Grieshaber Leads Marquette's Strong Senior Corps into Suburban West

For most players, playing time on the varsity level is a direct correlation of experience. Sophomores get their feet wet from the bench, as juniors learn the speed of the next level. Seniors – the best ones – put the team on their backs, taking the sum of a career and wielding knowledge of the system.

Seniors graduate, freshmen enter. And so the story goes. But not for Marquette.

 “It’s weird: We have ten seniors, and then eight or so sophomores – but only three juniors,” said the Mustangs’ coach Chris Kenny, who enters his third year. “We really just evaluate it player by player, we don’t really look at what class they’re in. It’s based on performance in games, and performance in practices, all those things. There’s just not a whole lot of emphasis on year of school, but more or less on ability level.”

Varsity experience or not, Keith Grieshaber didn’t leave Kenny much choice. As a freshman last season, Greishaber introduced himself to the Mustangs – and the Suburban West – with a conference-leading 53 points. He ranked first in goals (22), six of them game-winners, and even showed up fourth in assists (9) en route to an All-Metro selection.

Needing no acclamation for the speed of varsity soccer, Greishaber as a sophomore – already with eight goals in two Marquette wins this season – is now wielding the system. And with the experience of ten seniors behind him, the Mustangs are starting to see the pieces fall into place.

Up top with Greishaber, senior Jordan Singer returns healthy after battling injury in 2010 and still contributing six goals and six assists. The front line has also been padded with the additions of transfer seniors Kevin Leeker and Geoff Silver. In two games, Silver has two assists and a goal, while Leeker has a pair of scores.

With the offense in high gear, the Mustangs have stacked their backfield with a host of defensive-minded seniors. Chad Prsha returns after a quality 2010 as a wing mid/back, working again with Ryan Marks from the center. Senior Tyler Ochs will look to step up with ample playing time on the back line in his final season, and midfielder Will Valentine will again be the Mustangs’ transition and assist threat. Keeper Mark Goldstein earns his spot in front of the net in his third varsity season.

“It’s hard to tell this early, every team is still trying to figure itself out a bit,” Kenny said. “It’s hard to really make an evaluation on two games, but we’re optimistic. We think we have a pretty solid team, though we’re still trying to find the right combinations defensively. Overall, so far, we’re pleased.”

Marquette, 2-0 for the 2011 season, plays again against Howell North (2-0) on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at home, and then travels to Jefferson City for a showcase tournament the following weekend.