Photo by: Michael Furman
Through 10 games in the 2010 season sophomore Alex Tarnoczi has already notched six points (1G, 4A) for the Pioneers men’s soccer team. He is looking to follow up a breakout freshman season that saw him notch 17 points (7G and 3A), including an electric overtime winning goal in his third ever college game. He was also named MPSF newcomer of the year. However, for Tarnoczi, it isn’t about statistics.
“This year I am not going to worry about stats as much as I did last year,” said Tarnoczi. “I just want us to do well as a team and I think through us being successful as a team I will be successful as a player and the stats will come.”
The team will rely on a big season from Tarnoczi if they hope to build on some success from last year and to achieve the goal of winning the MPSF championship. With his first season behind him, Tarnoczi says he is a lot more mature as a sophomore.
“I think I’ve grown a lot, matured a lot. That has a lot to do with my coaches as well they have looked after me, and pushed me through tough days,” Tarnoczi said. “My teammates, as well, have really helped me grow as a player and person.”
As a native of Colorado, Tarnoczi been a member of the Colorado soccer scene since he began playing and when choosing where to play college soccer it was unlikely he would leave his roots.
“My favorite part of playing at Denver is my parents being able to see me play. They’re from here, so it is not hard for them to get out,” comments Tarnoczi, “I like to play in front of people I know, they continue to get to see me grow up.”
Led by Tarnoczi and senior midfielder Jared Stigall, the Pioneers have had an up and down season to start, including a win against No. 20 Georgetown and ties against No. 16 Portland and No. 14 California. However, despite these successes, their record through 10 games is a mere 3-4-3.
Still, it appears the Pioneers will enter MPSF play as one of the favorites to triumph in the conference. In addition, with the university building and dedicating the new CIBER Stadium in the spring, the program seems to be devoted to becoming one of the strongest in the nation.
“It shows what we are trying to do and where we’re trying to go as a program,” Tarnoczi said. “They built us this beautiful new stadium so they obviously have the same high hopes we have. We want to do well for the students and faculty and this stadium shows we are taking the right step to becoming a successful and hopefully championship program.”
With a young leader like Tarnoczi, a brand new stadium, and an up-and-coming program, it seems that it is only a matter of time until the team breaks onto the national stage in a big way.
