By Jim O'Hara
ROME, Ga. – The drastic changes he made after his first season as the head coach appears to have been the right ones.
But while Paulo Neto has seen the Shorter men's soccer team he directs evolve from a squad that started the season with 21 new faces on the roster into a well-oiled machine that is in one of the top teams in the Gulf South Conference, the second-year coach believes that the best is yet to come.
"But I still feel we're still not playing at our best. We haven't hit our peak yet and that's good," Neto said as the Hawks, who after a rugged two-week, five-game road set of matches, bring an 8-4-2 overall record and a 7-3-1 GSC mark back to Ben Brady Field on Friday night at 7 p.m. when they host Alabama-Huntsville.
"The team is coming together," Neto said. "Things you need to do are becoming more natural to them."
Ranked No. 10 in the latest National Christian College Association rankings – Shorter is in its final provisional year as an NCAA Division II member and not eligible for GSC or NCAA postseason play until next fall – the Hawks certainly showed how far they've come as a DII program as evident by the way they handled the set of recent road challenges.
During the fortnight of their travels, which took them to Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, the Hawks emerged winning three of the contest, including back-to-back wins last weekend when they swept past GSC foes Delta State 3-1 and Christian Brothers 2-0. The wins give Shorter the No. 2 position in the GSC standings, trailing only national power West Florida.
"That was a tough stretch," said Neto. "Not only were they long trips, but we were playing against good teams that made it even harder.
"I'm glad we came out of it okay," he added. "The team played well."
With three matches left in the regular season (after facing UAH Friday Shorter will host Union on Sunday at 4 p.m. and cap the regular season slate Nov. 1 visiting Lee) the Hawks are morphing into what Neto was hoping to see – a squad that embraces the free-flowing, fast-paced Brazilian-style of play the coach adheres to.
"I always try to establish a strong defensive foundation," Neto said, "and then on the other side of the ball, play the style of game we want to play."
Three Hawks, all who have been recognized as NCCAA Student-Athletes of the Week for the play, have spearheaded what Shorter is doing on both ends of the field.
Anchoring the Hawks' defense, which allows just 1.5 goals a game, has been sophomore goalkeeper Nicolas Ferrigno who in his first season between the posts for Shorter has a sturdy 0.98 goals against average and has recording 47 saves and five shutouts.
Robert Ochieng, a junior from Macon, and Irvin Espinal, a former standout at Dalton High, head up the Hawks' offensive attack, one that averages nearly 2 goals an outing.
Ochieng scored three goals and contributed one assist in the two conference road victories last weekend to join Ferrigno and Espinal as NCCAA weekly picks, and leads the team with seven goals while Espinal has added five goals and five assists. Adding to Shorter's scoring threat is junior Diego Gonzalez, who has produced three goals and a team-high six assists.
"It's finally happening," Neto said about how the Hawks have come together to post their best season in three years, "not only for this season, but for next year as well."
After Shorter concludes the regular-season portion of its schedule, the Hawks will turn their attention to the NCCAA postseason that begins with the NCCAA South Regional on Nov. 20-23 and hosted by Emmanuel in Franklin Springs.
Success there will open the door to a national title that will be decided Dec. 2-7 at the NCCAA National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla.
