GREEN BAY, Wis. – A new era of Green Bay men's soccer commences tomorrow night under the lights in Chicago when the Phoenix takes on Northwestern.
Here are four things to know about the 2024 campaign:
1. There's a new Sheriff in town.
John O'Reilly was officially named the 12
th Head Coach of the Green Bay men's soccer program on February 2, 2024. He succeeds Jeremy Bonomo, who returned to his home roots on the East Coast by becoming the Head Coach at Northeastern. O'Reilly is no stranger to Green Bay soccer, having spent the previous nine seasons in Titletown under Bonomo. O'Reilly helped guide the Phoenix to a regular season championship in 2015 before the team reached the top of the mountain last year as Horizon League Tournament Champions.
Â
MORE: Horizon League Reveals Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
Â
2. Green Bay is still a veteran-led team.
The Phoenix lost several important players from last year's championship squad, including
Tobias Jahn,
Hesron Barry,
Keegan Walker, and
Jake Parish. Despite that, Green Bay still maintains a team of mostly upperclassmen. GB has 17 student-athletes at Junior or Senior status, compared to 14 combined players of sophomore or freshman status. The Phoenix added 10 newcomers in the offseason, including eight players from Wisconsin (five of which from Northeast Wisconsin). Freshmen
Gavin Urben and
James Dorchester are Green Bay natives.
3. The offense should be efficient again.
Despite losing some pieces on the defense, GB has several key returnees on offense, including
Chris Album. No. 9 paced the squad in goals (9), points (20), and shots on goal (18) last year. Against Southern Indiana last September, Album racked up three goals, becoming the first player since Audi Jepson in 2014 to record a hat trick. Chris was also recently named a Player to Watch in 2024 by the United Soccer Coaches Association.
Andrew Paolucci (5 goals, 2
nd on the team last year) and junior
Tommy Coughlin represent other important returners.
GB's offense cranked it up a notch down the stretch last season, scoring at least two goals six times in a seven-game stretch, including five in a row from October 21-November 9.
4. Road tests will make the Green and White better down the line.
Green Bay's schedule presents no easy task. Five of the last eight games this season will be on the road, which includes rematches against Western Michigan (last year's NCAA Tournament) and Oakland (last year's Horizon League Championship game). Just as the offense heated up down the stretch in 2023, so did Green Bay's overall play on the road. After posting a draw in four of its first five away contests last year, Green Bay beat Northern Kentucky, IUPUI (now IU Indy), and Milwaukee on the road before downing IUPUI and Oakland in the HL tournament. The Phoenix also have tough road matches early on in the season, including tomorrow night's opener at Northwestern, a battle against Northern Illinois on Sept. 1, and Bradley on Sept. 9.
Highlights of the 2024 offseason:
December 6, 2023: Hesron Barry,
Keegan Walker, and
Chris Album are tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches Association (USCA) All-Region Team.
December 8, 2023: Hesron Barry collects All-American Third Team from the USCA
December 19, 2023: CoSIDA names
Hesron Barry to its Academic All-America Team.
February 1, 2024: The New England Revolution announces the signing of
Hesron Barry.
February 2, 2024: Jeremy Bonomo is named the Head Coach at Northeastern;
John O'Reilly is named the 12th Head Coach in program history.
May 31, 2024: The 2024 schedule is unveiled.
June 20, 2024: Kyle Ihn is announced as an Assistant Coach.
July 18, 2024: Head Coach
John O'Reilly announces the addition of 10 newcomers to the 2024 roster, including nine true freshmen and one transfer.
August 16, 2024: Chris Album is named as a Player to Watch by the USCA.
###
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics, please visitÂ
GreenBayPhoenix.com.
To receive Green Bay Men's Soccer news via email, please fill outÂ
this form.
Follow us on social media:Â Â
Twitter,Â
Instagram, andÂ
like us on Facebook.
---GreenBayPhoenix.com---
