A new era begins for the Johnson County men's soccer program this year as Jeff Cole takes over the program, replacing Fatai Ayoade, who had served the previous 20 season as the Cavaliers leader. This season will also mark the opening of the new JCCC Soccer Complex that features a new state-of-the-art Sportsturf brand "Gamechanger" playing surface.
Cole comes to JCCC after a seven-year stint with the women's soccer program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In December of 2019, Cole was appointed the interim head coach of the Roos women's program, after head coach Chris Cissell departed the program.
"I am extremely excited about this incredible opportunity," Cole said. "I am grateful to the Director of Athletic Randy Stange, administrative assistant Betsy Timm and head women's soccer coach Jim Schwab for trusting me with the leadership of the Johnson County men's soccer program. I am honored to have the chance to build upon the great tradition already established at the opportunity to make JCCC a national power."
"I know the potential of the team and with the support of the passionate and loyal fans to fill the brand new soccer complex, I believe we can turn it into a power within the NJCAA. I am excited to be part of an incredible athletics environment, and work with Randy and Betsy who I cannot thank enough for the confidence they have in me and the opportunity to become a Cavalier."
Prior to his appointment as interim coach, Cole served as associate head coach at UMKC from 2015-19, and assistant coach from 2013-15. During his time with UMKC, Cole was honored as the WAC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 while helping the program to a winning mark in six of his seven seasons. In 2014, the Roos finished as co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference, the first title in team history. In 2017, UMKC captured the WAC championship, the program's first outright title, and a year later repeated as conference champions while recording a program record 16 wins. Overall, UMKC finished 88-46-15 (.639) overall, and were 44-12-7 (.754) in WAC play. The program reached the semifinals of the WAC Tournament every season, with four runner-up finishes.
Cole inherits a program that finished 12-6-3 and were runners-up at the Central Plains Tournament in 2019. When the Cavaliers open the season, it will be a year and five months from their last match against Cowley on Nov. 7.
Cole has six veteran players on the roster, three from last season, one from 2018, one from 2017 and one from 2015 with Allen Community College. He brings in 17 newcomers, so the competition for playing time but for a starting role is wide open.
"I have no idea what to expect," Cole said. "I just want them to go out and compete every single game to the best of their ability and we will see what happen after that. I just want to progress and develop from game-to-game through the season and being playing our best soccer toward the end as postseason nears."
Cole said expects his team will play with passion and effort, but will be a strong technical team as well. "We will try to keep possession of the ball as much a possible and then capitalize on our scoring chances."
Of his veteran players, center back Kyle Reese is the headliner and top leader of the team. Selected as team captain, Reese reads the game very well, has great positioning and communicates with well with his teammates. Last season he started 11 games and earned second-team All-East Kansas Jayhawk Conference. He helped the defense post a 1.14 goals against average, fifth-best in the league, with seven shutouts. He also scored a goal and has five assists.
Another key veteran is midfielder Eduardo Goulart. Cole describes him as a talented athlete who has the versatility to play midfielder or forward, and could see action in both spots this year. He played for JCCC during the 2018 campaign and finished second on the team in assists with six, and was fourth in points with 12.
Troy Henry is the sophomore transfer from Allen Community College. He is a very shifty and creative attacking player who will create many scoring opportunities for himself and teammates. In 2015 playing for coach Doug Desmarteau at Allen, Henry started 17 matches, and finished the season with 12 points off five goals and two assists. One of his goals that season was in a 4-2 loss to the Cavaliers.
Cole also has high expectations for several of his newcomers, among them are defender Grant Allen, midfielder Paul Choi, forward Bryan Coss, forward Ashton Owen and goalkeeper Brandon McGaugh.
Allen is a left-footed center back who is strong in the air and is composed on the ball. He was a three-year starter at Platte County High School and earned honorable mention Missouri 3A All-State as a senior while helping his team to the state championship game.
Choi, who is a legacy to the program, is a technical center midfielder who can generate offense and be a threat every time he touches the ball. A two-year starter at Lansing High School, Choi also played club soccer for KC Rush and for KC Fusion, which was coached by JCCC assistant Jimmy Perez.
Coss, a center midfielder out of Des Moines, Iowa, possesses great vision and is dangerous on the dribble. He can control the midfield by scoring goals or by creating chances for his teammates. He started his junior year at Lincoln High but his senior year was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His freshman and sophomore years he started at Dowling Catholic.
Owen is an attacking player who can play inside or out wide. He has good height at 6-3 and is deceptively fast. Owen is a good finisher and has a nose for scoring goals. He was a three-year starter at Free State in Lawrence, an helped the Firebirds win a regional title in 2020. He tallied 53 points over his three varsity seasons with 18 goals and 17 assists.
McGaugh is a big goalkeeper at 6-4, and has huge potential. He makes great decisions and is confident in his abilities. He also has great ball distribution skills and good footwork. McGaugh played locally at Shawnee Mission East and finished 14-0-4 as a senior while posting a goals against average of 0.39. He helped the Lancers reach the Kansas 6A State semifinals. He finished his career with a record of 40-1-8.
Cole expects the battle for the conference title will be tough, with defending region champion Cowley and Barton as the front runners, and Neosho County is an up-coming-program as well.
Johnson County opens the season at home on April 5 against Coffeyville, and will be immediately tested in their second match when then travel to Arkansas City to take on the Cowley Tigers. This year's season slate is only 12 matches, 10 in conference and two non-conference matches against Crowder and Central (Neb.) both at home.