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Men's Soccer Athletic Communications

Hatters Open 2017 Season at Detroit Mercy, Western Michigan

It's never easy being a new head coach, but when you're the program's fourth one in five years things can get even more challenging. Now add in 10 new players and a schedule which features just five home games, and some might panic. But first-year Stetson men's soccer head coach Kyle Gookins is calm on the eve of his first game with the Hatters.
 
"I think we're ready to compete," he said. "We have a lot of good competition right now."
 
Gookins comes to Stetson after spending the previous nine seasons as an assistant at Charlotte, helping the 49ers to a combined 125-43-25 (.712) record, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, five total conference championships and one NCAA College Cup final, in 2011.
 
The 2014 NSCAA Southeast Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, Gookins has spent much of the last nine months instilling a new team culture while also evaluating and preparing for the upcoming season. That new culture comes with a mindset which is both simple and complex at the same time.
 
"The vision is to be the best at everything we do", he said. "It sounds really simple, but it's really hard to be the best at everything. But when you do it, you achieve your goals and it filters down. We don't have a lot of outcome-based goals right now. I want guys to focus on process goals at the moment. If we do that, the results will take care of themselves."
 
The Hatters went 4-10-2 last season and posted a 1-5-0 mark in ASUN Conference play. The offense mustered just 15 goals in 16 games, but the Hatters were completive on a nightly basis thanks in large part to the play of ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year Paul Ladwig, who has since graduated.
 
So not only does Gookins need to rebuild the offense, he needs to replace one of the top keepers in the country.
 
"Paul was outstanding last year. Those are big shoes to fill," Gookins said. "But we have three keepers in Braeden Luna, Joseph Melong and Justin Snyder whom we believe can fill the void. They all have excellent individual traits.
 
"Braden has a lot of experience. He was number two behind a really good keeper at Kentucky last year. Joe has been injured for so long that he's really had to push himself this summer and he's made great progress. Justin is a really good shot stopper, but that's just one part of being a good keeper. They all complement each other, and train and get along really well and that's a plus. Braeden so far has been the most consistent, so he has the edge."
 
On offense, Gookins says the Hatters won't be a one-man team and a new style will help.
 
"We want to generate a lot of offense quickly," he said. "We're going to score goals by committee."
 
Sophomore Gabriel Diniz is Stetson's top returning offensive threat, scoring three goals and adding a pair of assists on his way to earning ASUN All-Freshman team honors last year.
 
Obviously the Hatters will rely heavily on the play of several of their 10 newcomers. The Hatters boast five four-year transfers among their newcomers, including Luna, David Bergstrom (Central Connecticut State) Justin Broome (Hartwick), and Aidan Wixted (NC State).
 
Several players have been pleasant surprises for Gookins in the preseason, among them freshmen Alexi Cruz and Kyamanni Stewart, and junior Julien Coulombe.
 
"Alex has been excellent this preseason," Gookins said. "He's gritty and we need more grit. He came in super-fit and he's done everything I asked. Kyamanni has stepped up and been a huge surprise. I didn't think he'd play so soon for us. And Julien has stepped up his fitness; he really took charge of what he needed to do."
 
With so many new faces and another new head coach, Gookins has modest – but important – goals for the Hatters this season.
 
"Our primary goal is to make the conference tournament," he said. "That will be a success for us. I'd like to go .500 for the season and get to the tournament, where anything can happen. You can't win the tournament unless you're there."
 
The Hatters open the season, 2 p.m., Friday at Detroit Mercy.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
 
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Players Mentioned

Paul Ladwig

#1 Paul Ladwig

GK
6' 1"
Senior
Julien Coulomb

#16 Julien Coulomb

MF
6' 0"
Junior
Gabriel Diniz

#9 Gabriel Diniz

F
5' 9"
Sophomore
Joseph Melong

#12 Joseph Melong

GK
6' 0"
Junior
Justin Snyder

#29 Justin Snyder

GK
6' 0"
Junior
Braeden Luna

#0 Braeden Luna

GK
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Aidan Wixted

#5 Aidan Wixted

D
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
David Bergstrom

#14 David Bergstrom

MF
6' 3"
Sophomore
Kyamanni Stewart

#27 Kyamanni Stewart

D
5' 9"
Freshman
Alex Cruz

#20 Alex Cruz

MF
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Paul Ladwig

#1 Paul Ladwig

6' 1"
Senior
GK
Julien Coulomb

#16 Julien Coulomb

6' 0"
Junior
MF
Gabriel Diniz

#9 Gabriel Diniz

5' 9"
Sophomore
F
Joseph Melong

#12 Joseph Melong

6' 0"
Junior
GK
Justin Snyder

#29 Justin Snyder

6' 0"
Junior
GK
Braeden Luna

#0 Braeden Luna

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
GK
Aidan Wixted

#5 Aidan Wixted

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
D
David Bergstrom

#14 David Bergstrom

6' 3"
Sophomore
MF
Kyamanni Stewart

#27 Kyamanni Stewart

5' 9"
Freshman
D
Alex Cruz

#20 Alex Cruz

5' 7"
Freshman
MF