Hounds ready for season

Sports editor

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PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico University men’s soccer team is ready for its upcoming season, using their new place in the Heartland Conference and a revamped roster under second-year coach Paul Tate as a recipe for winning.

Finishing their 2015 season with a 6-8-2 record, the Greyhounds could have perhaps had a different outcome, losing seven games by one or two goals. Tate has seemingly done well in recruiting and getting a deeper unit on the field, which his players also notice.

One of the Greyhounds’ key players, senior Ryan McManus, said, “Second year under coach Tate, so things should be getting underway now. Last year was a bit of a transition, just getting used to things. … I think we are fitter this year and have a little more depth.”

The team’s stint as an independent ends heading into this season, with the Hounds joining the Heartland. With the conference comes the chance at a conference championship, something the team is focusing in on as a goal.

“Having something to aim at, that’s something we can build on as a team,” McManus said. “If we do happen to lose one, two games, it’s not the end of the world. We can just keep going.”

Tate is also looking forward to the year, hoping that with the Hounds’ first year in a new conference comes focus and something to shoot for.

“I think it’s huge being able to fight for a conference tournament,” he said. “The top six teams get to go and I think it’s going to be really big for us to compete all the way through the season.”

Robert Raspudic, the Hounds’ 6-foot-4 center defender and anchor, thinks the team is looking good and is focused, especially on the conference.

“I mean, our main goal is to win the conference and make it to the tournament,” he said. “I think we have a pretty solid squad. Coach did a good job recruiting, and I am just looking forward to the start of the season.”

The team lost its leading scorer to graduation in senior Roberto Zatarain, who led the Hounds with nine goals. Both McManus and Raspudic are looking to step up and fill that void for the Hounds.

“I’m focusing in on trying to score more goals,” McManus said. “We lost Roberto and he was our top scorer. Someone has to carry the mantle for him. Hopefully, we can share the goals around the team a bit more, but we’re certainly looking to score some more goals and keep going.”

The Hounds are also looking to build on more of the “team” aspect of their game. Looking sharp in Saturday’s first scrimmage, they moved the ball well, especially in the first half with their starting unit playing.

“I think really, our goal was to get 300 passes and we did that with 305 passes,” Tate said. “We really worked hard with that. Our focus is just working hard for each other, getting back to (being) a team and a unit.”