Coull to Compete for UW-Whitewater Men's Soccer in 2016

2016 Aug 31

Tom Coull, a native of Leeds, England, and graduate of St. John Fisher High School, will play for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's soccer team during the 2016 season.

Coull, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in chemistry.

The Warhawks open the season this Friday against Minnesota Morris at 7 p.m. at Fiskum Field.

See below for a complete season preview of the 2016 Warhawk men's soccer team.

The 2016 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's soccer team will begin its quest for its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance when they open the season this Friday against the University of Minnesota Morris at home at 7 p.m.

The 19th-ranked Warhawks finished 14-4-2 in 2015, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. Fifth-year Head Coach Tony Guinn has guided his team to three straight seasons of 14 wins.

Guinn will look to his five seniors and several other returning players for another successful campaign.

Senior midfielder Jordan Kayser (Elkhorn, Wis./Elkhorn) returns to the field for his senior season after starting 19 of the team's 20 games last season. Kayser scored six goals, including three game-winners, and tallied one assist for a total of 13 points, second most on the team in 2015.

Fellow seniors Owen Thompson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls), Chris Roche (Manchester, England/Sale) and Justin Stanko (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) will anchor a Warhawk defense that held their opponents to an average of less than one goal per game last season. Roche has played in 27 games in his Warhawks career, starting in nine. Thompson, who started 18 of 19 games last year, has played in 43 games as a Warhawk.

Stanko, the program's first ever All-American, has started the past two seasons after transferring from Loyola-Chicago. Stanko garnered Third Team D3soccer.com and Third Team National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America accolades last year while leading the team in minutes played and scoring five goals, including three game winners.

Also returning for his senior season is forward Michael Salm (Grafton, Wis./Grafton), who missed 2015 due to injury after starting regularly as a sophomore and junior. He has five career goals to his credit to go along with five assists.

Junior forward Dylan Hottsmith (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) will join Salm on the attack after leading the team in goals (7) and assists (7) last season.

Two other notable returners are juniors Kevin Winter (Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine) and Chris Lucatorto (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East). Winter, who started 19 games last season, will join Roche, Thompson and Stanko on defense. They will likely be helping out Lucatorto, who is slated to take over as the Warhawks' primary goalkeeper. Lucatorto played in five matches behind Alex Buchman (Waterford, Wis./Waterford) a year ago.

There are six 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifiers on this year's schedule including Macalester, Westminster (Mo.), Carthage, Loras, St. Olaf and Washington-St. Louis. Loras, currently ranked second in the country, finished as national runner-up last year after losing to the Warhawks during the regular season 2-1. The Duhawks come to Fiskum Field on September 28 for a rematch.

Since UW-Whitewater does not belong to a conference, most of their opponents are from surrounding states likes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. The Warhawks will face in-state rivals Carthage, Wisconsin Lutheran, St. Norbert, Marian and UW-Platteville. The match against UW-P is the annual Shaymus Guinn Cup and will take place on October 16 at 1 p.m. in Whitewater.

With 12 new faces on this year's roster, Head Coach Tony Guinn is challenged with mixing a strong core of talented returners with some bright young players. With two games this weekend, Guinn will get an early preview of his team, which seeks another NCAA Tournament run.