McKeesport, PA. – “UP to VB” are the words posted outside Penn State Greater Allegheny Head Men’s Soccer Coach Dale Odim’s office door. It refers to his and his team’s goal of winning the program’s first-ever Penn State University Athletic Conference Championship and then going on to Virginia Beach, VA. to compete for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship in 2019.
Odim has led the PSUGA soccer team to the PSUAC playoffs in each of his first two seasons at the helm, making the conference semi-finals each year. Overall, the soccer program has made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, making it to the conference championship once during that run.
Despite entering the season with a young team featuring just three returning players, Odim is optimistic that his team has what it takes to make his goal a reality. Leading the way are PSUGA’s three returning players senior Dario Marina (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS), junior Colin Bucsok (Pittsburgh, PA./Thomas Jefferson HS), and sophomore Namy Makiese (Pittsburgh, PA./Allderdice HS).
Bucsok and Marian anchor a PSUGA defense that looks to be leaders for the team this season. Bucsok returns as the starting goalkeeper and holds the program records for wins by a goalie (15) and shutouts (9). Last season, he went 6-5 in net with four shutouts over 13 games played while having 1.78 goals-against average. Along with Bucsok’s success in net, PSUGA has featured top-notch defenders led by Marina who will serve as the team’s Center Back during the 2019 season.
Makiese returns to the midfield for PSUGA, where he uses his speed to get the ball into PSUGA’s offensive zone. He is the top returning goal scorer for the team scoring two goals on eight shots for a .250 shooting percentage. Makiese worked to up his speed in the off-season and looks to use that to his advantage to help the team get into more goal-scoring opportunities.
With a young team, there will be several freshmen and first-year players that Odim will rely on this season. One of those returners looking to make an impact is freshman Derek Huang (Kaohsuing, Taiwan/Kaohsiung American School). During his senior season, he was the top scorer for the dragons and was named rookie of the year during his freshman season. He looks to bring that high goal-scoring ability to PSUGA to help them on their quest for a sixth straight playoff berth.
Standing in PSUGA’s way is a schedule that features some high-profile non-conference matches before they get into PSUAC play. They open the season on September 4th when they host Point Park and host Johnson & Wales (NC) just two days later. Their conference schedule opens September 13th when they host PSU-Hazleton at Breisinger Field in Pleasant Hills, Pa. at 12:45 p.m. They host conference rivals PSU-Beaver on October 1st and close out the season with a big match on senior day against PSU-Wilkes Barre at 4 p.m.
The PSUGA Soccer team kicks off their 2019 season schedule on Wednesday, September 4th when they take on Point Park at 4 p.m. The game will be played at the McClure Intermediate School located at 500 Longvue Dr. White Oak, PA. with gates opening at 3 p.m.
