PROVO, Utah (August 28, 2010) — All five-foot-five of freshman midfielder, Trevor Henderson has been called to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Henderson will serve in the Toronto East, Canada mission.  He leaves September 15.

He says it’s tough to give up soccer but he knows he’s doing the right thing.  “It’s definitely not easy and is foreign to me,” he said.  “I never not played for two years.  I know I’m doing what’s right.  I’ll come back and be blessed for it.  It will be hard but I will work harder for it.  I believe strong enough in this to leave.  I know that it will take care of itself.  BYU is a great place to leave and come back from a mission.”

Henderson proved to be a valuable sub straight out of Timpanogos high school in Orem, Utah in 2009.  He recorded 102 minutes in six games, weeks removed from his high school graduation.  Following his first academic year at Brigham Young University, Henderson was hampered by a back injury that limited his play to 90 minutes over the course of seven games.  He registered an assist in BYU’s final game of the 2010 season against Ogden for his first point as a Cougar.

In addition to his soccer prowess, Henderson leaves two bands in need.  He plays keys for Vibrant Sound and the drums for Desert Noises.  “Vibrant Sound sometimes plays without keys,” he said.  “They’ll be OK.  They might find a replacement.  Desert Noises is in the process of finding a new drummer.”

Henderson enjoyed his year at BYU and looks forward to the future.

“It was great, phenomenal,” he said.  “After high school, club, and ODP you are looking for the next step above that.  BYU and the PDL is definitely the next step above it.  It was a pretty good game.  It was rough to be injury stricken this past season.  It was a humbling experience.  My freshman year, getting time was awesome.  It was an amazing experience.  I’m looking forward to coming back.”

Q. How did you find your way to Denmark?
A. I was looking in to some different places to try and play in Europe and Denmark stood out above the others.  I have cousins who live here and my ancestors are Danish.  Magleby is a Danish last name, pronounced mawlebu here in Denmark.  So this was the place to start.

Q. How was the tryout experience?
A. Finding tryouts was the toughest part.  Right now a lot of clubs don’t have much money and aren’t looking to buy new players.  So I had a trial with one team which went well but they decided not to keep me.  Then I found a trial with Skjold and was with them for a week before their coach offered me to stay with the team.  I had two other teams that I was looking at if things didn’t work out with Skjold.

Q. What’s Denmark like?
A. Denmark is a great place.  The weather has been really nice.  Besides the occasional rain it’s in the 70’s pretty much all the time.  It’s a very green country which reminds me a lot of my hometown in Maryland.  There is a lot of history here.  It’s a very family oriented society, which was a big plus for me and my young family.

Q. Is your hair still rock-star length?
A. Still growing.

Q. What’s the soccer style in Denmark like?
A. The players here are very skilled.  The style is pretty direct.  They like to use their wings and often bypass play through the middle of the field.  It is a very physical game here and you don’t see too much diving.

Q.  What club are you with and when do you play?
A.  The club I am with is located in Copenhagen.  Their name is Skjold and they are in the 2nd Division (which is actually the third division in Denmark.  It goes Superliga, 1st Division, 2nd Division).  We have games once a week and sometimes twice.  Our season just began and so I have to work my way in to the playing roster, but I’m confident I will be able to get some time.

Q.  How long will you be there?
A.  Not sure right now.  It depends on how things go.  Anywhere from a year – 2 or 3 even.  We’ll see how far I can get.

Junior cut his hair shortly after this picture in February and played in four games as a defender during the 2010 PDL season.

“I’m really not quite sure, but I think RSL first knew about me from Bryan. He has trained with them for some time and he approached me asking if I would be interested in doing it if he couldn’t make it or something.  Then one morning in May (maybe?) I got a call from Coach Watkins who said the RSL goalkeeper coach contacted him.  He asked me if I wanted to go train with them that morning, which I obviously agreed to.

