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Men's Soccer Athletic Communications

Hatters Open Season at Charleston Tournament

First-year head coach Cristian Neagu and the Stetson men's soccer team open the 2018 season this weekend when the Hatters face UNCW and College of Charleston at the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic in Charleston, S.C.
 
The Hatters face UNCW at 5 p.m. on Friday, and take on tournament host Charleston at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
 
It's been a bumpy preseason so far for Neagu and the Hatters. Injuries and youthfulness have been stumbling blocks in the early going, but Neagu is finally seeing some positive strides with the regular season just days away. Those positives began to shine through, ironically, in Stetson's exhibition loss at No. 3 North Carolina on Aug. 17.
 
"I wasn't happy with the start of preseason, especially with four starters out," he said. "It's forced us to shuffle the lineup quite a bit. We have a lot of players playing out of position so there was an adjustment period. But at UNC we showed we could do a better job adjusting and understanding our roles. I'm hoping that guys will continue to adapt quickly and come together as a group."
 
Stetson opened the preseason with a 2-0 win over Rollins, and followed that up two days later with a 4-1 loss to the Tar Heels. Neagu saw different things in each contest.
 
"Both games were very important, particularly the UNC game," Neagu said. "We faced pressure from them that we won't see during the season. I believe walking away from the game that the guys had a lot of positives and adjustments that we can make. We're in a good place. The UNC game helped push us toward where we need to be."
 
With all of the injuries, Stetson's 11 newcomers will have even more of an opportunity to make and impact. So far, Neagu has been impressed with the group.
 
"So far the international guys we've brought in – William Suaut, Erwan Colas, Lewis Scattergood, and Sebastian Chalbaud -- have already made an impact for us. But they're going to have to with the injuries we have. It's a really good group and I'm very happy with what we have."
 
Among the healthy, returning players is an experienced, if unheralded, nucleus. Seniors Julien Coulomb, Joseph Alamo, Nathan Monsanto and Daniel O'Brien have combined to appear in 156 games, and the quartet was instrumental in helping the Hatters win the ASUN regular-season title last season.
 
When asked to name the key players for the upcoming season, Neagu didn't hesitate in his response.
 
"All of them," he said. "More than anything, for us to have a good season, is for the guys who aren't in the starting lineup to push the guys who are starting. We need them to push the starters. They need to help the guys continue to be competitive. It's a group with a lot of newcomers in the lineup and coming off the bench. The veterans need to lead by example and I'm expecting great things from them."
 
As for his season philosophy, Neagu just tries to keep it simple and direct.
 
"Our focus has been and will be on being better than we were the last game," Neagu said. "In the Rollins game we won 2-0, but I wasn't happy with a lot of things. And we were better in the UNC game because of that. Now were hoping to be better on Friday than we were against UNC. Can we be better than we were in our last game and be the best team we can possibly be? We need to use each game to be a better team."
 
The Hatters open the home season on Sept. 13 against ASUN Conference newcomer Liberty.
 
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

Joseph Alamo

#10 Joseph Alamo

F/MF
5' 9"
Senior
Julien Coulomb

#16 Julien Coulomb

MF
6' 0"
Senior
Nathan Monsanto

#8 Nathan Monsanto

MF
6' 0"
Senior
Daniel O

#7 Daniel O'Brien

F
6' 1"
Senior
Sebastian Chalbaud

#21 Sebastian Chalbaud

MF
5' 11"
Freshman
Lewis Scattergood

#15 Lewis Scattergood

F
6' 1"
Freshman
Erwan Colas

#20 Erwan Colas

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
William Suaut

#31 William Suaut

MF/D
6' 1"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Joseph Alamo

#10 Joseph Alamo

5' 9"
Senior
F/MF
Julien Coulomb

#16 Julien Coulomb

6' 0"
Senior
MF
Nathan Monsanto

#8 Nathan Monsanto

6' 0"
Senior
MF
Daniel O

#7 Daniel O'Brien

6' 1"
Senior
F
Sebastian Chalbaud

#21 Sebastian Chalbaud

5' 11"
Freshman
MF
Lewis Scattergood

#15 Lewis Scattergood

6' 1"
Freshman
F
Erwan Colas

#20 Erwan Colas

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
William Suaut

#31 William Suaut

6' 1"
Sophomore
MF/D