GREAT FALLS — University of Providence's men's soccer program has two key returning players that come a long ways from their respective homes.
"At the beginning when you get here, you feel a bit lost here in the U.S.," said forward Tomeu Nebot-Schmalfeld at Wednesday's practice. "I've lived all my life with my family being pretty close, so not having them close to me was a big change."
"When I came my freshman year it was my first time in Great Falls, in the U.S. in general," said defenseman Vincent Stoppel.
Nebot-Schmalfeld and Stoppel come from Spain and Germany, respectively. That being the case, it didn't take either long to adjust.
"People here in Montana are very nice and helped me really like this state," Nebot-Schmalfeld said. "That's why I've been here for four years now."
"I honestly didn't have a hard time to adjust because of the welcoming people," Stoppel said. "Especially when you're in a team, a sports team, you have your teammates you can rely on."
Both players enter their fourth season with the Argos. In that time, there's been lots of change within the program.
Stoppel said that in his freshman year there was "no structure" under an interim coach.
Enter Will Hander, who begins year three at the helm.
"I said, look, by the time (Stoppel's) a senior, we're going to have something special," Hander said. "Whenever I give a guy my word, I do everything I can to make sure that I'm going to honor that."
Players like Nebot-Schmalfeld and Stoppel know Hander's made a big impact since his arrival.
"(Hander) told me to trust him and to stay here and just follow his ways, and I did," Stoppel said. "I think this year it will pay off. We have a great team with great talent."
"I'm pretty confident that this year is going to go really well for us," Nebot-Schmalfeld said. "I believe we can win the conference and succeed in the conference tournament as well and then go to nationals. That's the goal for the team."
Hander has similar trust in his group — something that's especially built up since last season ended in the Cascade Conference tournament.
"I think it was like November 13th and (the team) was lifting November 14th, and I was like, 'What are you guys thinking?' They were like, 'We're winning next year,'" Hander said. "From day one when we got home, that's been their motivation."
It was the Argos' first appearance in the conference tournament since 2018, and their quest to get back — and beyond — officially begins Aug. 23.
