PEORIA, Ill. -- Optimism is running high on the Bradley Soccer team's practice field as the Braves took the first step toward defense of their 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship today with the opening of preseason camp.

Head coach Jim DeRose welcomes one of his most experienced teams as he begins his 16th season at the helm of the program.  Led by All-America candidate Bryan Gaul (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.), Bradley returns 21 lettermen, including nine of the 10 players to score a goal, as well as the entire starting back line and top two goalkeepers, from the 2010 squad that finished 11-9-3 overall and put together a late-season surge that carried the team to its second MVC Tournament title and fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.

Gaul has shown off his versatility by manning positions in the midfield, back line and attack in his first three seasons, but he is expected to be the focal point of Bradley's offensive scheme as he prepares for his senior season.  The 6-foot-5 target settled into a forward position midway through last season and the move immediately resulted in a personal 7-game point-scoring streak that kick-started the team's late-season surge.  Despite playing the first half of the 2010 campaign in the back line, Gaul shared the MVC goal-scoring lead in the regular season with 12 tallies last year and he is Bradley's active career leader with 20 goals and 49 points.

Named one of the top professional prospects in the country earlier this week by TopDrawerSoccer.com, Gaul is hardly a one-man show for the Braves, however.  Fellow senior Christian Meza (Carpentersville, Ill./Dundee-Crown H.S.) was second on the team with five goals last year, while junior forward Jochen Graf (Double Oak, Texas/Faustina Academy), sophomore midfielder Keegan Balle (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.) and senior defender Tommy Fritze (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield H.S.) all chipped in with three goals in 2010.

Fritze also helps to anchor a veteran and athletic backline, where he is joined by seniors Bobby Smith (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin H.S.) and Mike Hnat (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township H.S.), as well as junior Tapiwa Machingauta (Marondera, Zimbabwe/Prince Edward School).  The quartet has combined for 151 starting assignments for the Braves.

Behind the backline, Bradley also returns its top two goalkeepers from the 2010 season.  Sophomore Brian Billings (Apple Valley, Minn./Shattuck-St. Mary's H.S.) took control of the position last season, finishing his freshman season with 4.0 shutouts and a 1.33 goals against average in his 18 appearances, all starts.  Senior Kyle Orne (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista H.S.) also boasts 12 career starts and owns a 1.32 goals against average and a pair of shutouts in three seasons.