Back in Goal: The Crusaders return their duo of goalkeepers who combined to play every minute of every match a season ago.  Tom Serratore earned 14 starts, while Nico Campbell made the other four starts in his rookie season.  The combo of Serratore and Campbell surrendered just 22 goals in Valpo’s 18 matches last year.

Other Returning Starters: In all, Valpo brings back seven of its 11 most frequent starters from the 2013 season.  In front of goal, three back line defenders are back in 2014 – senior Mitch Albrecht and sophomores Adrian Graham and Omar Lawrence.  In front of them, senior Zev Taublieb returns for his final season after a successful summer with the Seattle Sounders u23.  Taublieb is joined by two more senior starters as you move up the pitch in Eric Nieto and Nick Suker.

Looking for Goal Scorers: The Crusaders will be looking to maintain their strong defensive performance in 2014, a trait which has become a tradition in the Valpo men’s soccer program, while also aiming at an increase in their goal output.  Valpo returns just one multiple goal scorer (Suker – 4) from the 2013 campaign, while six players in all who tallied goals last season are back.

Plenty of New Faces: A roster sheet might be necessary with all the new faces on the Crusader sideline this fall.  11 newcomers to the Valpo men’s soccer program are on the roster for the 2014 season, 10 of which are in their first year of collegiate soccer.

Flying Many Flags: This year’s Valparaiso men’s soccer team represents many different countries.  Beyond the borders of the United States, the Crusaders boast players hailing from five other nations for a total of 10 international players.  Leading the way is the contingent from Jamaica, as Valpo counts six Jamaicans on its roster for the 2014 campaign.

#oneVALPO: Throughout this season, the Crusader men’s soccer program will be promoting its #oneVALPO campaign, a campaign to fight racism, via social and digital media and at its games.  The first two videos are available at http://youtu.be/Mpv9DL1mLlg and http://youtu.be/9E5NO1YchEg.