Published: July 24, 2008 11:21 pm         

Birkelbach anticipates big season for Cougars

John Birkelbach is counting the days... the hours... the minutes until Aug. 7.

That’s the day practice officially starts for his Mountain State University men’s soccer team.

“I’m real excited about what’s coming up,” said Birkelbach, who led MSU to a 9-6-2 record last season in the Cougars’ second year of soccer. “We’re itching to get out there and start training.”

And no wonder. MSU returns 15 players from last year’s roster, including NAIA honorable mention All-American Ali Katrib, and Birkelbach is expecting a banner season.

A Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship is the primary goal.

“We’re looking to win the championship, hands down,” Birkelbach said. “We will be better than we were last year. We keep on improving and we have goals.”

That the Cougars didn’t reach one of their goals last season — 10 victories — still rankles the young coach, who captured the 2005 United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship at Bluefield College.

“We came up one short,” Birkelbach said. “We had two ties that could have gone either way.

“We’ve got a good core group of junior and sophomore coming back,” Birkelbach said. “You can’t put a price tag on experience. They know each other and they know who we’re playing.”

Katrib, a junior forward-midfielder from South Charleston, scored six goals last season and led the KIAC with 10 assists.

Beckley sophomore midfielder Alex Cottle scored nine goals, also tops in the conference, while Del Ray, Fla., junior strike Charlot Nacius found the back of the net eight times.

Other top returnees include a pair of Bolivian midfielders, Michel Hiza and Mauricio Pena, German midfielder Max Bendig and another Beckley player, defender Chaz Turner.

Goalkeeper Adam Thompson, a two-year starter, left school. Phillip Owens, a transfer from West Virginia University, should step right in.

“I recruited Phillip and he played two seasons at Bluefield College,” Birkelbach said. “His experience will help between the posts.”

Other newcomers include freshman strikers Hasan Katrib and J.R. Brewer, redshirt midfielder Djemson Lormistois and transfer Freson Jean.

“I’m still recruiting,” Birkelbach said. “I’ve got two or three more. Whether they’ll say yes or no, we’ll see.”

Mountain State will scrimmage the University of Charleston Aug. 21 and Roanoke College Aug. 23.

The Cougars’ season opener is Aug. 29 at Hampton-Sydney College (Va.). They’ll play Lynchburg College the following day.

Tennessee Wesleyan College visits for a 4 p.m. game Sept. 6 as part of a doubleheader with Woodrow Wilson High School.

Two other home games immediately follow: Salem International Sept. 7 and Bluefield College Sept. 11.

“Our schedule is beefed up from last season,” Birkelbach said. “It will pay off for us in the end.”