By: Angel Dominguez
Ahead of Dominican’s Men’s Soccer 2023-24 season, the Star sat down with Coach Erick Baumann to discuss the team’s upcoming season.
Baumann gave his thoughts on the program’s mission, the significance behind representing Dominican, and the expectations set for the upcoming season. The 2023-24 season is set to be Coach Baumann’s 29th year coaching at Dominican.
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What are your thoughts on the ending of last season, and how do you plan to move forward from that into this season?
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Last fall didn’t end the way we hoped because we got knocked out of the conference tournament in the early stages. As a program, our goal is to win the Conference Regular Season Championship and the Conference Tournament Championship every year. The big picture is wanting to win the regular season and the conference tournament, so we that can play in the NCAA tournament again.
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How will you look to deal with the loss of graduating seniors, and what role will the underclassmen play?
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It’s always difficult when you graduate players that have been in your program. These are players who made a significant impact in our program both on and off the field. We are looking for new leadership within the team, but our captains and core have done a fantastic job in bringing everyone together and keeping it a close-knit yet competitive group.
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What are your thoughts on preseason polls ahead of each upcoming season and what do you take away from them?
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I believe this is the first time we have not been picked first or second in the polls. We were picked third, but I do not see that as pressure. I think of it as an opportunity to be recognized as one of the top voted programs in the conference. If anything, I think our players are looking at this year’s poll with a little extra motivation.
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In what is your 29th season coaching, what motivates you to continue coaching the next group of players that come in year after year?
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It has been 29 years and being able to work with the players has helped them as a team, both on and off the field. Over the years, I think our program has done a really good job at looking at the bigger picture of being a student athlete. The players also do an excellent job in their classes and the last semesters have included some of the highest team GPAs that we have had.
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What specific games throughout the season do you see hold an edge over others and that the fans should look out for?
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There’s not a single game on our schedule that I make any more important than another. Every game we play is our biggest game of the year. At 4 p.m., we have a game at home, which is our biggest game of the year. Then, on Saturday, when we play at home at 2:45 p.m., it is going to be our biggest game of the year. We really try to focus on one game at a time. At the end of each day, we want to win. Prepare to win, compete to win, hopefully win, enjoy that, and then start looking toward the next game.
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What perception and identity do you look to push for Dominican’s Men’s Soccer team?
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It is looking at the holistic picture of our history and traditions. To reflect on what all the previous student athletes have done to put Dominican on the conference, regional, and national map. We want to continue to carry that on as a team this fall. We want to do well in the classroom, and we do. We want to do well on the field, and we do. We want to do well off the field as people in our community.
