The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s and women’s soccer teams will travel to Europe this January for a 15-day tour of Greece. Fifty Gustavus students — team members and soccer enthusiasts — will embark on this Jan. 17-31 journey.
Head men’s soccer coach Larry Zelenz, head women’s soccer coach Mike Stehlik, and assistant men’s soccer coach Joe Hartwell are leading the trip.
The men’s team will play four games and the women’s team will play three games against local club competition. Trip participants will also have time to tour several of the many famous historical attractions that Greece has to offer. The tour will include stops in Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Kalamata, Tripoli, Sparti and an optional one-day cruise to the islands of Poros, Aegina, and Hydra.
The combined trip of the college’s two soccer teams has become a tradition in recent years. For nearly a decade the teams have traveled together and competed in Europe. Three years ago the two teams took a similar trip to England and Scotland. Three years prior to that the teams traveled to France and Spain.
Several team members will be authoring a blog from Greece which will be updated throughout the trip. To read the blog, go online to featured.blog.gustavus.edu.
Both soccer teams have experienced a tremendous amount of success under their two current head coaches. Stehlik has coached the Gustie women’s program for 18 years and has compiled a career record of 198-98-23.
Zelenz has coached the Gustie men’s program for 22 years and has compiled a career record of 258-103-41. Under Zelenz’s watch the Gusties have won seven Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles and have made seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament. This past fall the Gustie men went 16-4-1 before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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