Prex primed to bury LVC men’s soccer record book
ANNVILLE — Nathan Prex made quite a splash as a freshman on the Lebanon Valley College men’s soccer team last season.
The Seneca Valley graduate and former Butler Eagle Player of the Year was named MAC Commonwealth Freshman of the Year.
One year later, he’s the face of the program.
“Nathan is going to own every men’s soccer individual record here by the time he’s done,” LBC coach Charlie Grimes said. “The only question is how high is he going to raise the bar.”
Prex finished seventh in all of NCAA Division III this season with 20 goals in 19 games. The sophomore forward added five assists for 45 points. He scored a career-high four goals in the conference opener at Misericordia.
He was named MAC Freedom Player of the Year and became the first player in program history to be named All-American by the United Soccer Coaches Association.
Prex was the only sophomore to be named first team All-American.
“Nathan is the best goal scorer I’ve ever coached,” Grimes said. “He moves the ball well with both feet and he knows how to patiently get himself into position to score.
“He’ll find open space and his technique is so solid. He can attack the net from anywhere on the field.
“Nathan plays soccer year-round. Nobody works on their game harder than him and that work is paying off,” Grimes added.
It paid off in the win-loss column as well.
The Flying Dutchmen were 7-9-2 overall, 2-4-2 in conference play, during Prex’s freshman season. This year, the team won the regular season conference title with a 5-0-2 mark. LVC was 13-2-4 overall.
LVC missed out on a berth in the national playoffs when it dropped a 1-0 decision to Stevens in the conference championship game.
“Our league’s automatic tournament bid goes to the winner of our postseason tournament,” Grimes pointed out. “We were still confident we’d get an at-large bid, based on our overall body of work, but it didn’t happen.”
LVC had seven seniors on its roster this fall. Each has a year of eligibility remaining.
“It looks like our entire team will be back,” Grimes said. “That’s only going to help Nathan increase his production even more. They work well with him and he works well with them.
“Nobody likes the way this season ended. They can’t wait to get back at it.”
Prex’s 25 career goals rank fifth in LVC history. His 63 career points rank fourth. He needs only eight more goals to break the school’s career goals record.
“Like I said, as long as he stays healthy, he’s going to put that record way up there,” Grimes said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Nathan scores another 50 or 60 goals for us.”
