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Penguins’ Shrum up for challenging job
By Greg Gulas
BEAVER TOWNSHIP
The Youngstown State soccer team is still searching for its first winning season in 22 years as an intercollegiate program.
That didn’t seem to be a concern for first-year head coach Brian Shrum, who has embraced the challenge since his hiring last December.
Speaking to the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly gathering at Avion Banquet Center, Shrum said his priority is to recruit local players while building his program from the ground up.
“We’re a young team so we are starting from the bottom up,” he said. “This job intrigued me for a variety of reasons, mostly because of its excellent accommodations, facilities, many top-notch academic programs and an honors college which has grown and continues to grow.
“YSU has had a stigma attached to it that anyone gets accepted, but such is not the case anymore. We’ve changed that,” he said. “Plus, President Tressel has been a phenomenal resource, not just for my team but all athletic teams and our many other campus programs.”
When Shrum assumed the reins, he inherited one recruit and 13 healthy players with two others having been lost to season-ending injuries.
He was able to attract 14 players after six months on the recruiting trail, 12 of which are true freshmen with the other two sophomore transfers.
Transfers include Kate McEachern of Troy, Michigan, who started at Pitt and Samantha Susi of Coral Springs, Florida, who transferred from Wagner College.
Four seniors and three juniors dot Shrum’s first Penguin roster with 12 freshmen and 10 sophomores rounding out the squad.
“We already had recruiting done through the 2020 season at my former school and there are several ways to go about that,” Shrum said. “You can go looking for that diamond in the rough or go the international route and we opted not to go the international route. We aren’t rebuilding, we’re building so we want players who want to be the foundation that never was.
“We want them to look back and say that they were a part of the transformation.”
Shrum’s roster includes four local players, all of whom are freshmen including center-forward Lauren Dolak, wide midfielder Brittany McFall and center-midfielder Jordan Evans of Austintown Fitch and midfielder Sara Ciletti of Howland.
“Lauren has never played center-forward. She is learning and doing an excellent job,” he said. “She was already committed before I took over and she will also run track for head coach Brian Gorby. I saw Jordan over the summer, she liked us and wanted to come here and play while Brittany has adapted well and also wanted to be a part of this program.
Co-captains include center-defender Maddie Hughes, a senior from Howell, Michigan and Lexi Neal, a sophomore center-defender from Chagrin Falls.
“Maddie understands the game and how we are trying to play,” he noted. She’s a four-year letterwinner, a durable player and an all-around positive influence who should graduate with the record for most career starts,” he said. “Lexi has strength, is good on the ball and makes excellent decisions. She’s a strong defender.”
Shrum is currently pursuing his PhD in Human and Sports Performance from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah.
After starting the season 1-3-3, the Penguins (1-8-2) will look to end their eight-game winless streak and seven-game scoreless ledger tomorrow when they play host to Cleveland State at 7 p.m. at Farmers National Bank Field.
Next Monday, Jim Colaluca, local Challenger Baseball president and his wife, Samantha, will serve as guest speakers.