2005 Season: 7-11 (5-7 NEMC)

Head Coach: Lee Mertz, 2nd year

Returning players: Jason Culey, sr.; Ryan Mahalak, sr.; Mike Mertz, sr.; Kevin Ostrander, sr.; Jon Hinojosa, jr.; Josh Hodges, jr.; Jon Jack, jr.; Mike Levielle, jr.; Tim Ruby, jr.; Ryan Clouse, so.; Ryan Burke, jr.; Shane Ruyts, jr.; Jeremy Colborn, jr.; Skyler Thurston, so.

Outlook: Coach Lee Mertz returns for his second year after helping the Owls improve to five NEMC wins after picking up just one win the previous season. More importantly, the Owls restored their reputation with a vastly improved team attitude that all but eliminated onfield extracurriculars that Mertz was determined to curtail.

With 14 returning players, the Owls hope to be able to improve even further.

"(Our) goals are to have fun, play with high intensity and avoid mistakes and turnovers," Mertz says. "(We want to) play with heart and desire."

The Owls lost a big scorer in Jeff Mertz to graduation, but Adam Dettmer and Tim Ruby should be reliable goal-scorers. Ryan Mahalak also reached the scoring column on several occasions in 2005, while Mike Levielle notched a hat trick against Whittemore-Prescott.

Only time will tell if the Owls' improvement will show up with an increased number of wins; most of the NEMC teams return a large number of athletes, so most teams should be improved. Mertz says the Owls' goals are less related to the number of wins than to how they play.

"We have a lot of returning players with great attitudes and soccer experience," Mertz says. "They need to share the ball and stay focused on doing the little things right, and the big things will take care of themselves."