Men's Soccer Signs Three New Players

Boosting the soccer buzz

Lions ink a spirited threesome

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  --  Second year head coach Aaron DeLoach has announced the commitment of three recruits who will play this fall for the men’s soccer team at Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

Competing as a Division I member in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), SAGU plays in the Red River Athletic Conference with 13 other colleges. As a young program, the Lions have been building towards stability.

Southwestern hopes to stage their first-ever winning campaign after a 6-12 season last fall. Coach DeLoach has expectations for a trio of players who have signed their national letter of intent to suit up in purple and gold in August.

David Reyes, Irving, TX

David Reyes (RAY-es), a Central Defender from Irving, Texas, will study sports management while helping bolster the defense. Reyes, which translates from Spanish to mean Kings, could greatly aid a unit that surrendered 33 goals in the final nine games of the season.

A product of MacArthur High School, Reyes has played for both the DFW Tornadoes and the Tejanos club teams. His is very acquainted with SAGU as one of his sisters graduated from Southwestern in December of 2009 and has another currently attending. His father is a pastor of a Hispanic church.

Parker Sturgeon, Bartlesville, OK

From northeast Oklahoma comes Parker Sturgeon. The Forward/Wide Midfielder for the Bartlesville High School “Bruins,” which is located 41 miles straight north of Tulsa. Sturgeon will be a World Missions student at SAGU.

An interesting side note about Sturgeon is that he has been a player in the Oklahoma Olympic Development Program.

Will Elliot, Mesquite, TX

The third of the threesome is also strongly motivated by his faith. Will Elliot, who calls Mesquite, Texas ‘home,’ plans to major in music ministry, much as he has already. Elliot is a worship leader who writes his own music.

He played Center Midfielder and Forward at Cathedral of Life Christian School in Balch Springs, Texas and for the club team, FC Dallas.

“I am very excited to have each of these young men joining our University and our soccer program,” DeLoach said. “They are a great fit here! Their hearts are open to whatever God would have for them, and all have the ability to come in as freshman and contribute in significant ways on the soccer field.”

Sizing-Up Recent Seasons

The past three seasons has seen the Lions soccer program make strides that many feel will continue to rise. In 2009 the team went 0-14 overall, including an 0-6 effort in the RRAC. They were shutout nine times while being outscored 38-5.

Then head coach Tim Grant led a rebounding performance in 2010 when SAGU posted a 5-10 ledger. The Lions upped their game on offense, but were still on the wrong side of a 21-44 differential in goals. After a promising 5-3 start the Purple Pride went 0-8 in the Red River, enduring six shutouts.

This past fall they increased several areas of their play, and again got off to a 5-3 beginning, outscoring their opponents by a 16-14 count. The addition of a very good LSU-Shreveport team made the conference much tougher, and the Lions struggled down the stretch. They were shutout eight times during the whole season, with five of the whitewashes coming during a 1-8 mark in league play.

SAGU did defeat the University of the Southwest, 2-1, at the end of the schedule to end a 28-game winless streak in the Red River, which is one of the nation’s toughest.  Their previous win came early in 2007 when they thumped Bacone College, 4-2, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The squad traveled to Oklahoma to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association’s Central Regional at the close of the season. Mid-America Christian University (Okla) routed the Lions by a 6-0 count.

While going 6-12, SAGU scored 23 goals and yielded 53. The team was young and had plenty of fight. They also had a short bench and a lack of speed, areas they have worked to shore up.

“The first season gave us a great idea what we’re up against, competition-wise,” DeLoach said. “It also provided a chance to see exactly what we need to improve. I like the players we have returning, and am confident we’ll add the type of young men we can build with.”

There is an air of anticipation among the returning hopefuls that Southwestern is primed for a successful season, perhaps surpassing .500 and qualifying for a berth in the RRAC tourney.

Six-Pack of Seasons

GF-GA  -  Goals For, Goals Against

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.