2008 Men's Soccer
Melvin Belong - Head Coach
Melvin Belong Image
 

After spending five years as an assistant coach with the Bethel College Lady Wildcat soccer program, Coach Belong was named the new head coach for the men's soccer program at Bethel. In his five seasons with the Lady Wildcats, he helped the team qualify for the NAIA National Tournament for three consecutive years; in 2003, 2004, and 2005 with an "Elite Eight" finish in 2004. Over the five year period, the team compiled an overall record of 86-20-5.

Before joining the Lady Wildcat soccer program, Coach Belong worked as an assistant at Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky., helping direct their men's 2000 men's soccer team to the NAIA Region XII final.

As a native of Suriname, South America, Coach Belong was a member of the U-18 National Players Pool. Belong played collegiate soccer at Oklahoma Wesleyan University for two seasons before transferring to Bethel College for the remainder of his colligate career.He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Bethel College and received a Master's degree in Education from Bethel in 2003. As a coach, Belong holds a NSCAA Advance National Diploma. He is involved with player development in McKenzie, Tenn. and the surrounding communities and conducts several soccer camps during the summer. In addition to English, Coach Belong is also fluent in Dutch.

Coach Belong resides in McKenzie, TN with his wife, Carol, and two sons, Melvin, Jr. and Melic.


2008 Men's Soccer Roster
#NameCl.Pos.Ht.Wt.Hometown
0Chaz DachenhausFRGK  Leesville, South Carolina
1Massimo Collu-MarcheseJRGK5-10160Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
2Robert BurgerSODEF5-9160Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
3Omar ApodacaSODEF5-8160Mexico City, Mexico
4Colin CrosbieFRMF/Def  Dublin, Ireland
5Joseph OmondiFRMF/Def  Nairobi, Kenya
6Steven ShortFRMF  Durban, South Africa
7Mario Vila BoaFRF  Durban, South Africa
9Mario KovacevicSOF  Zagreb, Croatia
10Eric RosasSOMF5-8160Mexico City, Mexico
11Dawyne SmithFRF/MF  Kingston, Jamiaca
12Roan BrownFRDef  St. Elizabeth, Jamiaca
13Felix ObiloSOMF6-1170Nairobi, Kenya
14Peter PetioteFRMF  Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
15Gustavo HoewellJRDef  Sao Paulo, Brazil
18Keith BrownSRDEF6-3 Newcastle, England
19Fredrik EkvallFRMF  Boras, Sweden
20Armando OrozcoSOMF5-7150Mexico City, Mexico
Melvin Belong - Head Coach
Malang Jarju - Grad Assistant