Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Jake Hutchinson
For Men's Soccer, Four Seniors Led the Temple Backline
5.4.21 | Men's Soccer
Pele is quoted saying, "I'm constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players."
Putting together a team of great players is only half the battle. The players must learn to operate as a unit, especially in a sport such as soccer. This is an objective that is hard to obtain with roughly a quarter of players exhausting their eligibility each year in the NCAA.
For Temple Men's Soccer, they were able to experience that chemistry with their defensive back line consisting of Left Back Esteban Suarez (Mexico City, Mexico), Left Center Back Pierre Cayet (Brettes Les Pins, France), Right Center Back Brandon Johnson (Phoenix, Arizona), and Right Back Mickael Borger (Joeuf, France). The group played a combined 110 games over the last two seasons, scoring ten goals and passing for nine assists.
Cayet joined the Owls three years ago before his three current defensive backfield teammates. "In my second year, everything was different, the whole back line changed" Cayet said, "being able to play with these guys was so great and we were able to build up some momentum."
The full group came together as a playing unit at the start of the 2019 season. "That season was really a turning point for the program, we really started pretty slow but then we picked it up" said Cayet, "we built momentum up throughout the season." The 2019 season led to the teams first AAC Tournament win in school history.
"The first few games (of 2019) we weren't as solid defensively but as this group came together and being a constant these last two years has really helped this team," said Suarez. In addition, Borger explained that throughout the season the team developed chemistries that made everyone a lot better on both offense and defense.
"Soccer is a team sport and having the group on the back line helped us build leadership skills and we really lead the team" said Cayet, "the four of us always being there on the field really helped the guys to know that we had their back."
Having certainty on the back line during 2019 season was important but perhaps more important was entering the offseason knowing that they would all be bolstering the defense together at the start of the 2020-2021 season. "We are the oldest guys and the veterans of the team, and we took on that leadership role," said Johnson. The group was able to practice together for most of the pandemic which allowed them to hit the ground running when they were able to return to the playing field.
Borger explained the team's chemistry in saying, "I think chemistry is really important, me and Brandon had this chemistry, and I knew exactly how to position myself to help him and when I had the ball, he knew exactly where to go to help me."
The 2020-2021 season was a shortened regular season with only 10 games which made the slow start of 1-3 difficult to overcome. However, the team did rally to a 5-4-2 record falling just short of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. The members of the defensive back line expressed frustration with this finish simply due to the high expectations and potential that came with it.
With all four of the star defenders departing the team this spring, the Owls will have to find new chemistries on the field. However, all five seniors on the 2020-2021 Owls roster played defense which can hopefully lead to a similar chemistry between all the returning midfielders and forwards for the 2022 season.
Putting together a team of great players is only half the battle. The players must learn to operate as a unit, especially in a sport such as soccer. This is an objective that is hard to obtain with roughly a quarter of players exhausting their eligibility each year in the NCAA.
For Temple Men's Soccer, they were able to experience that chemistry with their defensive back line consisting of Left Back Esteban Suarez (Mexico City, Mexico), Left Center Back Pierre Cayet (Brettes Les Pins, France), Right Center Back Brandon Johnson (Phoenix, Arizona), and Right Back Mickael Borger (Joeuf, France). The group played a combined 110 games over the last two seasons, scoring ten goals and passing for nine assists.
Cayet joined the Owls three years ago before his three current defensive backfield teammates. "In my second year, everything was different, the whole back line changed" Cayet said, "being able to play with these guys was so great and we were able to build up some momentum."
The full group came together as a playing unit at the start of the 2019 season. "That season was really a turning point for the program, we really started pretty slow but then we picked it up" said Cayet, "we built momentum up throughout the season." The 2019 season led to the teams first AAC Tournament win in school history.
"The first few games (of 2019) we weren't as solid defensively but as this group came together and being a constant these last two years has really helped this team," said Suarez. In addition, Borger explained that throughout the season the team developed chemistries that made everyone a lot better on both offense and defense.
"Soccer is a team sport and having the group on the back line helped us build leadership skills and we really lead the team" said Cayet, "the four of us always being there on the field really helped the guys to know that we had their back."
Having certainty on the back line during 2019 season was important but perhaps more important was entering the offseason knowing that they would all be bolstering the defense together at the start of the 2020-2021 season. "We are the oldest guys and the veterans of the team, and we took on that leadership role," said Johnson. The group was able to practice together for most of the pandemic which allowed them to hit the ground running when they were able to return to the playing field.
Borger explained the team's chemistry in saying, "I think chemistry is really important, me and Brandon had this chemistry, and I knew exactly how to position myself to help him and when I had the ball, he knew exactly where to go to help me."
The 2020-2021 season was a shortened regular season with only 10 games which made the slow start of 1-3 difficult to overcome. However, the team did rally to a 5-4-2 record falling just short of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. The members of the defensive back line expressed frustration with this finish simply due to the high expectations and potential that came with it.
With all four of the star defenders departing the team this spring, the Owls will have to find new chemistries on the field. However, all five seniors on the 2020-2021 Owls roster played defense which can hopefully lead to a similar chemistry between all the returning midfielders and forwards for the 2022 season.
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