Turn-Around Season Comes to Close in GCAA Semis

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. -- An incredible turn-around season by Andrew College men's soccer team came up a little bit short at the end, as the Fighting Tigers (10-8-0) lost to (RV) Georgia Military College, 2-0, in the National Junior College Athletic Association's Region 17 Semifinal match on Wednesday night.

In the second season under head coach Rudy Roediger, the Andrew men's soccer team made strides to return to one of the top programs in the Southeast District and proved it by earning the No. 16 national ranking in both the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Coaches Poll and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NJCAA Division I Poll.

"I am extremely proud of this group," said Roediger. Our newcomers played well beyond their years and our sophomores, brought a tremendous amount of determination and grit to everything we did. The work we did has the program heading in the right directions. The guys have shown to be a determined group and this season while it ended before we wanted it to, has truly began the building process for the long-term success of the program."

The Fighting Tigers posted a 10-8-0 record in 2015 after going 2-16-0 in 2014, good for a wins-loss improvement of +8. For Roediger who helped Bluefield College (Va.) to a +6.5 in 2012 and Montreat College (N.C.) in 2013 to +4, it marked the biggest single-season turnaround.

"Each season you see a big improvement in a team's record it is the product of lots of hard work and dedication from many people, and much of the credit goes to the players," said Roediger. "We have things to continue to develop and work on as we truly get the program back to where it should be to honor our great alumni and former teams who won 10 Region Championships in our 41-years of soccer."

The 10 wins in the regular season equaled the total wins of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 campaigns and two losses were by a single goal. Fifteen different players scored goals for the Fighting Tigers, 12 being newcomers. Freshman Connor Heydon (New South Wales, Australia) led the way with the most goals (14) and points (33) in Region 17 while Lewis Jones (Liverpool, England) provided a region best nine assists and fourth most points (19).

This season, the team came out hot, winning seven straight matches by a combined 27-5 margin and defeated two programs that came to Cuthbert receiving votes in the preseason NJCAA Coaches Poll in Patrick Henry CC (Va.) and Broward College (Fla.). The Fighting Tigers went undefeated in August with four wins against NJCAA Division I opponents from Florida, Mississippi and Virginia and finished September with a 9-3-0 overall record.

Throughout the season Andrew won six matches against NJCAA Division I opponents and broke a streak of 23 straight losses to such opponents that dated back to 2012 and lasted a combined 1,054 days when they knocked off Patrick Henry CC in the season opener.

The men's soccer program is very young with 23 freshmen and is currently in the middle of writing a new chapter in the story of Andrew College soccer under Roediger.

* - To determine games improved, add the difference in victories between the two seasons to the difference in losses, then divide by two; ties not counted. Includes postseason.