News - Sports - College

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

Winthrop's Alksnis glad to be on winning soccer team

The men's soccer program at Winthrop has a long history of winning.

The Eagles are headed to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years. They play at 7 p.m. on Friday in Williamsburg, Va., against William and Mary.

In 2006, the Eagles played at Old Dominion in the NCAA tournament. The teams battled to a scoreless tie before ODU won on penalty kicks.

That same year, Winthrop's Cameron Alksnis, a junior defender, was playing for the University of Maine Black Bears in Orono, Maine. The team opened the season with a 2-0 loss at Massachusetts and went on to lose many more.

After a 4-1 loss at Boston College, the Black Bears lost their home opener to Northeastern. The game-winner was scored in the 86th minute.

Maine was 0-3. Alksnis said the team kept hoping for wins and believed they would win.

By the time Alksnis' team opened up America East Conference play, they were 0-8. Binghamton came to Orono and beat Maine 2-1 in a steady rain.

Maine was 0-9, and the team was beginning to lose hope.

The team fell to 0-12 after a 1-0 loss at N.C. State. The Wolfpack scored on a first-half penalty kick. Maine played well but was unable to find the back of the net.

Maine lost to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and Albany. Both matches were 2-1 setbacks. Maine went to overtime at Vermont before losing 3-2.

Now 0-15. The team stopped believing.

A 3-0 loss to Stony Brook and a 5-0 drubbing at home to Boston University ended the season.

What can you take from a 0-17 season?

"I learned a lot from it. I don't want to take wins for granted," Alksnis said.

Learning is one thing. Enjoying the game of soccer and being in a winning environment is another.

Maine coach Travers Evans resigned at the end of the season, ending an 11-year run at the school with a 22-80-13 record. He refused to grant releases for the many players who wished to transfer out.

His replacement, Pat Laughlin, was hired in late January of 2007 and agreed to meet with each player individually to discuss releases. Laughlin, a graduate of the University of Maine, was a four-year letterman for the Black Bears. He spent the previous season as assistant coach at the University of Rhode Island.

Within two days, many of players asked for their release. Alksnis got his. He knew he wanted out midway through the season and had already targeted a couple of schools where he wanted to play.

"North Carolina State showed interest. Virginia Tech was a possibility, but Winthrop was my first choice," Alksnis said.

Winthrop coach Rich Posipanko said he couldn't imagine going through a winless season.

"I guess some programs go through that kind of season every once in a while. I wouldn't want to do it," Posipanko said.

The coach credited Alksnis for helping the Eagles reach the Big South Conference tournament finals with a win over Liberty.

"Cameron was the man of the match today," Posipanko said after Winthrop beat the Flames 5-4 on penalty kicks Nov. 14 in Conway. "It was his best and most intense performance I have seen in his two years at Winthrop."

So here it is, two years removed from an 0-17 season at Maine. Had Alksnis stayed with the Black Bears, he might have helped them do better than 3-13-1 in 2007 and 4-10-2 this season.

But the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder from Toronto came to Winthrop. Eagles forward Daniel Revivo was a factor in Alksnis' choice to come south.

The two played on the same club as 12-year-olds in Canada, then played on competing clubs through their teenage years.

"I knew Revivo was here, and I knew Magnus (Leung) from home," Alksnis said.

Leung and Michael Luk, along with Alksnis and Revivo, are all from the Toronto area.

Alksnis and Revivo played together for the Toronto Lynx this summer competing in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the highest level of men's amateur soccer in North America.

Alksnis believes he made a good decision leaving Maine and coming to Winthrop.

"Up to now, I have gotten everything done I wanted to school-wise and on the field. I am in the starting lineup now," Alksnis said.

He's also on his way, with the rest of the Eagles, to the NCAA tournament.