So I went to Rio Tinto Stadium and signed a bunch of papers and what not. They gave me my training gear.  Met a few of the guys, but mostly just kept to myself in the locker room.  Then 30 minutes before training starts we head down to Xango field, their practice field.  I had a Chemistry test to take so I drove myself down so I could back to school.  Since the first time, the keeper coach has called me a few other times to come.

I was pretty nervous at the start, and still get that way a little, but its getting better.  It takes a few reps in warm-ups and they usually go away.   It’s that little kid feeling. You always dream of being a “professional soccer player” and for me this is probably the closest to it that I will ever get.

Each training, the keepers train for about 40 minutes then we move to playing small-sided games.  It’s been great for me because of the coaching I’m able to get to fix bad habits I’ve fallen into.  It’s great to be around the higher level of soccer.  I still make some “rookie” mistakes because of nerves or inexperience, but when I’m able to settle down, stop thinking so much and just play, then I honestly feel pretty comfortable and confident in playing against them.  It just takes one save to give you that boost.

Training with them gives me confidence because I’m improving and that usually carries over to our training.  At the same time, it keeps me plenty humble because at least once a practice I’ll take a wrist-breaking shot, or a shot to the face or stomach.  They do a good job of picking on the new guy. But it’s all good just to be there.”

“I’m impressed with the players resilience,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins.  “It would have been easy to fold the tent when Ogden scored the first goal.  It was heart breaking.  It took a while to bounce back, after halftime. I don’t know where it comes from.  It was impressive.”

Toni Niccoli won the BYU "Golden Boot" Saturday versus Ogden. (BYU Photo)

It was the Cougars second, 3-1 win against Ogden as both games produced an unanswered, three goal, come from behind win.

True to form this season, BYU gave up the first goal for the twelfth time in sixteen contests.  Midfielder, Collin Harrison found the back of the net in the 28th minute after a corner kick popped up to him where he promptly ripped a volley past Cougar keeper, Cory Cosgrave to lead 1-0.

Despite trailing at the intermission, the Cougars were hopeful of a comeback in the final game of the year.

“We went into halftime saying ‘what the heck?’  We were the better team,” said freshman forward, Toni Niccoli.  “We’ve had the trend to drop a goal in the first half.  It felt great to come back and get a win, especially against Ogden.  They are our rivals and the subs that came in really made a difference.  Our starters did a good job of wearing them down.  Things blew right open.  For probably 15 minutes we were unstoppable.”

Freshman midfielder, Pedro Vasconcelos scored his first goal versus Ogden. (BYU Photo)

In the 70th minute, Trevor Henderson set up Janzten Romney for the equalizer.  It was Henderson’s first assist of the year and second goal for Romney.  Just five minutes later, Romney returned the favor, this time to Toni Niccoli in the six yard box who slotted his team-leading fourth goal of the year that was the eventual game-winner and gave him the team “Golden Boot” this season.

“I’m excited we got a win and finished the season like we did,” said Niccoli.  “It was exciting to win.  To win the golden boot with four goals, I kind of had to chuckle at myself.  I was happy to contribute to the team this year.”

“Toni is our most comfortable player in front of the net,” said Watkins.  “It’s great that he took the golden boot.  I hope he wins it again next year, but has 14 goals.”

Just two minutes later, in the 77th minute, Kip Critchlow made one of his patented runs to the end line where he connected on his team-leading sixth assist of the year and first goal for Brazilian freshman midfielder, Pedro Vasconcelos to take a commanding, 3-1 lead.

“Pedro’s goal was fantastic,” said Watkins.  “He settled us down with his passing.  We only wanted 25 minutes out of him but he was great for 25 minutes.”

BYU will now break until September when the team will have a fall tryout and exhibition schedule in preparation for next season.

“2010 was probably our most difficult season ever.  We thought we were a good team.  We didn’t score goals.  We did a good job of keeping our heads up and not giving up.  We learned a lot and there are things we can take with us in the future.”

