2008 Men's Soccer Preview

Published: April 13, 2021

GREENVILLE, Ill. - The 2008 edition of the Greenville College men's soccer team has returned to campus to continue the tradition of strong Panther soccer. Eight starters return from the 2007 team, while 14 first-year players are a welcome addition to the squad. Last season, the Panthers qualified for the NCCAA National Tournament held in Kissimmee, Florida and finished sixth in the nation which was a school record. Greenville also recorded 89 goals over the course of the season which was good for first in the NCCAA along with being a school record. Among Greenville's losses from the 2007 squad are SLIAC all-conference performers Frankie Ellis (Cape Girardeau, Mo., Notre Dame HS) and Justin Buller (McPherson, Kan., HS) along with defender Cody Parker (Edwardsville, Ill., HS). Over Parker's four-year career with the Panthers he established a school record of 93 games played.Greenville returns three SLIAC all-conference performers, including six players who contributed to their summer Professional Developmental League (PDL) teams. Senior midfield captain Brian Limbaugh (Sedalia, Mo., Smith-Cotton) received first team all-SLIAC status along with being named an NCCAA All-American last season. Returning junior captain forward Matt Reeb (Belleville, Ill., Metro East. Lutheran) returns to the team this season after recording 14 goals and also being named SLIAC Newcomer of the Year award last season after transferring from Fontbonne University. Senior defender Peter Claassen (McPherson, Kan., HS) also rounds out the returning all-conference performers. In the defense along with Claassen, the Panthers welcome back sophomore Terrance Cosby (Jefferson City, Mo., HS) after sitting out last season with a foot injury. Newcomer Stephen Beam (St. Louis, Mo., DeSmet) and sophomore returning starter Chris Allen (Decatur, Ill., Eisenhower) will help to anchor a defense that has been in the top five in goals against average each of the past five years. The 2004 version of the Panthers led the nation in goals against average (0.62) and posted 11 shutouts on the season. In one stretch, they held their opponents scoreless in six straight games. In the goal, junior returning starter Joel Robinson (Decatur, Ill., HS), Will Lange (St. Louis, Mo., Vianney HS) and transfers Jon Day (Edwardsville, Ill., HS / Ole Miss) and Nathan Haas (Belleville, Ill., Missouri Baptist) will help to solidify the nets. In the attack for the Panthers are sophomore twin brothers Jake and Joe Madden (St. Louis, Mo., Vianney HS), senior Alan Ramirez (San Christobal, Guatemala), and juniors Tom Reinken (Morton, Ill., HS) and Justin Herfst (Campbellville, Ontario). All have valuable experience coming into the season which will be relied upon. Greenville brings in a solid recruiting class of 14 new players from across the country that complements the squad's previous classes of talented newcomers. Freshmen forwards Jeff Arsenault (Crestwood, Ky., HS), Daniel Taylor (St. Louis, Mo., Crosspoint) and David Dunlop (Colerain, N. Ireland) will provide immediate contribution while defenders Stephen Beam (St. Louis, Mo., DeSmet) and Dan Ringkamp (St. Louis, Mo., Vianney) will solidify the nets. Kyle Albenesis (San Bernardino, Calif., HS) and Andy Gibb Clark (Moline, Ill, East) also help to round out a very talented class for the Panthers. Also for the third year to the Greenville program is the reserve team. With 40 players trying out for the team this year, Greenville has the luxury of playing a complete 10-game reserve team schedule. Coaching the reserve team this year will be Greenville alum Tommy Simpson. During Tommy's career at Greenville as a player, he was the leading point getter all four years while receiving all-conference and All-American honors. Brian McMahon is in his eighth year as head men's soccer coach and seventh year as head women's soccer coach at Greenville College. Now in his 16th year of coaching soccer, McMahon has coached in the club, high school, and collegiate settings.In McMahon's tenure as coach at Greenville he has recorded 125 wins in eight seasons. In addition, under McMahon's direction he has coached eight NCCAA All-Americans, 49 SLIAC All-Conference performers, seven NCAA All-Region, two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and six Professional Development Players. In 2004 senior Seth Huber (Coffeen, Ill., HS) was named the Kyle Rote Jr. Award winner which is given to the outstanding player of the year in the NCCAA. As a player, McMahon competed at Indiana Wesleyan University where he received NCCAA regional and national honors. During his four years at IWU, he competed in the NAIA regional final four two times while also qualifying twice for the NCCAA National Tournament. He also was given the opportunity to compete in England, Ireland, and North Ireland with Athletes in Action following his career. McMahon graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1998 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology. Following graduation, McMahon earned his certified chemical dependency counselor (CCDC) license while counseling juvenile delinquents in a treatment facility. In 2002, he completed a master's degree in sports psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.In addition to his coaching responsibilities, McMahon is the SLIAC men's soccer chair and serves on the NCAA and NSCAA central region ranking committees.McMahon currently resides in Greenville, Ill., with his wife Jen who also works at the college as an admissions counselor. They currently have one daughter, MacKenzie (2/9/07), and are expecting twins this season with a due date of October 11. Taking into account the return of eight starters from the 2007 squad and the addition of eight quality incoming players the Panthers should again be contenders for the SLIAC conference championship.