Close Predictions for Northeast-10 Men's Soccer
NE-10 Regular Season Title Up For Grabs According to Preseason Poll
Aug 25, 2009
It was a very close finish for men’s soccer at the end of the 2009 campaign for the Northeast-10 Conference. Of the four teams at the top of the conference at the end of the season, two finished with 9-3-1 records while the other two finished at 9-1-3. Here’s a look at three of these Division II teams and what to look for this season.
1. Southern New Hampshire University
The Penmen last season won the Northeast-10 regular-season and tournament championships, posting a 15-3-4 overall record and 9-1-3 in the conference. The Penmen reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago but didn’t get as far as they expected.
This season second-year head coach Marc Hubbard, the 2008 Northeast-10 Coach of the Year, and the Penmen will see the return of 19 players from last year’s team, including All-Americans Adrian Schippers, goalkeeper Sean Lambert, and Richard Kentish. Schippers led the team with 22 points on eight goals and six assists, while Paulson Edum had a team-high nine goals and three assists for 21 points. Lambert started 21 games last season and led all of Division II with a 0.42 goals-against average while posting 11 shutouts. The 2008 Goalkeeper of the Year has an outstanding 0.44 career GAA and 13 career shutouts.
Expect the 11th-ranked Penmen to have another successful season and look for them to make a run deep in the NCAA Tournament as well.
2. Franklin Pierce University
The Ravens finished 2008 in disappointment. The 2007 National Champions fell to the eventual national runners-up Dowling College Golden Lions in the NCAA Tournament. This season, the 16th-ranked Ravens welcome a new coach in alum Craig Stewart as well as 19 new players. Franklin Pierce returns its core offensive unit, including sophomore Victor Goncalves, graduate Frantz Francois, and senior Kensaku Tsuji. Goncalves was the 2008 NE-10 Freshman of the Year, scoring a conference-best 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. Francois was named a third-team All-American a year ago, scoring five goals and five assists for 15 points. Tsuji scored three goals and three assists for 12 points after getting considerably more playing time last season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou is expected to be the backstop for the Ravens in his second season. Last season Papageorgiou was solid in goal as a freshman, going 11-5-2 while posting eight shutouts and a 0.86 GAA in helping his team deep into the postseason.
Look for Franklin Pierce to perform well at home as they always do, but a test will be how the younger players handle playing on the road. Also look for Stewart to perform well in picking up the head coaching torch.
3. University of Massachusetts-Lowell
The Riverhawks finished the year with the best season in program history, putting together 13-4-4, 9-1-3 NE-10 record, including a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinal but falling to Dowling in double overtime. UMass-Lowell went on a tremendous run late in the season, going unbeaten in 11 of 12 matches.
UMass-Lowell will be returning 16 players from last year, including six starters. All-Conference goalkeeper Ryan Richards will be key for the defense, which includes returning players Mike Galvin, Asley Barrios, and Corey Samuelson. Richards last season compiled a 1.11 GAA and six shutouts.
Offensively Jhony Valencia, Matheus Candido, Jeffrey Danso and Stephen Potcner will look to continue where they left off last season. First-year Head Coach Bryan Scales will guide UMass-Lowell back to the playoffs this season, which kicks off with a rematch against Dowling on September 2.
