WCC men take aim at fourth straight soccer title

Considering this is WCC - with its brief, yet extremely successful history - that's saying quite a bit. It means the Orcas should start finding a place in the awards case for their fourth Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges North Region championship trophy in as many years of existence.

"I'm relatively confident that we're going to be contenders in the North," Turpen said in a phone interview. "I'd be surprised if we don't win. Yeah, we have a lot of new faces, but I think we're coming back with a deeper roster."

That depth certainly will be tested, as WCC returns only six players from last year's team and they'll need to make up for the loss of Abdulwali Ahman - the Orcas' leading scorer and the MVP of the North Region last year.

One of WCC's many new faces, center striker Mirza Memic, will likely be the player asked to step up and fill the scoring void left by Ahman's departure. Memic started his college career at Western Washington University, but red-shirted at WCC last fall, serving as a player-coach who did not play.

"He's very talented and real strong on the ball," Turpen said. "His soccer mind is one of the best I've ever coached ... He'll probably lead us in goals."

Memic, along with midfielder Kalen Hemlock and defenseman Jon Hopkins, should make the Orcas talented through the center of their lineup - and just like baseball, there is nowhere a team would rather be stronger than up the middle.

Hemlock, a former Ferndale Golden Eagle, actually played for WCC during the first year it had a men's soccer program in 2005. He red-shirted last year, and Turpen is expecting Hemlock's experience and ball-handling skills to be vital in the center of the Orcas' attack.

"He's a rock in the midfield," Turpen said. "Almost everything that we will do is going to go through him. He is going to be asked to hold down the middle and spread the ball around."

Hopkins will play equally as vital a role for the WCC defense.

"He will play behind everybody and anchor what I feel will be one of the best defenses in the league," Turpen said. "He's real strong in the air and doesn't give up too many opportunities."

Reducing opponents' scoring chances will be vital for Hopkins, center back Dustin Mathjan and the rest of the Orcas defense, as WCC will be breaking in a new goaltender this fall.

"Goal will definitely be tricky for us," Hopkins said. "We had six guys try out for the spot, and they're all new ... We'll probably carry three through the season. There's some young talent there, and we're just looking for that one guy who can step up and fill those hero shoes for us."

If one does, Turpen is confident the Orcas will be in the mix for a fourth straight NWAACC region title.

"I think we'll be more solid on defense than last year," Turpen said. "We can't allow a lot of shots, and we need to maintain possession. Losing Abdulwali is big, because he was our leading scorer and the North MVP. So the question will be whether we can score at the same rate we did last year.

"But this team has so much talent and so much depth. We are talented one through 20."

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.