NEW WILMINGTON— With only three seniors on the roster, Westminster College men's soccer coach Girish Thakar wasn't expecting what he received.

The Titans wound up with a school-record 17 wins, took their third Presidents' Athletic Conference title since 2002 and reached the NCAA Division III Tournament last fall for only the third time.

"We had a young team, but these kids just played solidly as a unit,"11th-year coach Thakar said. "We had guys come off the bench and play quality minutes, other guys play different positions.

"This team showed what can be accomplished when a bunch of guys just play together."

Of the 34 players comprising Westminster's roster, 21 are freshmen and sophomores. Butler graduate and midfielder Steve Armahizer was one of 10 juniors on the squad.

Armahizer did not score a point, but epitomized Thakar's team concept.

"He was an incredible utility player, like a sixth man in basketball,"Thakar said. "We put him in at a number of positions.

"Steve is an extremely athletic and unselfish player. He spelled guys, filled in wherever we had a need."

Wade Grubbs, also a Butler graduate, was a sophomore defender last fall and recorded a goal and an assist.

"He was our marking person, mainly,"Thakar said. "We had Wade defend the strongest player on the other team. Like Armahizer, he's a versatile player. He played forward and backer, whatever way best suited our lineup on a given day."

Two other Butler County players were freshmen on the team. Freeport graduate Pete Cline was a midfielder who did not score a point.

Butler graduate Jake Huey was a defender who wound up being named an all-PAC honorable mention.

"Pete was behind two of our seniors,"Thakar said. "He's a talented player who's going to be seeing a lot of minutes next year. He'll have a vital role in our program maintaining this success."

Thakar said Huey was his biggest surprise last season. He had three assists and "deserved better than honorable mention,"the coach said.

"The only reason he wasn't first- or second-team is because he was a freshman,"Thakar said. "Jake was our starting central defender, the heart of our defense."

Westminster allowed only 26 goals in its 23 games. The Titans lost 1-0 in the second round of the NCAAplayoffs to third-ranked Montclair (N.J.) State.

The winning goal wasn't scored until the 70th minute of the game.

Huey considered Robert Morris and Penn State-Behrend before deciding on Westminster.

"I liked my prospects there and I wanted to start eventually,"Huey said. "During the first week of training camp, though, I felt like I could play at that level and get on the field right away.

"We gained confidence as the season went on. I'm excited about what we can accomplish here."

Thakar, named 2008 PACCoach of the Year, sees potential as well, but is staying cautiously optimistic.

"The three seniors we're losing were very talented,"he said. "We need to recruit similar skill. If we do that ... yeah, this group of underclassmen could do some great things."