Soon after taking the reins of the St. Louis Community College men’s soccer program last fall, Tim Mosby acknowledged he had some work to do. Quite a bit of it.
Playing at Pete Sorber field on STLCC’s Florissant Valley campus, the history-laden men’s soccer program at STLCC had struggled in recent years, a rut that was pockmarked by coaching changes and consecutive losing records.
Mosby quickly took to growing the program’s recruiting capacity, and after his team showed occasional promise while posting a 7-12-2 record in 2014, he has only enhanced his talent pool further in Year 2, all the way across ‘The Pond.’
The Archers’ international recruiting efforts have seen them add six England natives to their roster this fall, in addition to adding a Brazilian native in freshman defender Calebe Moraes. The English Six—forward Adam DuTuit, midfielders Dillon Smith, Charlie Maddison and Pelius Britto, Jr., and defenders Casey Bartlett-Scott and Alfie Fletcher—were brought in with an eye on shifting the balance of power within the conference and region.
“In order to compete in this region, we were going to need some international flair, and that’s what these guys bring,” Mosby said. “The English game is fast, it’s physical, and we know that’s who we’re going to need to be to compete. We have some good contacts over there, and we hope this can be a consistent thing (with recruiting).
The Archers have just five sophomores on their roster, all holdovers from last season. However, what STLCC lacks in experience, Mosby hopes to overcome with talent, of which he has plenty at his disposal.
The fast-paced style of play was something Mosby hoped to develop since the conclusion of last season, when the Archers were held to just 1.6 goals per game and were shut out six times.
“These guys really bring a lot of offensive ability to us, and that’s something we needed. We created some opportunities last year defensively, but never seemed to be able to supply the goals when we needed them.”
The Archers opened their regular season Saturday against Missouri Baptist University’s junior varsity. They will receive plenty of sturdy challenges early in the year, beginning with Jefferson College on Thursday, August 27. Jefferson, a perennial power who figures to find itself in national rankings throughout the year, defeated the Archers 3-0 in the only meeting between the two teams a year ago. The Archers will play host in their first four games, before traveling to Greenville College on September 3.