Post Game Notes:
-Both of Janzten Romney’s goals came against Ogden this season
-BYU won for the second time in 12 tries this year when the opponent scored first
-The Cougars won for the second time in 10 games, after trailing at the half
-Three of BYU’s four wins came on a Saturday
-All four of BYU’s win required 2+ goals

PROVO, Utah (July 16, 2010) — The BYU men’s soccer team had a hard night, Friday as they said farewell to five seniors and lost to the Fresno Fuego, 2-1.

“Well, that’s just kinda the way soccer goes, but our guys played well tonight,” said head coach, Chris Watkins.

Both teams started strong, each finding opportunities in the others defensive weaknesses, but the Fuego got the best of the BYU defense first, scoring in the 18th minute as a Milton Blanco’s cross slipped past BYU keeper Bryan Black, finding an open Fabricio Codeceira for the first goal.

Caption: BJ Pugmire scored his first goal of the season. (BYU Photo)

The Fuego had another opportunity 10 minutes later on a 1-v-1 situation with Black, but the BYU keeper’s hard effort and long reach knocked the ball just wide, denying the Fresno’s, Eddie Gutierrez of another goal.

BYU finally had an offensive close call of their own, as BJ Pugmire dribbled with some quick moves through the Fuego defense.  Unfortunately, his would-be tying shot soared just wide of the post.

The Cougars came out with a stronger offensive attack in the second half, finding opportunities on goal.  However, Fuego’s keeper, Gilbert Vega continued to stay on top of his game, consistently in front of the Cougar’s shots.

“We defiantly had a stronger second half,” said BYU keeper, Bryan Black.  “We had a lot of good chances on goal, but their goalkeeper had some great saves.  I give a lot of credit to him for the outcome of this game.”

Fresno’s keeper couldn’t keep it up all night however, as a quick counter attack down the side line by the Cougar’s had Kip Critchlow finding BJ Pugmire open for the tying goal in the 74th minute.  It was the first goal for Pugmire since returning this season from being injured the last two.

“I’m thrilled that BJ finally got a goal,” Watkins said.  “He’s been deserving of one for a long time.”

“It felt real good,” Pugmire said.  “It came at a good time, on a good night, in front of a good crowd.  It’s a good feeling.”

The Cougar’s then turned on the offensive pressure with multiple shots on goal but luck would not shine on BYU as a penalty kick was awarded to Fresno with less than a minute left in the game.  Fresno did score, but it appeared that Fabricio Codeceira did not have continuous forward movement during his shot.  The referee let the goal stand amid an eruption of emotion from the Cougar bench leading to assistant coach Clay Christenson receiving a red card for walking onto the field and a win for the Fresno Fuego.

“It’s been a tough season, but this team is like Rocky Balboa,” Watkins said.  “They get knocked around, but they just keep coming back.  I’ll remember this team for a long time because of that.”

The Cougars saw their departing seniors play hard in the final home game of the season.

Four seniors played their final games at home, including KC Whitworth. (BYU Photo)

The BYU men’s team is unique in the PDL, as it is the only university to be in the league.  Because the Cougar’s represent a school, they must release a player when he graduates.  Seniors, Brit Osborne, KC Whitworth, Bryan Black, Drew Van Wagenen, and Brent Jensen took the field for their final appearance as BYU Cougars.

“Yeah, I got a degree here at BYU, but I am going to remember the guys on the team, and the nights under the lights on the field,” said departing senior Brent Jensen.  “Being a player on this team has helped make me the person I am today.”

Brit Osborne played midfield as one of the team captains this year, and has scored more goals from outside the 18-yard box than any other current BYU player.  Graduating with a degree in Geology, Osborne is going to pursue his Master’s in Geology.

KC Whitworth played as a defender and is also a team captain this year.  Whitworth has started every game this season and is looking forward to pursuing a career in health care administration.

