Men's Soccer

2007 Howard Men's Soccer Season Outlook
by Elliott Jones

The 2006 season saw the end of an era for the Men's Soccer team, as the team's strongest link to its glorious past finished  his Howard career.  Head Coach Keith Tucker was let go following a 3-13-1 record after his 26th season in charge of the team.  Tucker was a member of the Bison soccer teams that won NCAA championships in 1971 and 1974.  Additionally, Tucker coached Howard to the 1988 NCAA title match, falling narrowly short to a third national championship.

However, without a winning season in over a decade, Tucker saw his tenure draw to a close, opening the door for the beginning of a new chapter of Bison soccer under the leadership of new head coach Joseph Okoh.

Okoh comes to Howard from Shepherd University, a Division II school in West Virginia.  Boasting a

38-13-9 record at Shepherd, Okoh won more games as head coach than anyone else in the program's history.

Now in his first season at Howard, he will look to bring his winning pedigree to a program searching to reconnect with its glorious past.

"It is our mission to resume this program to where it was back in its glory days," Okoh said.  "I'm very excited about what we are doing and where we're going to be.  Our plan is to do things the right way, bring in student-athletes with exceptional talent both academically and athletically."

In the 2007 season, the Bison look to employ a variety of formations, each one depending on who their opponent is and which personnel the team wants to feature.  Okoh will look to incorporate the Dutch philosophy of "Total Football" to the Bison's on-the-field strategy, typically a system in which every player is active in all facets of the game, whether it is full-backs joining the offensive attack or wide midfielders tracking back to help defend.  In other words, much of the Bison's focus will be geared around its players' versatility.

"The athletes we have are very skilled, they have great technical ability.  We will make sure that the talent we bring can thrive in multiple situations and bring an intercontinental approach to the game."

The team's major loss was first team all-ASC midfielder Jason Gross, who graduated after a four-year career at Howard.  However, the team returns last season's ASC rookie of the year Joel Senior, who ranked second on the team in points with six (two goals, two assists) in 16 starts.  On defense, senior Haribo Kamara-Taylor will anchor the Bison back line.  Also returning to the team is senior forward Michael Okoh, the son of the new coach.  Although he is looking forward to the opportunity to work with his son, Okoh remains focused on turning the Bison's fortunes around in 2007.

"I won't approach it differently than any other situation," Okoh said.  "I guess you could say they are all my sons."

With his son, Michael, as well as the addition of Shepherd transfer junior attacking midfielder Guilherme Fonseca, Howard will look to improve its scoring record, coming off a season in which opponents out-scored the Bison by a margin of nearly 3:1.

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