Boston College Athletics
Eagles Prepared For Penn State Nike Classic
September 11, 2001 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 11, 2001
Penn State Nike Classic Game Notes in PDF Format
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THIS WEEKEND'S TOURNAMENT
Boston College enters the Penn State Nike Classic with a 2-1-0 overall record and a 1-1-0 record in BIG EAST play. The team received votes in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll after earning a national ranking of 15 in the Sept. 3 edition. Junior forward Casey Schmidt leads the team in scoring with four goals (eight points), while sophomore forward Adam Pfeifer follows with two goals and one assist (five points). Junior midfielder Bobby Thompson has scored a goal and an assist while seeing limited action due to injury.
In their last game, the No. 15 Eagles dropped a road decision to No. 18 Seton Hall, 2-1, on Saturday, Sept. 8. BC earned its first two victories over league rival Syracuse (5-1) in the season opener on Aug. 31and St. Francis (N.Y.) (1-0) on Sept. 5.
Ohio State enters the tournament ranked 13th in the latest NSCAA poll and with a 3-0-1 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes won their last game against Bowling Green by a 4-0 margin on Sept. 9. OSU has also earned victories over West Virginia (1-0) on Aug. 31 and Northwestern (2-1) on Sept. 2. The Buckeyes tied Kentucky (2-2) on Sept. 7. Juniors Andy Rosenband and John Tomaino each have recorded six points on the season, both on two goals and two assists in four games.
Penn State - Saturday's opponent - enters the weekend with a 3-1-0 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark in the Big Ten Conference. In its last game, PSU defeated conference rival Michigan, 4-0, on Sept. 9. The Nittany Lions opened the season with a 5-1 victory over Bucknell on Aug. 31 before falling to No. 17 South Carolina (3-2) on Sept. 2. The team rebounded with a 5-0 win over Villanova on Sept. 6. Ricardo Villar leads the team in scoring with 12 points (three goals and six assists).
AGAINST THE FIELD
Boston College has never met either of its opponents in this weekend's tournament. In 1981, he Eagles faced their only other Big Ten Conference member, Indiana, falling 1-0 in the opening game of the season. BC and the fourth participant in tournament - Duquesne - have also never met.
LAST TIME OUT
On Saturday, Sept. 8, the 15th-ranked Eagles traveled to 18th-ranked Seton Hall, and suffered their first loss of the season, falling 2-1. After having an apparent goal by Adam Pfeifer called back when an Eagle attacker was offside, Boston College finally took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. Casey Schmidt powered through two defenders to score the goal after receiving a serve down the wing from Martin Cantillo. Seton Hall came out strong in the second half, out-shooting the Eagles 11-5 in the stanza. BC had several chances to add to the lead early in the half, but unlucky breaks kept the ball out of the net. Seton Hall tied the score in the 66th minute, then took the lead in the 85th minute. BC had three late chances to tie the score in the closing minutes. The Pirates made two goal-line defensive saves and the Eagles had Neil Krause's goal called back on an offside call in the 90th minute.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Boston College fell out of the NSCAA/adidas national rankings this week after the loss to Seton Hall. The Eagles are the fourth highest Also Receiving Votes team in the poll. In the other national polls, the Eagles are ranked 24th in the College Soccer News Division I poll. The team in not ranked in either the Soccer America or media poll.
WHO'S HOT
Forward Casey Schmidt has tallied four goals in the last three games, including both of the Eagles' game-winning goals ... the Eagles' defense has allowed just three goals in three games ... goalkeeper Danny Caruso earned his first shutout against St. Peter's (N.Y.) and then made a career-high eight saves against Seton Hall ... back Martin Cantillo has doubled his career totals in points this season, adding two assists to his two assists accumulated earlier in his career.
THE COACHING STAFF
Head coach Ed Kelly and his staff - assistant coaches Zach Samol and Dusan Obsajsnik - will guide the Eagles this season. Kelly is in his 14th season at Boston College and his 17th season overall as a head coach. At the Heights, Kelly has accumulated a 110-104-24 record, a large portion of his 150-117-30 career mark. Kelly is a three-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year, including a 2000 honor for taking his team - picked ninth in the preseason coaches poll - to a third-place regular-season finish and the BIG EAST Tournament title. He was also honored as the 2000 NSCAA/adidas New England Coach of the Year.
Prior coming to the Heights, Kelly was the head coach at Seton Hall University, leading the team to national prominence. His teams won two BIG EAST regular-season titles, two BIG EAST Tournament titles and participated in two NCAA Tournaments. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Fairleigh Dickinson from 1981 through 1984.
