Bellevue University – Men’s Soccer College Spotlight

Although it is rarely covered by the traditional media giants of the state, Nebraska is filled with exciting and competitive collegiate soccer programs. In fact, Nebraska contains a grand total of THIRTY programs for men and women. Those thirty programs compete across a wide variety of collegiate levels including Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior college.

Nebraska Soccer Talk is here to examine, cover, and promote all of these teams. This task has been made a bit more challenging by the circumstances created by COVID-19. Depending on the playing level, conference, and school, the season outlook changes drastically. Roster information can also be in flux, depending on the school. Despite these challenges, our staff attempted to put together the best program summaries possible. To our knowledge, we are the only outlet providing such coverage to our state’s college programs.

Just like Nebraska Soccer Talk, this column will grow and become more in depth as the years pass. In the future, we hope to provide sideline coverage of games, facility features, coach and player interviews. We look forward to the journey ahead. Thank you for being a part of our community. The sport of soccer is growing in Nebraska, and we intend to see it thrive.

Disclaimer – In the making of this article, team websites and other research sources were utilized. Although we attempt to avoid them whenever possible, errors can occur. Please contact us directly with corrections.

Bellevue University

Head Coach – Mark Heath-Preston (5th Season)

Assistant Coaches – Scott Robertson, Graeme Eaglesham

Mascot – Bruins

Nebraska Homegrown Players On Roster – 

• #7 Juvenal Jacinto – Sr – Omaha South – Mid
• #8 Zach Robbins – Jr – Omaha Burke – Mid
• #10 Ricky Reyes – Jr – Omaha Burke – Mid
• #13 Jack Finocchiaro – Jr – Omaha Westside – F
• #14 John Cover – So – Gretna HS – Mid
• #15 Morgan Penn – Sr – Columbus HS – Mid
• #17 Eli Brown – So – Lincoln East – Mid
• #18 Nate Fibich – So – Gretna HS – Mid
• #19 Marvin Ramirez – Jr – Omaha Westside – Mid
• #22 Alan Mendoza – Fr – Omaha South – GK
• #24 Jared Robles – So – Nebraska City HS – GK
• #25 Eduardo Castillo – So – Omaha South – D
• #29 Max Lambert – Fr – Papillion-La Vista South – F
• #31 Ivan Hernandez – Omaha South – D

NEST Analysis – The men’s program at Bellevue University is one of the intriguing squads in the state for several reasons. First and foremost, there are many homegrown Nebraskans that have been given an opportunity to play at the next level by the Bruins. Secondly, there is an overhanging feeling that this program is at the cusp of becoming a consistent title contender in the conference. Their 2018 season demonstrated how far this program has come in recent years, and they are looking for that to become the norm. Finally, from a recruiting and living standpoint, Bellevue University has advantages simply because of its placement in Sarpy County. Newly constructed  facilities located at Papillion Landing give the Bruins a major upgrade. Unlike many other small-town NAIA schools, the allure of the Omaha metro area is there for the Bruins to exploit.  With all of those recruiting pulls, the Bruins are a team to watch.

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Chace Hutchison