Back Row (left to right): Head Coach Charlie Inverso, Asst. Coach Bill Coach, Jessie Andros, Walid Hassan, Umit Angis, Gerry Aparicio, Ran Sanikario, Ricardo Arenas, Faouzi Bendaoud, C.D. Harris, Ruben Mingo, Anthony Tuesta, Brian Robinson, Estaurdo Gorday, Dave McClaire, Assistant Coach John Pietrowski. Front Row (left to right): Asst .Coach Larry Povia, Bradford Lowyns, Leon Malca, Kinson Jean, Tebby Anderson, Leon Brown, David Tuesta, Jorge Tuesta, Oleksande Stakhiv, Paul Costa, Peter Ababia, Anthony Quarino, Asst. Coach Mike Quarino.

The Vikings Men's Soccer Team fell a goal short of the national championship, as they lost to Yavapai (Ariz.) 2 - 1 in the NJCAA title game on Sunday, Nov. 24 in Tyler, TX.  The two schools are familiar rivals, having met in four other national finals, with Mercer victorious in three of them.  The Vikings ended their exceptional year with an 18 – 2 record.

Head Coach Charlie Inverso, completing his 17th season with the Vikings, was looking for a few more scoring chances when time ran out.  He had changed the alignment at half-time, keeping Yavapai to just one shot the entire second half, which unfortunately for the Vikings found its way into the goal on a fluky bounce.  Mercer's lone goal was scored by Richie Arenas on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.  Freshman Faouzi Bendaoud defended in goal.

Mercer advanced to the finals by beating Barton (Kan.) Community College 4 - 0 in the quarterfinals on Nov. 21 and Schoolcraft College (Mich.) 1 - 0 in the semi-finals on Nov. 22. The Vikings earned their tournament berth by defeating Essex (NJ) 3 – 0 in the Region 19 championship on Nov. 9 and Essex (MD), the only team to beat Mercer during the regular season, 3 – 0 in the District Final on Nov. 14.

It was a year of showcase soccer at Mercer as the talent and chemistry of this team became evident from the season's opening whistle.  While the Vikings handed out many crushing defeats to lesser opponents, there were a number of close, satisfying games, including a 2 – 0 win over Bryant Stratton, last year's national champs.

Inverso considers this squad as good as any he has coached at Mercer.  What the team lacked in size, it made up for in pure athleticism. The team's depth was unusually good; six players tallied between eight and 12 goals on the year.  Three brothers – returning sophomore David Tuesta and freshmen Jorge and Anthony – were a family force to be reckoned with.  Ruben Mingo, Richie Arenas and C.D. Harris worked together skillfully up the line along with Leon Browne, Oleksandr Stakhiv, Leon Malca, Umit Angis, Kinson Jean and Walid Hassan.  Goalies Bradley Lowyns, Faouzi Bendaoud and Anthony Quarino allowed only 18 goals on the season.

Arenas and Harris were selected for the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) All-American Team. Stakhiv was named to the NJCAA All-Tournament Soccer Team.  Arenas, Harris, Mingo, and David and Jorge Tuesta were chosen for the All-Region 19 First Team and the GSAC All Conference Team/Division 1.

Coach Inverso recorded his 300th win with the team on Oct. 18, as the Vikings defeated Ocean Co. College 10 – 1.  Ironically Ocean Co.'s assistant coach was Jason Asch, one of Inverso's former players from the 1996 national championship team.  Inverso's record stands at 315-28-10.

Inverso was assisted this season by Larry Povia, Bill Daily and John Pietrowski.

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