2016 Quick Facts
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TAMPA, Fla. – The University of West Florida men's soccer team looks to start 2016 on the right foot as the team heads to Tampa, Florida for its season-opening contest against the University of Tampa. The contest, which was originally scheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET, will be played tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET.
 
2015 RUNDOWN: UWF heads into the 2016 season after reaching its eighth Gulf South Conference Tournament Final in the last 10 years and finishing the season with a 12-6 record… The Argos had three All-GSC selections; however do not return any of those award winners with Felipe Oliveira, Jorge Chirinos and Soren Yuhaschek all completing their senior seasons… UWF returns five of 11 starters with Marteinn Urbancic, Japhet Bitsindou, Chandler Castleman, Kameron Bethell and Shawn Sanon… West Florida saw itself ranked as nigh as No. 15 in the NSCAA poll in 2015. 
 
SEASON OPENER HISTORY: The Argonauts have an all-time 13-15-1 record in season-opening games; however have won back-to-back season openers with season-opening wins in 2014 and 2015 for the first time since 2009 and 2010.
 
RETURN OF PRODUCTION: Despite losing 17 players from the 2015 roster, the team returns 61% of goal scoring production from a year ago… Marteinn Urbancic is the leading returning point scorer, as the Iceland native finished second on last year's team with 16 points which was divided between six goals and four assists… The sophomore duo of Stephen Enderlin and Kameron Bethell look to be a focus for the Argonaut attack as well, having scored five and three goals, respectively, in their freshman campaigns in 2015. 
 
BACKLINE FOCUS: Last year's backline allowed just 1.22 goals per game, an average good for second best in the GSC… Japhet Bitsindou, one of the program's only two three-time GSC All-Tournament Team selection, looks to be the leader of the backline during his senior campaign.
 
GOALKEEPER TRIO: All three goalkeepers featured on the 2016 roster are fresh faces to the Argonauts, as freshmen Phil D'Amico and Andrew Cornett and Thomas University transfer Austin Zelnik all look to earn a spot in goal for UWF.
 
CRUISIN' AROUND: The squad had an once-in-a-lifetime experience during the 2016 preseason, cruising around the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas and making stops in Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico… The Argonauts played three exhibitions against international club teams, going 2-1 on the trip… UWF took the first two games in Jamaica and Grand Cayman, with scores of 2-0 and 1-0 respectively, before dropping a tough contest by a score of 2-0 in the cruise finale against Cozumel FC, a third division Mexican pro team.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The 2016 team features only three seniors and seven juniors, leaving the team with 19 underclassmen including 13 freshmen.
 
SECOND IS THE BEST: The Argonauts were selected by GSC head coaches to finish second in the league, only trailing two-time defending GSC Tournament Champion West Alabama… The Argonauts received two first place votes… Kameron Bethell, Japhet Bitsindou and Shawn Sanon were all named to the 2016 Preseason All-GSC team… UWF's three preseason selections tied West Alabama for the most among any team in the conference.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. TAMPA: UWF owns a 4-11-3 record all-time against a storied Tampa program… UWF took last year's opening night contest 2-1… Kameron Bethell scored his first career collegiate goal to tie the game at 1-1, and would later earn GSC Freshman of the Week honors for his efforts against the Spartans.   
 
SCOUTING TAMPA: Tampa finished the 2015 season with a 9-7 record and was eliminated by Rollins in the Sunshine State Conference semifinals after a 3-2 defeat… Tampa posted a 5-3 record in the SSC, and won all six of its home games in 2015… So far in 2016, UT has played a pair of NCAA Division I programs, including beating University of Central Florida (UCF) 2-1 on August 16… Tampa dropped a 3-2 decision in an exhibition against the University of South Florida (USF)… UT returns top goal scorer Monty Berrow (five goals, one assist).