Shreveport – Championship program. Those two words are without question what every team playing collegiate sports at any level wants to be able to call itself.
A championship program is what first-year head coach Kevin White inherits this season, following the Gents' improbable and thrilling run through the 2020-21 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament this past April on their home field. Centenary capped off a memorable season by claiming the tournament title at Mayo Field after besting St. Thomas in a penalty kick shootout.
The Gents will face the Hendrix College Warriors on Friday, Sept. 3 in Conway, Ark. in their season opener as part of the 2021 Hendrix Invitational. The Maroon and White will also meet Rhodes College on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m.
The Gents, fueled by a supportive home crowd over three days, knocked off No. 3 seed Colorado College 2-1 in the quarterfinals and then played No. 2 Southwestern to a scoreless draw after two overtimes and then advanced, 5-3 on penalty kicks to clinch their first title game appearance in program history. Centenary became the first No. 6 seed in SCAC Championship history to make the final and first to win it. The Gents finished 4-1-3 at home this past season and are 11-4-3 in their last 18 home matches at Mayo Field entering the 2021 campaign.
White comes to Centenary from the University of Texas at Dallas, a fellow division III member, where he spent the last eight years as the men's assistant coach and becomes the seventh Gents head coach in program history. In his time at UT Dallas, White helped lead the Comets to four American Southwest Conference regular season championships, three ASC tournament titles, and four NCAA tournament appearances. UT Dallas was 100-29-12 and 56-8-12 in conference play in that span.
"This season is going to be a very enjoyable challenge," said White. The squad is full of confidence coming off a conference championship and we want to carry that confidence and momentum on this fall. The format of the conference tournament changing presents a challenge but we absolutely want to compete for one of those four spots."
The Gents (4-5-3, 3-4-0 SCAC last season) were picked to finish sixth in the SCAC preseason poll last month and received one first-place vote. Centenary returns a wealth of talent, headlined by senior GK Sami Borchalli (Lafayette, La.), junior MF Jaron Petreas (Denton, Texas), and senior D Diego Hernandez (Carrollton, Texas). Junior MF Jarden Harmon (Houston, Texas), junior D Xavier-Noyola-Ramirez (College Station, Texas) along with a pair of juniors in D Quentin Helm (Denton, Texas) and D/MF David Barbera (Gonzales, La.), are all back in addition to a pair of steady seniors, D Cole Mrozek (Flower Mound, Texas) and MF Cole Schultz (Denham Springs, La.).
Freshman MF Brennan Amato (Denham Springs, La.) is one rookie that White expects to make an immediate impact. Amato was a three-time first-team all-state selection at Denham Springs High School. He is one of 10 freshmen on the roster.
"I think Brennan is one who will look to make an impact in his first year," said White. He is technically very strong and has a good sense of the game. From the returners, we will definitely rely on Sami and Jaron to play big roles week in and week out both as impact players and leaders of the team."
Borchalli enters his senior season as one of the top goalkeepers in the SCAC and is arguably the top Centenary GK in the division II era (2011-present) of the program as he is ranked second/tied for second in goals against average, saves, and shutouts. He was named SCAC Championship Defensive MVP this past spring after finishing the tournament with 17 saves and allowing just one goal in a staggering 310 total minutes played and posted consecutive shutouts. He was also named to the SCAC Championship All-Tournament Team and finished first in the conference in shutouts, second in saves and save percentage, fourth in GAA, and fifth in saves per game.
Petreas blossomed into one of the top offensive players in the conference last season as he finished tied for sixth in the SCAC with three goals and tied for 11th with seven total point. He scored the game-winning penalty kick in the SCAC Championship game and earned Second Team All-SCAC honors along with being named to the All-Tournament team. He was also named the 2020-21 SCAC Men's Soccer Elite 19 award winner as he holds a cumulative GPA of 4.00 in Economics.
Hernandez had a superb sophomore season for the Gents as he earned Honorable Mention All-SCAC recognition as a lockdown defender all season as the leader of Centenary's formidable back line. The physical and steady defender started 11 matches and scored his first-career goal on April 10 at home versus Schreiner, a game-winner.
"The conference schedule in the SCAC is always challenging but we have a four-game stretch at home in mid-October that will be very important for us," said White. We start that run against a good St. Thomas team who we met in the championship game last year and end it with Colorado College, another strong tournament opponent from last year."
Centenary will face University of the Ozarks in its home opener on Friday, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. as that kicks off a four-game homestand followed by matches against Huntingdon College (Sept. 12 at Noon), and a pair of non-conference matches versus Belhaven (Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.) and UT Dallas (Sept. 19 at 5 p.m.) as part of a mini weekend tournament featuring American Southwest Conference teams against SCAC teams at Mayo Field. Schreiner University will join the Gents, Belhaven, and UT Dallas for a three-day tournament featuring both men's and women's matches.
The Gents will close the month of September and begin the month of October on the road as they face Texas Lutheran in Seguin, Texas on Friday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and then square off against Southwestern on Sunday, Sept. 26 in Georgetown, Texas at 2:30 p.m. Centenary then begins conference play with a pair of weekend road matches at Trinity (Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.) and at Schreiner (Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.).
The Maroon and White return home to face St. Thomas on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of the epic SCAC Championship final from this past April. Following a quick break from conference play to face LeTourneau on the road (Sunday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.), the Gents are back on their home turf for a trio of SCAC matches versus Southwestern (Oct. 15 at 5 p.m.), Texas Lutheran (Sunday, Oct. 17 at Noon), and then wrap up versus Colorado College (Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.) on Senior Night.
Centenary finishes the regular season on the road as the Gents play the ETBU Tigers in a non-conference match on Monday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and then meet Austin College (Friday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m.) and Dallas (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m.) to close the regular schedule. The 2021 SCAC Men's Soccer Championship will be held Nov. 5-7 in Seguin, Texas and hosted by TLU.
See the complete Gents' schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/msoc/2021-22/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests but be advised of current COVID-19 protocols for fans. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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