OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 30, 2017) – After fielding a starting lineup heavy on seniors but thin on healthy depth last season, Oklahoma Christian men's soccer coach David Scott spent the offseason trying to change his program's outlook for the 2017 campaign.

Scott brought in nine newcomers, including a handful of junior-college transfers, helping to balance the class ratio in his program. He welcomed back a group of players who redshirted last season, which hurt the Eagles in the short run but could pay dividends going forward. And it certainly didn't hurt that two of his program's key players both seem fully healthy after battling injuries during 2016.

"It's really kind of a new team," Scott said. "We wanted to have a culture change. The previous class came in at a tough time, with the Division II transition and coming in and being expected to play right away. They took some knocks and the last four years were tough.

"But now, we brought in the big class last year, with the idea of getting them some experience before they had to play, and then with this class, we tried to bring in a mixture of transfers and junior-college transfers, so we wouldn't be caught with a really young team again. We felt like this was a fresh slate and an opportunity to change our mentality. Hopefully we've been able to do that with the mix of guys we brought in."

Others in the Heartland Conference might not expect much of the Eagles – OC's squad was picked last in the 13-team league in a preseason poll – but for Scott and his team, that's just a little bit of extra motivational fuel as they prepare for the season, which will start Thursday night with a game at archrival Southern Nazarene.

"That ranking is based on the past," Scott said. "That team is gone. For us, it's almost a positive in that nobody expects anything from us. I feel like we're going to be much improved and if teams come out expecting the same team of a year ago, then we can sneak up on some teams."

A high priority for Scott was to search for a replacement for Evan Helker, a four-year starter at goalkeeper for OC who kept the Eagles in many a game with acrobatic saves. Scott thinks he found one in juco All-American Gianluca Marchetti, who led his juco team to the NJCAA semifinals. Marchetti, a native of Chile, is technically sound and puts himself in correct positions to make saves, Scott said.

Junior Gary Goldsboro Jr. also is a proven option in goal, having seen action in relief of Helker the past two seasons, and junior Lowell Castolenia also provides quality depth at the position.

OC's defensive back line should be bolstered considerably with the return of junior Clay Collier, who missed all but two games last season due to injury. Collier's presence at center back makes the Eagles' defense more solid and organized and he's capable of turning the field with an occasional offensive charge.

Senior Tyler Buchanan started every game last season and also showed himself as a difference-maker. Speedy senior Nijee Cooper and sturdy sophomore Jackson Bojanowski also have considerable playing experience on the back line, as do sophomore Matthew Tedford and senior Braydan Castrop, who has proven valuable to the Eagles in several different roles.

Among the newcomers, freshman Luke Humphrey was one of Oklahoma's highly rated prep players at Deer Creek High School and should see playing time, while Alex Faught and Gary Stice all are coming off redshirt seasons. A senior, Ignacio Barboza, will redshirt this season.

There is the potential for a heavy international influence in the OC midfield, with no fewer than six midfielders hailing from outside the U.S. All but two of them are new to the OC squad, including Jaiden van der Heijden (New Zealand), Sebastian Capkovic (Slovakia), Matheus Mantovani (Brazil), Vanja Hodovic (Serbia), Garrett Blume (Brazil) and Anthony Wittenberg (Australia).

Mantovani is a juco transfer from Eastern Oklahoma State (setting that program's assist record), Hodovic is a juco transfer from Sheridan (Wyo.), where he was an All-Region selection, and van der Heijden transferred from Bethany (Kan.), where he started 11 games as a freshman.

Wittenberg redshirted last season and Blume appeared in only one game, while the creative Capkovic will be a true freshman. All of the international players could play a critical role for the Eagles this season.

OC also has several returning players with considerable midfield experience, such as senior Cody McLemore, junior Stephen Tower and sophomores Chandler Parrish and Jeremy Martinez. True freshmen Seth Vaz and Cole Helterbrand and redshirt freshman Landon Pope also should contribute, giving Scott plenty of options to move the ball up the field.

The NCAA granted Anthony Buchanan an extra season of eligibility and the senior forward hopes to take full advantage of it. He's proven to be a consistent scorer when healthy and Scott said he's looked sharp during the preseason.

But Anthony Buchanan won't be OC's only option up front. Another international player, Vinicius Alvez of Brazil, also is a strong striker, and Parrish and Helterbrand also could have turns up top for the Eagles, who figure to significantly improve their offensive output from 2016, when they scored 17 goals in 18 games.

"We wanted to improve the spine of our team," Scott said. "We wanted to be able to control games and not spend as much time defending. I think we did that.

"A year ago, we really didn't have the ability to make changes in the lineup to change a game. This year, I think we have that. We can give teams a different look than what we started the game off with. We can use that to our advantage and cause some problems for some teams."