Men's Soccer Picked 5th In CCC Preseason Poll

Full Release From the Commonwealth Coast Conference

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--  Coming off of a year that saw the team achieve the most success in recent memory, the Gulls are looking to improve upon their quarterfinal finish last year and strive to push for the conference title.  Endicott has been picked fifth in the preseason Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) coaches poll that was released Wednesday morning by the conference office and commissioner Gregg M. Kaye.

The voting, which was completed by the CCC's head men's soccer coaches, has Endicott receiving 67 points.  Narrowly ahead of them in fourth place is Nichols with 69 points.  The top three is comprised of Roger Williams with 77 points, Gordon with 82 points and one first-place vote, and Western New England with 99 points and the remaining nine first-place votes.

Coming into his second season as head coach of Endicott in 2012, Coach Calabrese is looking to build upon a 2011 season that saw the team finish 8-9-3, their best record since 2005.  Last season also saw them advance to the CCC Quarterfinals for the second straight season, as well as being selected to the ECAC Tournament for the first time in the history of the program.  The 4-3-2 record in conference play also marked the first season above .500 since 2006.

"Ultimately the goal for our program is to compete for the regular and postseason conference championship," states Calabrese.  "We have had some relative success the past two seasons with making the playoffs, but we want to take the next step to become a legitimate contender in our conference.  We have to be mature enough to perform at our top ability each and every time we step foot on the field and need to embrace this mentality.  We have stepped up our out of conference schedule which should help prepare us for tough battles in conference, especially with the first match on the schedule being St. Lawrence who received a NSCAA preseason national ranking of #2 in the country.  The team is working hard to get to the next level and with the influx of new players we have coming in, the expectations are high for this group."

Last season Endicott was eliminated by Roger Williams who lost to conference champion Western New England, and in 2010, the team suffered a 2-0 loss to conference champion Nichols.  Following the 2-1 loss to Roger Williams, the Gulls moved onto the ECAC tournament last season, where they fell 3-2 to Albertus Magnus.

In the upcoming 2012 season, Endicott is returning two of its top three scorers in sophomore forward Alex Jorge, junior midfielder Bobby Durben.  Defensively the team will look to senior Michael MacLeay, who was one of two players to start in all 20 matches last season, as well as senior defenseman Kevin Gnecco.  The two will look to provide leadership to a young backfield. 

This past year, Jorge led the program with five goals and one assist, good enough for 11 points, following a positional switch to forward after starting the season in net.  Durben was close behind with nine total points after tallying three goals and notching three assists.  Ryan D'Amico provides consistency amongst a talented midfielder group after notching 17 starts and accounting for four points after scoring one goal and recording two assists.

The 2012 season will also see a very talented incoming class that will be a mix of transfers and first year students.  Nathan Trigg (Bryant University, Oakwood Soccer Academy) is expected to make an immediate impact from the midfield position.  Zack Mullane (American International College, Western United FC) will also look to make an impact from a defensive midfielder position.  Kyle Bisceglia (Goffstown, NH, Seacoast Academy), Jordan Daniel (FSA Soccer Club), Mark Greco (Belchertown, Western United FC), Alex Tonsberg (Staples, Beachside Soccer Club), and Henry McCauley (Westtown School, FC Delco) all look to contribute during their freshmen campaigns. 

This season, Endicott will face a strong schedule both in and out of conference.  Matches against national #2 St. Lawrence, Salem State, Tufts and Springfield, highlight an extremely strong out of conference schedule.  In conference, key matches see the Gulls hosting Roger Williams on September 15^th, while having to travel to Gordon, Western New England and Nichols during a key two week stretch in early October.  With the preparation gained from a strong schedule and a mixture of maturing players and new youth, Calabrese and the Gulls have their sights set on the ultimate prize of a conference championship and a berth to the NCAA tournament.