Posted: Jun 16, 2015
The men's soccer program is entering its 70th season of competition. The program has tallied 519 wins, and enters this season three wins shy of 200 ODAC victories. It has 266 wins at home, which includes 58 in the friendly confines of Kerr Stadium, which opened in 2007. The Maroons boast 15-straight winning seasons entering the 2015 season, including 20 seasons with at least 10 wins in the last 25 years. Roanoke celebrates 15 All-Americans, 48 NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region and 93 All-ODAC players.
2014 Season
The 2014 season will be difficult to top as the Maroons finished with an overall record of 15-3. the 15 wins tied for the fourth-most in a season in the 70-year histroy of the program. The Maroons earned the most wins and the second-ever undefeated record in conference play (10-0-1) in 2014. The 10 ODAC wins were a school-record as the program captured the ODAC regular season title for the 14th time, its third in the last four years. The men hosted throughout the ODAC Tournament, falling in the ODAC Final to Lynchburg. It was the Maroons 12th ODAC Championship game appearance since the tournament format began in 1990, their fifth in the last eight years. Roanoke also finished with one of the best home records in the program's history while going 9-1-1 and Donald J. Kerr Stadium. The 11-match unbeaten streak until the conference championship game was the longest since the 1996 season.
The accolades were abound for the Maroons following the 2014 season, with Ryan Pflugrad '02 earning ODAC Coach of the Year honors. Pflugrad joined Rob Brewer, John Pirro '77 and former coach and current Athletic Director Scott Allison '79 as the only RC Soccer coaches to garner this award. Marc Dinkel was named ODAC Player of the Year, in addition to VaSID All-State, NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region and NSCAA Second-Team All-American honors. He became the first player since Eric Eversole in 2006 to earn the top conference award, while being only the 15th player to garner All-American honors. Seven players were named All-ODAC last fall, while four were tabbed with NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region honors.
The Schedule
The soccer team will start its 2015 preseason by playing exhibition matches against Div. I Radford (8/23) and Div. II team Concord (8/26). Both matches will be played away as quality tune-ups for the regular season. "I anticipate the ODAC to again be a very difficult conference to compete in," said head coach Ryan Pflugrad. "So to prepare, we have created a non-conference schedule against strong programs and in good environments."
Roanoke opens the 2015 season on September 1st at home against nearby Ferrum in non-conference action. It is expected to be a great turnout at Kerr Stadium, as it will be held during the final day of freshman orientation on campus at Roanoke. "Kerr Stadium has been one of the most exciting places to play soccer in Div. III and we have a strong set of home games to entertain our students and fans this fall," said Pflugrad.
On Sept. 5-6, the men travel to Madison, NJ to compete in the Drew Fall Festival. The Maroons will play against tournament-host Drew University, who advanced to the ECAC Semifnals last fall. The men will face The College of New Jersey to end the weekend. Both programs know about success, as they have been to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament, with TCNJ claiming the championship in 1996 and advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals six times since 1991. Drew has appeared in 11 NCAA Tournaments, appearing in the National Championship game in 2003 and a final four appearance in 2002.
The Maroons will return home the following weekend to host the All Sports Café Roanoke Invitational at Donald J. Kerr Stadium. They will compete against Greensboro, who recorded 12 wins last year. In the Maroon's second game, they will take on William Peace. Both opponents represent the USA-South Conference, with Greensboro as the defending regular season champions. The Pride won the USA-South Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2013.
The soccer team will conclude its non-conference portion of their schedule with two road contests. The first will be against Southern Virginia (9/17) then head to Fredericksburg to play traditional state power, Mary Washington on Sept. 19. The Eagles have appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments, with a final four finish in 1997. Roanoke will continue its string of away games by starting their conference play at Randolph-Macon (9/23) and then heading to Shenandoah on Sept. 26.
The Maroons come back to Salem for three-straight home contests, starting with Randolph on Sept. 29. Randolph, who won the ODAC Championship and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 2011, won the 2013 ODAC regular season title and will contend for the conference title again this year. The next contest will be against Eastern Mennonite during Family Weekend at Roanoke College on Oct. 2. It will also be senior night for the Maroons, which should be another great crowd for the conference match. The final home match during that stretch will be against Bridgewater on Oct. 10, which will be during "Soccer Alumni Day" on campus with an alumni game prior to the contest.
The team will finish the season by playing five out of their last six games on the road. The only home game during that stretch will come against defending ODAC Champion, Lynchburg on October 21st, which will most likely prove to be their toughest ODAC contest of the year. This will be a rematch of the ODAC championship where the Maroons fell 1-0, but Roanoke beat the Hornets during the regular season by a score of 1-0.
The final three matches will be against ODAC-powers Virginia Wesleyan (10/24), Hampden-Sydney (10/28) and Washington and Lee on Halloween to close the regular season. Virginia Wesleyan placed third in the ODAC last season after winning the ODAC Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2013. They are considered strong contenders again for the title this fall.
The ODAC Tournament will begin on November 3rd as the Maroons will try to capture their second-consecutive ODAC regular season title and they will try to win their first ODAC Championship since the 2012 season. The conference semifinals and finals will be held at the top-seed this fall for the first time since 2007. Those dates are on Nov. 6-7. The NCAA Tournament will begin on Nov. 13-15 with the first and second rounds.
