Men's Soccer Season Preview

Introduction
The College of Saint Rose comes into the 2007 season aiming to begin its ascent through the Northeast-10 Conference. Seven starters are among 18 returning letterwinners from last year’s club that went 2-15 overall and 1-12 in league play. They’ll be joined by a promising recruiting class that affords seventh-year head coach Jeremy Bogan one of the deepest squad he has employed throughout his tenure.

2006 Review
The Golden Knights got the 2006 campaign off on the right foot with a 4-1 victory versus Goldey-Beacom, but dropped a tough 2-1 overtime decision at Wilmington the following day and never really found their stride after that. Saint Rose had its bright spots, but could not translate enough of them into wins. The club posted its only other victory during the year with a gutsy 1-0 double-overtime defeat of visiting Southern New Hampshire.

The most prominent missing pieces from that team are keeper Peter Cappiello and forward Michael Vooris. Cappiello played all but two minutes between the posts and finished with a 2.77 goals-against-average while Vooris led the squad’s scoring parade with six goals.

Returnees (18)
Among the returnees are four seniors in forwards/midfielders Todd Driscoll (Newburgh, NY/NFA) and Ryan Hunt (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties), midfielders Mark Rabideau (Plattsburgh, NY/Seton Catholic) and fullback Patrick Doherty (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury).

Doherty is one of the team’s top marking backs and one of only three players who started all 17 matches a year ago. The other two are Driscoll and Hunt. Driscoll, who was a Northeast-10 Conference All-League pick as a junior in 2005, is the team’s top returning point producer after recording three goals and a like number assists last autumn. Hunt made an immediate impact after transferring in from American International. He finished with three markers and a pair of assists while Rabideau had a pair of goals to his credit, including the game-winner in the season-opener against Goldey-Beacom.

Also back in the mix are senior midfielder Kevin O’Dowd (Hyde Park, MA/F.D. Roosevelt), sophomore forward Justin Paden (Fishkill, NY/John Jay), junior midfielder Michael Przekop (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen), sophomore fullback Scott Couch (Colonie, NY/Colonie) and senior forward Evan Spero (East Jewett, NY/Windham-Ashland-Jewett). O’Dowd and Paden both found the back of the net on one occasion last season, Przekop had an assist and Couch started 11 of the 13 matches that he appeared in. Spero picked up an assist while making eight starts throughout 13 appearances.

The remainder of the veteran group is comprised of a pair of keepers in senior Patrick Whalen (Conklin, NY/Susquehanna Valley) and sophomore Nicholas Dalfonso (Newburgh, NY/NFA). Whalen did not dress last year due to injury, but is expected to take over the starting duties. He appeared in two contests in 2005, making four saves throughout 55 minutes of action. Dalfonso is once again projected to have a reserve role.

A pair of senior fullbacks in Anthony Crescenzo (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) and Joe Capobianco (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) and a quartet of sophomores in midfielders Steven Paese (Montrose, NY/Hendrick Hudson), Gavin DuGuay (Albany, NY/Guilderland), Robert Caserta (Fishkill, NY/John Jay) and Justin Rogers (Middlefield, CT/Middlefield) in addition to fullback Michael Alvarez (Commack, NY/St. Anthony’s) also return.

Newcomers (7)
Heading the list of newcomers are three transfers including junior forwards Joseph Hunt (Herfordshire, England/Goffs) and Corey Terpening (Waterford, NY/Waterford) and sophomore midfielder Milan Aksic (Belgrade, Serbia/Belgrade) who are expected to have an immediate impact.

Hunt was named to the NSCAA Junior College Division III All-America Team after he led Herkimer County CC to the NJCAA Division III National Championship game behind a team-best 28 goals and 19 assists last year. Terpening led Hudson Valley CC to an appearance in the Region III quarterfinals and paced the squad in scoring for the second straight season with 12 goals and two assists while Aksic set up six tallies for Missouri Valley College before an injury sidelined him in the 12th match of the season.

The rest of the class is comprised of sophomore defender Joseph Davids (Bradford, England/Kent Hills School-ME), freshman fullbacks Mark Quinn (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) and Anthony Eleftherion (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) and freshman midfielder Thomas Adair (Levittown, NY/St. John the Baptist).

Davids spent last year at New England College (NH) as a member of the basketball team, Quinn was part of two section IX championship squads at Pine Bush, Eleftherion was an All-League performer for Mahopac and Adair was part of a St. John the Baptist squad that advanced to the Long Island Championship game.

Schedule
Saint Rose opens its 2007 campaign at the Le Moyne Classic in Syracuse on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25. The Golden Knights will meet Holy Family on Friday at 2:30 pm and will then face Wilmington the following day at noon. NE-10 action gets rolling on Saturday, September 1 with a 1:00 pm date at UMass Lowell. Southern Connecticut State, ranked sixth in the nation in the preseason, arrives in the Capital Region on Wednesday, September 12 while defending league champion and ninth-ranked Franklin Pierce visits on Saturday, October 20.

Summation
From an overall point of view, a top-eight finish and ensuing NE-10 Tournament berth are reasonable goals considering the squad’s experience and strong recruiting class. However, Saint Rose will have to figure a way to find the back of the net after being shutout eight times last year. Driscoll, Ryan Hunt and Rabideau are all legitimate scoring threats and the additions of Joseph Hunt and Terpening should make the Golden Knights a much more formidable threat in the opposing team’s third of the field. Whalen has played little throughout the past two years, but he has the talent to direct the defensive unit and Doherty is more than capable of disrupting the top-scoring threats in the NE-10.