4BThe Daily Tar HeelFriday, September 2, 1988
Menu's soccer ready to challenge for NCAA crown
By CHRIS SPENCER
', Assistant Sports Editor
' X Last year, Anson Dorrance could
feel it really feel it inside. He
'Knew he had the talent in 1987 to
v vault his UNC men's soccer squad to
'where the Tar Heel women's pro-
gram, which he also coaches, was:
' atop the national heap.
Well, he almost did it.
':The Tar Heels reeled off eight
' straight wins to start the season last
'. year, finishing the season with a 20
;record, a No. 6 national ranking,
Tan" ACC championship and tying for
' third place in the NCAA tournament.
'. Not only that, Dorrance came out of
that season with an emerging star, one
he could build his budding program
'. around Derek Missimo, the ACC
'tournament most valuable player, an
All-South selection and a member of
' Soccer America's all-frosh team.
Only three seniors are gone from
that squad, although all three were
" stalwart performers and one, Dave
Smyth, was a first-team All-America
and Hermann Trophy finalist. So,
once again, Dorrance feels it only
: this time, he has the recognition. Now
he knows how it feels to be a national
power with the men's squad.
"I'm very excited about what this
team has done in the preseason," he
said. "The keys this year are Chad
Ashton, Donald Cogsville, Derek
Missimo and Darren Royer. Those
four are unquestionably the keys to
our season, and it's great that weVe
got one of them in each part of the
field."
In the nets will be Royer, who
blossomed last year behind a strong
defense. The senior Seattle, Wash,
native is a steady performer who was
at times outstanding last year, as he
was in matches with South Carolina,
.N.C. State and Duke. He could
contend for All-American honors
with a strong season, Dorrance said.
"Royer reads the game very well,"
he said. "He has good hands, and he's
coming off a great season."
But if there is a major problem with
this team, it will be replacing the lost
leadership of Smyth. Dorrance hopes
the "four keys" will combine to do
that, but he's not sure. That's the
reason for the move of Donald
Cogsville to sweeper for his senior
season.
Cogsville is a soccer player in the
true sense; he knows when to turn
on the power (at 6-2, 195 pounds, he
can be an imposing site) and when
to play the game with finesse. At his
best, his moves without the ball are
like the brush strokes of a Monet
"they just don't get any better.
. "Donald is probably the best
athlete IVe ever coached here at
UNC," Dorrance said. In the past,
the coach has said that he believes
Cogsville could play in Europe. He
spent the offseason on multiple tours
with the U.S. National team.
Junior Marc Buffin returns to one
wing back position. "He's coming off
a great preseason," Dorrance said.
"This is the best he's ever looked in
his career here, so he's very exciting."
At the other wing, there's a dog
fight between sophomore Dave Mer
ola, sophomore transfer David Cran
ston, who came from the University
of Cincinnati, and freshman Tom
O'Connor. AH three have looked
good at varying times during the
preseason, Dorrance said.
The Tar Heels will no doubt be
strong in the middle of the field with
four returning starters. The leader
should be junior Chad Ashton, a
spunky playmaker who finished the
year as the ACC assist leader.
"Chad is basically doing it all in
preseason," raved Dorrance. "He's fit
as hell, a great field leader and a real
winner. He has the potential to be
an All-American, along with
Cogsville."
Also in the middle are junior Nick
Efthimiou and senior Dino Megalou
dis. These two, who measure 5-feet-6
and 5-feet-7, respectively, are what
Dorrance terms the "Greek midfield."
Efthimiou has been good at winning
the ball in the air in the preseason,
while Megaloudis is a maestro at
play-making. He needs only three
assists to become the all-time career
leader in that category at UNC. His
strong play late last season was a key
to the Tar Heels' success.
Junior John Cocking has been
moved from forward to the right
midfielder's slot this year. The
scrappy Roswell, Ga., native should
fit in well at that slot.
"This is the best he's ever played,"
Dorrance said. "Some of the things
I like best about John are his attitude,
work ethic and discipline"
At the other wing position will be
freshman Adam Tinkham, an Indi
anapolis, Ind., native who spent last
year at Clearwater (Fla.) Central
Catholic High School.
"Adam should have a great career
here," Dorrance said. "He plays with
a lot of flair, and he's real exciting'
to watch."
The Tar Heels will, play with only
two forwards, but when you consider
that one of them is Missimo, the team
looks to have some firepower. The
6-feet-4, 190-pound Dallas, Tex.,
native is coming off a 13-goal, six
assist first season, which was good
for team-leading honors.
Missimo started last year as a
midfielder, but he was moved up front
in the middle of the season. He
exploded in his new position, tallying
eight goals from there on out, with
five being game-winners.
In one of the most exciting college
soccer games ever, Missimo was
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Senior Donald Cogsville's move to sweeper is one of the keys to the Tar Heels ' title hopes in 1988
DTH file photo
knocked unconscious early in the
match, only to return to score the
game-winner as UNC overcame a
two-goal deficit to beat N.C. State
4-3 in overtime for the ACC
championship.
"He's one of the best players IVe
ever seen with his back to pressure,"
Dorrance said. "Regardless of it, he
can always find a way to turn and
somehow get the ball to someone
else's feet."
At the other forward slot will be
either redshirt senior Tommy Nichol
son, who led the team in scoring
before a leg injury kept him on the
sidelines last season, or junior transfer
Alan Higgins.
The Tar Heels tackle a tough
schedule again this season, not by
choice, but because they have to. By
playing in the nation's top soccer
conference, the ACC, UNC guaran
tees itself brawls with ranked squads
like Duke, N.C. State, Virginia and
last year's national champion, Clem
son, whom the Tar Heels beat twice
before succumbing 4-1 in the national
semifinals.
"In this league and this region, you
could be one of the best teams in the
nation and the ranking wouldn't show
it," Dorrance explained. "If we can
stay in the top two or three in this
region, we will maintain our top
national status. But if we drop to
three or four, it wont effect our
thinking, because of this region."
In other words, the Tar Heels don't
need those other matches with teams
like South Carolina, last year's top
team fn the South Region, whom the
Tar Heels defeated 2-1 in a shootout
in the NCAA tournament. Not to
mention the season-opening Adidas
Metropolitan Life. Classic tourna
ment that begins Friday, where Tar
Heels open up with second-ranked
Indiana and face powerhouse Evans
ville on Saturday.
"That tournament will give us a
chance to see where we. are because
we are playing two of the best teams
in the nation," Dorrance said.
So where can the Tar Heels go
wrong, besides taking on that mur
derous schedule? Dorrance sees
potential problems in the defense with
replacing Smyth and giving Missimo
someone to work his magic with.
T think the question marks are
definitely in the backfield and finding
a complementary player to Derek,"
he said. "If Tommy Nicholson could
return to form, he could do that: And
that's a hard challenge."-
But those are potential problems
that should take '.care 'of themselves
once the season begins. Look for a
strong season from the men's squad
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