Five Things To Know As The Hall Kicks off 2018

Friday, August 24

West Point, N.Y.

7:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Army West Point

8/22/2018 9:56:00 AM | Men's Soccer

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WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Seton Hall men's soccer team kicks off the 2018 campaign on Friday night at Army West Point (7:30 p.m. on WatchStadium) with a new head coach, a new identity and plenty of new faces. Here are five things to know before the season begins:

1 - Andreas Lindberg is a WINNER
Entering his first season on the Pirate bench, Andreas Lindberg will look to bring the winning ways he has developed throughout his 12 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Lindberg spent the last nine seasons at LIU Post, where he developed the Pioneers into one of the preeminent programs in all of Division II. Lindberg guided LIU Post to eight East Coach Conference titles, seven NCAA Tournaments and four NCAA East Region championships. The Pioneers finished in the Top-15 of the United Soccer Coaches Division II poll in each of Lindberg's last seven seasons in Greenvale.

"I like to play attack-minded soccer that's attractive to watch. Realistically, we also want to be solid and organized, tactically strong. I like to play good and attractive soccer, but I like to win more," Lindberg said in his introductory remarks at The Hall.

Lindberg has assembled a quality staff that includes former St. John's assistant Jeff Matteo and former LIU Post assistants Victor Muntean, Dusan Erceg and Tom Bowen to assist in his first season in South Orange. Overall, Lindberg holds a 169-44-22 record (.766 winning percentage) as a college head coach spanning nine years at Post and three at Southampton.

2 – The Pirates will have an international flair in 2018
Seton Hall's roster truly spans the globe this season, with Pirates from 11 countries across three continents and nine different stats in the United States. The Hall features players from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, England, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the United States. Lindberg, a native of Sweden himself, has had tremendous success with international talent throughout his coaching career.

3 – The Hall brings some scoring punch back
Despite a large graduating class from 2017, The Hall returns players that accounted for 10 goals and 10 assists in last season's campaign. Marco Neves is the top returning scorer after potting four goals and adding two assists for a 10-point season a year ago. Neves will look to thrive in his senior season, and scored twice in The Hall's 2-0 exhibition victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Aug. 15. Gabriel Viola and Spencer Burkhardt also return after both scoring multiple goals last season, while Nick Najera is back to help anchor the back four after starting 14 matches and posting a goal and two assists in 2017.

4 – The newcomers can play
The Pirates brought in a large class of 20 newcomers for the 2018 campaign, with eight transfers and 12 freshmen. Among the transfers are players who were highly decorated at their previous stops, including 2016 ECC Defensive Player of the Year David Arvidsson from LIU Post and JUCO National champion Carlton McKenzie from Tyler JC. Fellow transfers Nico Andersen, Love Fredriksson, Tomas Greco and Andreas Nota all earned All-Conference or All-Region honors at their previous schools. Incoming freshman CJ Tibbling from Sweden scored twice in The Hall's three-game unbeaten exhibition slate.

5 – The Hall will be road-tested
The Pirates open the season with three-straight matches on the road, part of a stretch that includes eight of 10 contests away from home to start the season. The road tests will pay dividends down the stretch, as The Hall closes the season with four of its final six contests at the friendly confines at Owen T. Carroll Field.