2022 Season Preview: Men’s Football

Let’s go! This familiar phrase is often heard by GK Sami Borchalli (Lafayette, Louisiana) on the field, on social media or probably also in the locker room. Equally likely is the fact that his teammates echo the same thought. It is indeed “Go Time” for the 2022 Gentiles as they kick off their regular season Thursday, Sept. 1 at home against Dallas Christian College in a non-conference game scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mayo Field.

Centennial is aiming to bounce back from a disappointing 2021 campaign, although it ended on a high note. The Gents finished last season with a 6-11-1 overall record and went 2-6 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference games. The Maroons and Whites got off to a 3-1-1 start, struggled midway through the season, then finished on a three-game winning streak. The Gents scored a season-high six goals in a win over Dallas on October 31 in their regular-season finale and finished the season outscoring the opposition 10-3 in their final three games. and they allowed one goal or less in a game 11 times during the season.

Kevin White is entering his second season as head coach after coming to Shreveport prior to last season from the University of Texas at Dallas where he was a longtime assistant for the Comets. Tommy Haney has joined the staff as White’s top assistant and should be a wealth of knowledge and familiarity with the program as the Wylie, Texas native played collegiately for fellow SCAC Austin College for four years (2005-08) and served as team captain his senior season.

“I expect that we’re going to be in every game that we play, look to win every game that we play and we want to get into that Top Four and get to the conference tournament,” White said.

“We have a non-conference schedule that will be difficult, but I think we can do well. I think there are a lot of winnable games against good opponents. The conference will always be difficult with the strength of the SCAC. We open with playoff teams and finish with playoff teams, so we have to be sharp and play our best football when we get to that part of the year.”

Centenary landed two players on the All-SCAC men’s soccer team last season as senior MF Jaron Petreas (Denton, Texas) and second F Dylan Allred (Lafayette, La.) represented the Gents on the prestigious team. Petreas was named Honorable-Mention while Allred earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. Centenary placed at least two players on the All-SCAC team for the fifth time after earning a program record with three all-conference honors last season.

Petreas, who was named to the All-SCAC Second Team in 2020, scored one goal last season and started all 17 games as a consistent force in midfield for the Gents. Allred had an impressive rookie season as he appeared in 14 games with 11 starts and scored one goal in the Gents’ 6-1 dominance of Dallas in their season finale. He also added an assist in the game to end the season with three points.

Borchalli, one of the most decorated and accomplished players of the Division III era (2011-present) is back for a fifth season in goal for the Gents. He currently ranks second in program history in the D3 era for career saves (302) and on September 10 of last season recorded his 11^e-Career shutout in a 2-0 home win over Ozarks, Ark., as he set the record for most D3-era shutouts in program history. His 121 saves in 2018 are the most in a single season in the D3 era and he’s second all-time in that span in career GAA (1.62). He started 13 games last season and although he missed several games with an injury early in the season, he still ranked in the top 10 in the conference in four different statistical categories. He posted two shutouts to finish tied for second in the SCAC, his 61 saves ranked fourth, and his goals-against average (GAA – 1.57) and save percentage (.753) each ranked sixth.

Sophomore MF Brennan Amato (Denham Springs, La.) is back after an impressive rookie season in which he started all 18 games for the Gentiles and scored two goals, both game winners. Sophomore F Ron Masti (Houston, Texas) played 12 games as a rookie and made one start, scoring a pair of goals to finish the season with four points. Masti took just four shots all season including two on goal and made the most of his opportunities as both attempts on target found the net.

A trio of seniors – D/MF David Barbera (Gonzales, La.), D Xavier Noyola-Ramirez (College Station, TX) and D/MF Marco Basteris (Katy, TX) return and will bring great experience and skill. The three have combined to appear in 113 career games with 77 starts.

“Bringing Sami Borchalli back for a fifth year and Jaron Petreas for his final year will be great because having both of your captains back gives you consistent good leadership,” White said. “Marco Basteris will also be a rock-solid returner and hopes he gets some recognition from the conference this year.”

“I’m really excited about this freshman class. F Aaron Myers (Plano, Texas) will be a good addition up front and hopefully add some goals for us. Junior D Enrique Hernandez (Beaumont, Texas) is a transfer with good experience and will add a solid game to our back line.

The Gentois are scheduled to play 17 regular season games, eight at home and nine road/neutral games. Conference play begins Oct. 2 at Colorado College, and the Gentiles’ first home championship game is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 14 against Dallas at 7 p.m.

The Gents will open their season with nine straight non-conference games in September before heading west to face Colorado College to start October in what is the first of three consecutive SCAC road games. . Centenary has four straight home games Oct. 14-23 against Dallas, Austin College, Schreiner and finally Trinity for Senior Day on Oct. 23. The Gents’ final regular season game is scheduled for Oct. 23. 29 in St. Thomas.

Centenary wraps up opening weekend on Saturday, Sept. 3 with another home game against Sul Ross State at 7:30 p.m. before hitting the road for three straight games at LaGrange (Sept. 9), Huntingdon (Sept. 10) and Belhaven (Sept. 13). september). The Gents’ final four games of the season-opening month are at home against ETBU (Sept. 16) and LeTourneau (Sept. 18) and against McMurry (Sept. 23 at Irving, Texas) and UT-Dallas (Sept. 25). ).

Centenary is set to face LaGrange, McMurry and Sul Ross State for the first time in school history and Huntingdon for only the second time after beating the Hawks 2-1 last season at home. Centenary will also play UT-Dallas for only the second time after losing 1-0 at home to the Comets last season. Centenary enters the season with a 13-9-1 record at Mayo Field the past three seasons.

The Gents were selected seventh in the SCAC preseason poll released last week. The 2022 SCAC Men’s Soccer Championship is scheduled for Nov. 4-6 in Sherman, TX and hosted by Austin College.

See the gentlemen’s full schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/msoc/2022-23/schedule

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