parents that worked and provided for me all the time,鈥� Downs said. 鈥淚 can guarantee you that I was one of the kids playing in the streets that had shoes because my dad used to be like, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want you messing up your feet. You鈥檙e going to wear shoes, no matter if they cheap shoes or whatever. Whenever you need shoes, we have to buy you shoes.鈥欌��

Downs said he ended up with the Royals after his one-year scholarship at ODU was not renewed following his ACL injury. 91短视频 turned out to be the one and only program Downs visited after leaving ODU, too, and Mast credited that to the down-to-earth atmosphere in Harrisonburg and its surrounding rural areas.

Now at age 24, Downs 鈥� who admits his knee still gives him problems from time to time 鈥� is ready to play his final competitive season of soccer before hoping to parlay his eventual liberal arts degree into a sports management career.

鈥淪ince I was like a 1-year-old, I can remember being obsessed with the game,鈥� Downs said. 鈥淎nd for me, to keep playing, it鈥檚 just the passion. No matter how hurt I am, I鈥檒l just try to recover and keep playing.鈥�

Eastern Mennonite, picked to finish ninth this fall in the 12-team ODAC, was 5-13 a year ago and is entering its 24th season under Mast. During that time, Mast said he鈥檚 had 鈥渁t least鈥� 20 foreign-born players compete at his program.

Mast added another international athlete prior to this season in sophomore attacker Juan Luna, a Mexican-born former kicker on the Stonewall Jackson High School and James Madison football teams.

Luna and Downs, who along with student assistant Juan Flores are the only Spanish-first speakers in 91短视频鈥檚 program, often find themselves battling head-to-head in practice.

鈥淗e鈥檚 very physical, very vocal,鈥� Luna said of Downs. 鈥淚鈥檇 say he鈥檚 the general of his troops 鈥� he definitely knows how to rally everybody up. 鈥� His timing is just so precise, and that鈥檚 something that really, really helps him.鈥�

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, Aug. 28, 2014

The Royals had been shut out in their previous two losses, but got things rolling in the first half against the Highlanders.聽 Junior (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) fired a shot from the top of the box which deflected in for a 1-0 lead.

In the second, (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) was the first to add insurance.聽 He dribbled around a handful of Cairn defenders and then launched a shot through traffic to make it 2-0.聽 Then (Mt. Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) took a direct kick from just outside of the box and bent it around the CU wall to hit the right side of the net for the final score.

The men finished 1-1 at the Cialella Classic and took second place based on goal differential.聽 (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), Mark Mast and (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

The win evens 91短视频’s record at 2-2.聽 They return to Harrisonburg this week for their home opener against Lebanon Valley on Wednesday.聽 Saturday night the Royals host Virginia Wesleyan for their ODAC opener.