Cougars to make home soccer debut tonight

By Dan Stillwell
Register-Herald Sports Writer

A rivalry begins tonight.

Mountain State University’s men’s soccer team squares off with Bluefield College at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Paul Cline Stadium.

It will be the first of many expected meetings between the two NAIA schools, located about an hour from each other.

The match is also the home opener for MSU, which is fielding its first-ever squad. Admission is free.

Adding to the flavor of the match is that both MSU coach John Birkelbach and BC coach Steve Laraba are Beckley natives and former Woodrow Wilson High School players.

Furthermore, Birkelbach coached Bluefield to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship last season, then resigned to take over the Cougars’ fledgling program.

“I’m very excited. I won’t have to do a lot to get the guys pumped up,” MSU coach John Birkelbach said. “I look forward to seeing (Bluefield). There will be a lot of emotion from them and my team too.”

Laraba agrees.

“The game is important to us, and important to our returning players,” he said. “John was there before and they obviously want to play well.”

Although this will be the first meeting between the coaches, it’s the third time Laraba has brought an opposing team into his hometown.

He previously coached at Huntington and Huntington St. Joseph high schools.

“For me to come back and coach in front of family and friends is always a lot of fun,” he said.

Bluefield is 1-3-1 following a 1-1 tie at Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday. Ironically the Rams have a couple of 11-0 games under their belts — a win over WVU Tech Sept. 6 and a loss at Washington & Lee University Thursday.

Eight starters return from last season’s 10-7-1 squad, but the Rams have struggled at times, particularly on defense.

“Considering we lost two 13-goal scorers and me being a new coach, I’m happy with our progress,” he said. “But we’re still a very young team. We’re making silly tactical mistakes and getting in trouble defensively by not knowing exactly where are teammates are at certain times.”

Key players for the Rams include captain and central defender Trey Brown and center-midfielder Ido Barzilay, who Laraba called “the engine that makes our attack go.”

Another Woodrow Wilson graduate, Joe Shields, plays defender for the Rams. He raced up to score a goal in the 11-0 win over WVU Tech.

MSU (1-6), which did not play last week, will have a full complement of players available for the match. The Cougars had four players when they dropped a 2-1 decision to Guilford College in the Shellenberger Tournament at Lynchburg College Sept. 10.

Two players missed because of injuries while the other two had to sit out because of red cards in an 8-1 loss to Lynchburg College in the first game of the tournament.

The Cougars’ victory was 2-1 over the Bethany College reserves Aug. 27.

Birkelbach has made some lineup changes that are making a difference.

“We’ve moved Ali Katrib from midfield to sweeper and he gives us a more solid playmaker there,” he said. “Charlot Nacius has become a defensive midfielder and he had a very good game (against Guilford).”

Fans should see a fast-paced match.

“Both teams match up well,” Birkelbach said. “It should be a very entertaining game.”