Milicevic embraces competition, Thresher men picked eighth in KCAC preseason soccer polls
The squad welcomes 22 new faces and several key returners.
Last Thursday, the KCAC held its annual virtual men’s soccer media day ahead of the upcoming season. It featured all 14 soccer teams and their respective coaches spoke and answered questions about the looming fall campaign.
The KCAC commissioner, Dr. Scott Crawford, who will be in his last year as commissioner, talked about the gratitude he has had for building the KCAC into a stronger conference. And unlike football, which has been split into two divisions for scheduling, both men’s and women’s soccer will remain in the same full-league format.
The Bethel men finished last season with a record of 6-10-2 and failed to qualify for postseason play. This year, they were selected to finish eighth in both the preseason media poll and coaches’ poll.
Second-year head coach, Luka Milicevic, got to provide updates about his squad. Although in 2022 he coached both men and women, this year he will only be on the touchline for the men.
“We are having 20 returners,” Milicevic said. “We will be returning the whole back line plus a goalie.” Some of the key returners that Milicevic mentioned were Sean Holness at goalkeeper, George Thompson at right-back, Adalsteinn “AK” Kristinsson at center-back, Juan Volker at center-back, and Vicente Trejo at left-back.
Milicevic didn’t hesitate to share that the program welcomed 22 incoming players — and that some of these newcomers will have competitive minutes throughout the season. “This a message to my returners that their spots are not guaranteed,” he said.
Milicevic also mentioned that the team took a jump forward a season ago and believes that they can keep moving forward and become more confident and competitive within the conference table.
The Threshers will open their non-conference slate on Aug. 22 against University of Science and Arts Oklahoma in Chickasha, Okla. They will open the conference season on Sep. 16 at Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville, Okla.