Mountaineer Men kick into 2021 Season with High Expectations
By Paul Hall on Monday, August 23rd, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Information provided by EOU Athletics) Like most fall sports, Eastern Oregon University Men’s Soccer has a quick turnaround from the 2020 season into 2021. Just over four months have passed since the Mountaineers last stepped on the pitch, but they are ready for a full slate of action regardless. Read below to learn all about the 2021 EOU Men’s Soccer squad.
2021 Season Outlook
• Eastern will have a combination of youth and experience coming into 2021 as they have 34 players on this year’s roster and 17 of them are newcomers as true freshmen or transfers. The other 17 are letterwinners from 2020 and they bring quality experience to the table.
• Back for year No. 2 as head coach is Jessy Watson, but he is no stranger to EOU and the La Grande area. He and the Mountaineers will look to continue building the program to better heights after navigating a challenging 2020 season that was difficult for all sports due to COVID-19.
• The 2021 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Poll has the Mountaineers picked to finish eighth in what is expected to be a full season of competition amongst all 14 teams. EOU racked up 107 points in the poll to rank in the top-10.
• With over a baker’s dozen new athletes in the mix with returners back who saw quality action in 2020, Coach Watson and the Mountaineers have the chance to fly under the radar and make a potential splash in 2021.
2020 Season Review
• EOU played in a modified 2020 season that was ultimately pushed back to the spring and limited the team to primarily conference games. The CCC was split into two divisions with EOU going into the East Division.
• The Mountaineers posted a 4-7-0 overall record and were 3-5-0 in CCC East Division play. At home inside Community Stadium, Eastern went 4-4-0. The Mountaineers conference record had them finish fourth overall in the East Division.
• For Coach Watson, he picked up his first career win as the men’s head coach on Feb. 28 against Northwest University in a non-conference bout. The Mountaineers posted a 2-0 shutout in the win over the Eagles.
• Three Mountaineers earned All-CCC honors in Patrick Larsen, Dillon Van Rensburg, and Rudy Salinas-Solorio. Both Larsen and Van Rensburg were named to the Second Team. while Salinas-Solorio was named Honorable Mention.
2021 Schedule
• This year the Mountaineers will play a full schedule with 13 conference games and four non-conference bouts. Eastern will play a pair of California schools in early September in The Master’s and Hope International. In late August, EOU will play a pair of NCAA Division III opponents in Whitman College and Whitworth University.
• The Mountaineers first official home game will be Aug. 28 when they take the Whitworth Pirates. Fans can also catch the Mountaineer men in action on Aug. 23 when they host Blue Mountain Community College in a scrimmage inside Community Stadium.
• CCC play begins in mid-September for EOU and the first set of games will take place on the road. EOU will travel to Portland to play against Warner Pacific on Sept. 17, followed by a match against Multnomah on Sept. 18.
•The first home CCC match for EOU will be on Sept. 24 against Bushnell. In all, the Mountaineers will play seven games inside Community Stadium this season, with six of them being conference matchups.
