“We put a lot on our returning players to make sure these guys feel welcome and understand what a Wright State soccer player is — the type of human being and character that’s within the program,” the second-year coach said.
“A lot of new guys have come in, and a lot of them are starting and producing. That’s a really good sign.”
The Raiders, who played four of their first five games on the road, are 2-3 going into their first Horizon League match at 3 p.m. Saturday against visiting IU Indy (formerly IUPUI).
They went into the week first in the conference in goals per game at 2.4 after finishing seventh last year at 1.2. But opponents are averaging 2.6, which is next-to-last in the HL.
Part of the issue has been injuries — Van der Sluijs said four defensive starters missed a 4-1 loss at DePaul on Sunday — and late breakdowns have been costly . Eleven of the 13 goals they’ve allowed have come in the second half.
“I’m really happy with the soccer we’re playing and the attacking mindset we have. But the injuries in the back are tough to overcome. We’re giving up a lot of goals. We’ve just got to get more resilient defensively,” he said.
“We’re doing a great job of frustrating teams. But it feels like we lose a little focus in the second half and fail to finish games out.”
Among the impact transfers is Edwin Espinal-Elvir, a sophomore midfielder from Oregon State (a 2023 NCAA final four team) who is tied for first in the HL in goals with three.
He’s from Vancouver, British Columbia, and is one of 15 international players on the squad. Four are from England and three from Canada, but others are from places like Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands where English isn’t their first language.
“We vet these guys pretty hard in terms of our culture and our values and the type of character they have,” Van der Sluijs said.
“They’ve all become close and are great friends and are like a family here. It’s great to talk to these guys about, ‘What’s it like in Australia, Cypress and Jamaica?’ It’s really fun to see these guys come together and adapt to the American way of life.”
Senior forwards Conner Osterholt (a Carroll High School grad) and Cole Werthmuller are holdovers from last year and have five points apiece (two goals, one assist).
Felix Ezekwuka, a sophomore forward from London (England, not Madison County), has two goals.
The Raiders went just 4-9-5 overall last year but posted a 3-4-2 league record and qualified for the six-team conference tourney for the 10th time in the last 11 years.
They were picked ninth out of 10 teams in the preseason poll. And Van der Sluijs has made sure his players were aware of that lowly projection from the peers.
“I like it. It gives our guys some motivation and fuel,” he said.
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