Men's Soccer looks to build on solid 06' campaign
Springfield, Mass. - The American International College
men's soccer team finished last season with a respectable 8-8-2
overall record. The Yellow Jackets started off their 06' campaign
strong but fell to 11th in the conference by the end of
the season. AIC returns their top goal-scorer in senior
Chris Charles (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who led the squad
with 11 goals and 23 points last season. Charles was awarded
Northeast-10 "Player of the Week" once last season and looks to
build on a successful first-year with the team. AIC also brings
back second-year man Kyle Paton (Westfield, Mass.)
who was second on the team with six goals and one assist a year
ago. The Jackets have a nice blend of veterans to match their newly
acquired freshman talent. Only time will tell if that will lead
them to success in the always competitive Northeast-10 conference.
Forwards:
AIC will have strong out-put from Charles and senior Euan McCraw (West Lothian, Scotland) who tallied two goals in his first season last year. AIC will have to look to several other returnees and newcomers to find the back-of-the-net in '07. Senior Bernard Kessie (Worcester, Mass.) is a lighting fast forward who was fourth on the team with three goals last year. Kessie finished one goal behind junior forward Gustavo Duarte (Leominster, Mass.) who notched four scores and will return to the front-line for AIC in 2007. Freshman Robert Lubold (Holyoke, Mass.) will suit-up for the first time this season, and looks to be an immediate help.
Midfield:
It's not easy graduating a midfielder like Norbet Dusza. AIC said farewell to him and midfielder Marek Przybylek who traded in his soccer jersey for a football uniform at the end of last season. Przybylek and Dusza combined for a goal and five assists and were huge in the middle of the field for AIC last season. There are three returning midfielders for the Yellow Jackets in 2007, the aforementioned Paton, Ricky Morris (Victoria, Grenada.) who played in 10 games last season and Jeff Morrison (Sharon, Conn.) who only saw time in four games last season. The Yellow Jackets are in need of help from their newcomers that include freshman Alex DosSantos (Ludlow, Mass.), Sean Stevenson (Holyoke, Mass.), sophomores Thomas Watson (Devonshire, Bermuda) and Andrew Rousseau (Springfield, Mass.), and juniors Leonardo Santos (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Theo Abbey (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Defense:
AIC will have a strong defense even though they lost key
starters from last season. Derick Ofori
(Pawtucket, R.I.) started in 17 contest last year and
Pawel Kapinski (Klawa, Poland) started in 15 games
notching an assist last season. Both will return for AIC and be
joined by a plethora of newcomers. The newcomers include freshman
Alan Johnathan (Central Islip, N.Y.) and
James Davidson (Ottawa, Ontario), sophomores
Kenner de Almeida (Vinhedo, Brazil),
Trevin Ming (Sandys, Bermuda), juniors
John McGrath (Springfield, Mass.) and
Ohionameg Aregbeyen (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and finally
senior Steve DisCristofori (Scituate, R.I.).
Goalie:
Dealing with the loss of graduating senior goalie Michael Murphy will be one of the biggest obstacles for AIC this season. The Yellow Jackets will turn to graduate-student Mathew Marcoux (Blackstone, Mass.) who will likely see a lot of time in net for AIC this season. Marcoux will be joined by newcomers Anthony Tranghese (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) who is a junior and freshman Alex Tuohey (Feeding Hills, Mass.).
The Yellow Jacket's first test will be August 28th
when they host Assumption College.