The 1997 Greensboro College men's soccer team continued the Pride's strong tradition by winning the Dixie Conference title with a 6-0 DIAC record while qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Tournament and finishing the season with a 13-4-1 overall record. GC was ranked #8 nationally in the NSCAA Final Regular Season Poll.

Greensboro outscored its opponents 64-17, including an impressive 35-2 scoring margin in the Dixie Conference. Junior midfielder Richard Ronemus led the way with 15 goals and 9 assists (39 points). Ronemus finished the year ranked #2 in the DIAC scoring race. Other top scorers were senior midfielder Dan Collins, with 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points, and sophomore forward Jabari Richardson, with 9 goals and 8 assists for 26 points. Overall, seven different players each earned 10 or more points for the Pride.

Goalkeeping also was solid for the Pride. Junior James "Jak" Karl recorded four solo shutouts and combined with Stephen Larsen for four additional shutouts. Karl achieved an impressive 0.88 goals against average. Larsen concluded the year with a 0.99 goals against average and one solo shutout.

Collins was named NSCAA/Umbro First Team All-America and senior defender Derek Schroll was named Second Team All-America for their efforts. It was the first time Greensboro had two men's soccer players earn All-America recognition during the same year. Collins, who was also chosen Dixie Conference Player-of-the-Year, became only the second GC men's soccer player to be named First Team All-America. The other First Team selection was forward Mike Grimsley in 1989.

Greensboro was chosen to host the NCAA Division III South Regional, Nov. 15-16. In addition to the Pride, other competing teams were Emory University, Mary Washington College, and Virginia Wesleyan College.

Greensboro held a decided shooting margin, 22-11, in its first round game against Virginia Wesleyan, but the Pride's dominance of play wasn't reflected on the scoreboard in a 2-0 loss. Mary Washington defeated Emory, 2-1, in the other first round game, then won the Regional title with a 3-1 win over Virginia Wesleyan in the championship game.

Despite its NCAA Tournament loss, the Pride had an outstanding season. The team went 10-1-1 in the final 12 games of its regular season schedule. Seven players were named to the DIAC All-Conference Team, including six First Team selections. The Pride swept the Dixie Conference's special awards, as Collins was named Player-of-the-Year, freshman sweeper Ryan Nelsen was chosen Rookie-of-the-Year, and Head Coach Steve Allison was selected Coach-of-the-Year for the fourth time.

Another special honor went to Collins, who was chosen to play in the Umbro Select All-Star Classic on Jan. 31 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (See article in this issue). Collins was named to the team of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA players that played against a team of top players from NCAA Division I.

Allison concluded the season with an all-time record of 86-30-9 (.724) during seven seasons at GC. He has guided the Pride to three NCAA Tournament berths in the last four years, including a quarterfinal appearance in 1996.