Andy Wagstaff is used to being in charge. The new Saginaw Valley head men’s soccer coach won high school state championships, youth national championships and owned and operated a premier soccer facilitys that under his guidance has grown from about 45 youth soccer players to between six and seven hundred. He has built a strong resume of control, organization and leadership. What Wagstaff has not yet had the opportunity to accomplish is the task he will look to accomplish in his first season at Saginaw Valley: fulfilling the expectations that come with being in charge of the 18th ranked team in the country.
When former SVSU men’s soccer coach Cale Wasserman moved on to become the assistant coach of the Michigan State soccer team, the athletic department at SVSU had to replace a man who had led his team to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) championships, NCAA tournament berths, and even a National Championship game appearance in 2012.
What SVSU got in Wagstaff is a man who has not only played professional soccer but has a plethora of coaching experience, and coaching accomplishments.
“I’ve had the luxury of being in charge and the luxury of making decisions that on a daily basis are very impactful,” Wagstaff said. “From those years of being ‘the boss’, I guess I have the experience, and it’s helped me transition into the new role quite comfortably.”
Wagstaff, 42, first moved to the U.S. from England in 1991 to pursue a soccer scholarship at Oakland University. He then played professionally in Detroit while also spending time coaching at both the youth and high school levels. He spent time as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan before spending the last three seasons as the assistant at his alma mater. He has a team with many players returning from last year’s squad that reached the third round of the NCAA playoffs, along with a large recruiting class.
“It’s a different level of pressure,” Wagstaff said. “You’ve got players who have been used to working with a coach who’s different and who’s been successful.
“I don’t want to go and change too much because you’ve got to respect what’s been done, but you’ve also got to start to put your own twist on proceedings so eventually the program becomes your own.”
The 2015 team will be without its leading goal scorer from last year, Craig Neal, but it does return both junior Jordan Kalk and senior Tyler Channell, who scored seven and six goals last season, respectively. Senior Vaughn Frederick (three goals last season) will also be looked upon to be a strong attacking player. Sophomore Aleksander Isaevski will be key in organizing the Cardinals backline, while junior TJ (Tyler) Stephens, senior Troy Watson and sophomore Michael Winters will be heading up the midfield play, helping with both defending and attacking. The team also has last season’s goalie, sophomore Alexandre Bouillennec, returning. However, Wagstaff stressed that both goal scoring and overall play will always be a team effort.
“By committee, we will score plenty of goals, but it’s not just the goal scorers,” Wagstaff said. “Through the backline, we needed to add some pace, and we’ve done that.”
Following two preseason scrimmages, the team begins regular season play on Sept. 4,against Lewis.
The team begins GLIAC play on Friday, Sept. 11, against Northwood, which also appears in the preseason rankings at number 25, and has conference championship aspirations of their own.
Wagstaff said that his team has many goals this year, but each part of the season affects something later in the year, such as postseason play.
“It’s one step at a time,” Wagstaff said. “The in-region, out-of-conference games help us qualify for the NCAA playoffs, so that’s our first challenge.
“After that we start into the GLIAC league, so that’s going to be an absolute goal for us,” he said. “Then after the league is the conference playoffs. Doing the double is what my ambition is, win the league and win the cup.”
Following regular season and GLIAC tournament play, the Cardinals can again qualify for the NCAA tournament, where Wagstaff says anything can happen.
“[In the NCAA playoffs] there’s always that team that evolves and is just never going to get beaten, and that’s where I feel this squad will have to aim for,” he said.
With a team that has made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament in two of the past three seasons, has a national ranking and GLIAC championship expectations, Wagstaff won’t have any time to get his feet wet before coaching on a big stage, but he’s used to this. Wagstaff has been performing on the big stage his entire life, and succeeding. The men’s soccer program at SVSU gives Wagstaff yet another an opportunity to succeed.