Bryan Black has been the starting goalie for the Cougars for the past three years, and has been rated among the top goalies in the Southwest division in the PDL including the top five goalies with shut-outs.

Drew Van Wagenen, who also played as a defender, is the last of four brothers who have played on the BYU men’s team for the past 16 years.  Van Wagenen has played in more BYU soccer games than any other player on the team, and is the final player to be part of the team when it was still a club.  Van Wagenen looks to have a career as a photojournalist.

Brent Jensen played midfield for BYU, and was always recognized by teammates and opponents alike for his constant effort and energy of the field, usually setting the tone of the game for the team.  Brent recently earned his degree in Economics.

Scoring Summary:
FRE: Fabricio Codeceira (Milton Blanco) 18
BYU: BJ Pugmire (Kip Critchlow) 74
FRE: Fabricio Codeceira (PK) 91

Post Game Video:

Jul 16^th, 2010 – Over the past two weeks the majority of my time has been spent on the soccer field. With cub camps, the overnight academy camps, and coaching two youth teams I literally live on the field. I love coaching and having soccer being such a huge part of my life. As I watch players develop over the 4 day camp it’s remarkable how much they improve and become friends with someone they didn’t even know existed four days earlier. On Tuesday night my training team left me driving home in awe…

My training team consisted of 10 players from the U14 Ranger Boys, a player from Utah FC, and a young man who had never played competitively, we’ll call him Bryce. On the first day of camps I could tell that this team would be one of the most skilled teams that I would ever coach at camps. You could tell they all knew each other and they adapted well to each other’s style of play. The level of respect on and off the field impressed me, aside from teammates, they were friends, and as such, they pushed each other to be better all week long. Clearly, Bryce never playing at a competitive level and not playing with the boys he was by far the weakest player of the team. Tuesday night we were having our daily scrimmage and as the game progressed Bryce scored his first goal…what happened after is what left me in awe. Bryce was ecstatic. I looked up to see his reaction and celebration and I saw all 11 players surround him and congratulate him. They all celebrated as if he scored the winning goal in the World Cup Finals. The 11 others were almost more excited for him than he was himself. Here are 11 young men that for the most part play and understand each other and when the unknown 12^th guy scores they embraced him as one of their own. If I were an onlooker I wouldn’t have guessed that Bryce wasn’t part of their team.

This led me to think of the team I play for and represent. I believe it was two games ago that Pedro suffered a knee injury towards the end of the game. His injury didn’t look that bad from the sideline and most of us thought he was just trying to get a call from the ref. When he wasn’t getting up Deniece, our trainer, ran to his aid. She’s great. The next thing I saw was three of his teammates lift him up in their arms and start to carry him off the field. Cam was sitting out due to his ankle injury, and he ran onto the field to relieve the field players and take over carrying Pedro, his teammate. I, then, rushed on the field to help Cam. Pedro covered his face with his hands and you could hear the sobs he was trying to hold back. Here are two examples of teammates lifting each other. Literally.

This is what makes our team unique and special. Watch what happens when the team comes together for a cheer, EVERYONE is involved and in the inner circle. When the starting line-up is called the guys on the bench almost cheer more loudly for the their teammates than the fans in the stands. During the game the guys not playing are always offering encouraging words to their teammates on the field. When a substitution is made almost every single player gives the player coming off a high five, a short man embrace, but most of all he is welcomed to sit with a “Well done.” I’m often asked by younger players or fellow students about how I like playing for BYU, and my response has been the same since the first day I put on the blue and white jersey. It’s a dream come true. I wouldn’t exchange this experience for anything, this experience is one that I could only have here.

Click here for the preview of the matchup and other news from the team.

During the broadcast if you have questions or comments, email us at tvsports@byu.edu.

See ya tonight!

Jarom Jordan

Watch the final home game of the season versus Fresno on BYUtv tonight at 8 p.m. MT. (BYU Photo)