Schedule  |  Roster  |  2021 Statistics
 
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team was selected to finish fourth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division in 2022, the league office announced Wednesday with the unveiling of the preseason coaches' poll.
 
The Rock returns a notable 16 players from its 2021 roster including eight athletes that appeared in at least 10 games and four making at least 10 starts. In all, SRU lost six starters from a year ago and 55 percent of its goal scorers. Slippery Rock will also be tasked with replacing all five of its All-PSAC West honorees from a season ago.
 
No. 18 Gannon received three first-place votes to finish in a tie atop the poll with reigning divisional champion Mercyhurst, which also received three first-place votes. Seton Hill landed third with Slippery Rock taking the number four spot while California (Pa.) and Pitt-Johnstown rounded out the Western Division.
 
Defending PSAC Tournament champions No. 6 Millersville was selected to win the Eastern Division after receiving five first-place votes while West Chester was tabbed second with the remaining two first-place votes. Lock Haven was slotted third followed by East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg, Shippensburg and Shepherd.
 
The top three teams in each division at the end of the regular season will qualify for the PSAC Tournament. League standings are decided by point total with a win equaling three points and a tie earning each team one point.
 
NO OT IN 2022
The NCAA announced over the summer that there will be no overtime periods played during the regular season. Overtime will only be played in the postseason and will be two complete 10-minute periods before advancing to penalty kicks. There will be no sudden victory.
 
JUST THE FACTS
2021 Record: 6-10-2
Returning Starters from 2021: 4
Total Returners from 2021: 16
Returning Leading Goal Scorers: Arturo Pla Hernandis (4) / Ramses Minaya (4)
Returning Leader in Saves: Hossam Aly (54)
 
THE COACHING STAFF
Rock soccer alum, Kevin Wilhelm returns for his fourth year as head coach at SRU. Wilhelm will look to continue to project the program into a positive direction after having led the 2019 squad to its first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2015.
 
Accompanying Wilhelm on the sidelines this year will be graduate assistant JT Tobierre and student assistant Dan Schearer.
 
Tobierre comes to The Rock following a five-year collegiate playing career at the University of South Carolina Aiken. Tobierre will assist Wilhelm in all facets of the program while pursuing a Master's degree in Business Administration.
 
No stranger to the program, Schearer was a key contributor to the Rock's 2018-21 men's soccer rosters as a defender as he was a two-time All-PSAC West selection.
 
SENIOR CLASS
The largest of the groups is the eight men that compile the senior class including Hossam Aly, Harry Griffin, Samuel Hillman, Derek Hoffman, Nathan Kortyna, Ramses Minaya, Alex Plimmer and Deon Waldmeier.
 
Aly and Hoffman both served as trusted goalkeepers for SRU in 2021. Aly, The Rock's returning leader in goal, started 13 of his 14 games played with a 1.52 goals against average, 54 saves and a .720 save percentage. Hoffman followed making six appearances to go along with a 1.67 GAA, 17 saves and a .680 save percentage.
 
Helping to power the SRU offense a season ago was Minaya, who tied for third on the team with 10 points on four goals and two assists, and Plimmer, who had four points on two goals. Both Minaya and Plimmer saw time in all 18 games.
 
The only two seniors to have started at least 15 contests in 2021 were Hillman and Griffin with 18 and 15 starts respectively. Griffin ended the season with two points on one goal in addition to placing 13 of his 19 total shots on target while Hillman tallied one point on an assist.
 
Waldmeier made 10 appearances while Kortyna saw time in two matches. Both athletes were members of The Rock's backline.
 
JUNIOR CLASS
The junior class is made up of just three athletes in Topher Garcia, Patrick Phillips and Duncan McCoy.
 
Garcia saw time in seven contests a year ago while Phillips made one appearance. Both will look to compete for extended roles in the upcoming season.
 
McCoy made his debut during the 2021 season as goalkeeper in one contest in which he made two saves and allowed no goals.

SOPHOMORE CLASS
The Rock features a seven-member sophomore class including Will Harrigan, Arturo Pla Hernandis, Luke Gildea, Joe Skillicorn, Rafal Wlodarczyk, Adam Davies and Shaun Spencer.
 
Highlighting the sophomore squad is Pla Hernandis who finished the 2021 season tied for third on the roster in points with 10 on four goals and two assists in 17 starts.
 
Additional point scorers from the sophomore class were Skillicorn with four assists over 14 games and Gildea who scored his first collegiate goal in eight appearances before suffering a season-ending injury.
 
Harrigan saw time in nine contests, making two starts, while Wlodarczyk looks to make his official collegiate debut during the 2022 season.
 
Slippery Rock welcomes two transfer students to this year's roster in Spencer and Davies. Spencer spent one year at Louisiana State University of Alexandria where he scored one goal over 16 games and 11 starts. Davies, a goalkeeper, joins The Rock after spending one season on the Rutgers University roster.
 
FRESHMEN CLASS
The six athletes that make up the incoming freshmen class are Rocco Birns (Allentown, Pennsylvania), Ryan John (Norwich, England), Luke Kolankowski (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Max Murphy (Erie, Pennsylvania), Jack Smith (Breinigsville, Pennsylvania) and Noel Williamson (Brampton, Ontario).
 
THE 2022 SCHEDULE
Slippery Rock's 2022 schedule features seven non-conference matchups against Walsh (Aug. 25-A), Findlay (Aug. 27-H), Shippensburg (Aug. 31-A), Shepherd (Sept. 3-H), District of Columbia (Sept. 10-H), Roberts Wesleyan (Oct. 4-H) and Daeman (Oct. 22-A).
 
The remaining 10-game portion of the schedule features conference contests against Pitt-Johnstown (Sept. 17-H / Oct. 15-A), California (Pa.) (Sept. 21-A / Oct. 19-H), Gannon (Sept. 24-H / Oct. 12-A), Mercyhurst (Sept. 30-A / Oct. 29-H), and Seton Hill (Oct. 8-H / Oct. 26-A).
 
The PSAC Tournament is scheduled to start Nov. 1 followed by the semifinals on Nov. 4 and championship game Nov. 6.
 
A comprehensive breakdown of Slippery Rock's 2022 schedule, roster and coaching staff can be found by following the corresponding links at the top of the page.
 
2022 PSAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
 
WEST
T1) Gannon (3)
T1) Mercyhurst (3)
3) Seton Hill
4) THE ROCK
5) California (Pa.)
6) Pitt-Johnstown
 
EAST
1) Millersville (5)
2) West Chester (2)
3) Lock Haven
4) East Stroudsburg
5) Bloomsburg
6) Shippensburg
7) Shepherd
 
 
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