Published 2012-08-28T16:00:00Z”/>

’Cats shift strategy to fit new team’s strengthsIsaac Brambila

The clock was ticking with fewer than five minutes to go as worried faces slowly faded into resignation when forward Tyson Crim jumped up and headed the ball past the keeper to steal the massive crowd’s collective breath.

The story didn’t end there, as within two minutes, midfielder Zach Bradford drove a powerful shot from long range into the bottom right corner and brought the crowd into complete ecstasy, giving the Wildcats their first appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s soccer quarterfinals since 2003.

This was in November 2010, and although the ’Cats went on to lose in the quarterfinals, that season began to shape the successful future of the men’s soccer team.

With a solid base of returning players, including current senior Crim, the ’Cats continue to work on a project that began to come together in 2010.

With two consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division titles under their belt, the players have hopes of reliving days like that glory-filled November Sunday. Added is the CCAA coaches’ selection of the team as the favorite to win the title once again and the National Soccer Coaches Association’s ranking of the ’Cats as 23rd in the nation.

Even with the attention of other teams, coach Felipe Restrepo does not believe there will be added pressure on the players, he said.

“I think it’s more of a compliment to the work we have been doing,” Restrepo said.

Crim thinks the older players are leading the team well, he said.

“We have good chemistry, we have a lot of returning guys, now we just have to get the freshmen used to the system, the way we play,” Crim said.

The problem for the Wildcats this season, however, may rest with their offense. The team lost two of its three top scorers from last year to graduation. Ferid Celosmanovic and Chris Akwaja combined for 16 of the team’s 34 goals last season.

Some of the goal-scoring responsibility may now fall on the third top scorer from last season, sophomore Octavio Guzman.

“I feel like I need to step up, do my job,” Guzman said, “but we have a lot of good players, too.”

Adjustments have to be made for this season, Restrepo said, but it is also a part of the progression and maturity that the team is hoping to reach in Restrepo’s fifth season as head coach.

“I like to play to my team’s strengths,” he said. “That’s what’s beautiful about soccer, there’s so many different ways to play.”

The new strategy, as the ’Cats have displayed in scrimmages and preseason games, may rely on a stronger hustle on the ball in the midfield and more ball possession.

Crim and Micah Miranda are two seniors that may help fill the voids left by Akwaja and Celosmanovic.

Two underclassmen, Adam Black and Cody Levar, showed promise last season and may have a chance to make an impact on the field this season. Black scored two goals in his first year as a Wildcat in 12 games.

Attack in greater numbers may also be part of the new style of play, as opposed to the long balls and lone striker strategies that Restrepo implemented when Akwaja and Celosmanovic were around.

Despite the adjustments and loss of veteran players, the team is displaying better ball-handling with more skillful footwork in traffic, quicker passes and improved game awareness than in previous years.

The Wildcats are scheduled to open their season against Western Washington at 7 p.m. Thursday at University Stadium. The CCAA opener squares them off Sept. 7 with Cal State L.A., a great rematch after the Golden Eagles knocked the ’Cats out of both the CCAA and NCAA playoffs in the 2011 season.

“They’ve got a couple ones on us that I’d like to get them back for,” Crim said. “It’s going to be a hard-fought game, we just have to grind it out.”

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<strong>Isaac Brambila can be reached at </strong><a href=”mailto:[email protected]”><em>[email protected]</em></a>