KELLY HITS 150 WINS
Head coach Ed Kelly recorded his 150th career win with the Eagles' 1-0 victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at the Newton Campus Soccer Field. Kelly's 150 wins have been accumulated at two different schools - Boston College (110) and Seton Hall (40) - over 17 years as a head coach.
EAGLES PICKED FOURTH
Boston College was chosen fourth in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches Poll. Defending national champion Connecticut was selected first with 11 first-place votes. St. John's followed in second, proceeded by Rutgers who garnered the remaining two first-place votes. BC was followed by Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Providence, Virginia Tech and Villanova.
WEEKLY HONORS
Two players - Casey Schmidt and Adam Pfeifer - were honored for their play against Syracuse with weekly honors on Sept. 3. Schmidt was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Rutgers' Dustin Sheppard, after scoring two goals against Syracuse. Pfeifer was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after netting two goals and an assist against the Orangemen.
SCHMIDT TABBED LEAGUE PRESEASON FAVORITE ...
Junior forward Casey Schmidt was named the BIG EAST's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in a vote of the league's 13 head coaches. He also earned a place on the preseason All-BIG EAST team. Last season, the Newbury Park, Calif. native scored 19 points (eight goals and three assists) to lead the Eagles for the second year in a row.
... AND A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
In addition to his league honors, Schmidt was also selected as a preseason honorable mention All-American by collegesoccer.com, the preeminent on-line soccer publication. Schmidt joined three other BIG EAST players on the honorable mention list. College Soccer News, another on-line soccer publication, tabbed Schmidt a third-team preseason All-American.
OTHER PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Two players - junior midfielder Bobby Thompson and freshman midfielder Bill Arnault - were tabbed as "players to watch" by College Soccer News.
Thompson joined the list of "Midfielders to Watch in 2001". Last season, the Framingham, Mass. product earned BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player accolades after notching two goals and two assists in the BIG EAST Tournament. He tallied five goals and five assists in 20 games last season after coming on strong in the last quarter of the schedule.
Arnault, fresh off his tour of service with the United State Under-18 National Team, was selected as a "Freshman to Watch in 2001" by the publication. A NSCAA high school All-American and academic All-American, Arnault will look to make a significant impact in the lineup from the outset of the season.
EAGLES GET THEIR WINGS
Two new Eagles - freshman Bill Arnault and sophomore transfer Neil Krause - recorded their first career points as members of the Boston College soccer team. Arnault fed Casey Schmidt through the middle of the penalty area for the team's fourth goal in the team's 5-1 win over Syracuse. Krause also set up a Schmidt goal, this time knocking down a Ramon Smith cross to the left post for Schmidt to shoot into an open net. The goal was the game's only goal in the team's 1-0 win over St. Francis (N.Y.)
BACK FOR MORE
Two mainstays on the Eagles back line - fifth-year seniors Paul Bourke and Martin Cantillo - have returned to the field for the Eagles in 2001 after having a year of eligibility remaining after last season. Cantillo did not play during the 1999 season preserving a year of playing time, while Bourke regained a year back when his 1998 season was marred with injuries.
Last year, the two players were the only Eagles to start all 20 games of the season. The defensive unit, including Bourke and Cantillo, ranked eighth nationally in teams goals against average in 2000.
MY SUMMER VACATION
Six Eagles spent the past summer with several high-profile teams. Junior Casey Schmidt and sophomores Paul Chase and Adam Pfeifer were members of the Cape Cod Crusaders of the Premier Development League, Bill Arnault played with the U.S. National Under-18 Team in the spring, and former goalkeeper Chris Hamblin and assistant coach Zach Samol played for the Boston Bulldogs of the D3 Pro League of the United Soccer Leagues.
Schmidt and Chase spent the whole summer with the Crusaders, while Pfeifer played in the team's first few games. The PDL is the lowest tiered adult league of the USL, serving as an summer amateur training outlet for the nation's best collegians. Arnault's team competed in international tournaments in both Holland and Germany this summer. Hamblin and Samol's Bulldogs were the D3 Pro League's Northern Conference champions and advanced to the D3 Pro League's national semifinals.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
This season, two players will bring special playing experiences to the field having already earned international caps for their national junior teams. Besides Bill Arnault who was a member of the U.S. Under-18 National Team in 2001, freshman back Guy Melamed was also a member of his native countries junior national entries. Melamed played on Israel's Under-16 and Under-18 teams before serving a three-year mandatory tour of service in the Israeli army.
WORLD FLAVOR
Several Eagles offer the team an international seasoning, hailing from countries other than the United States. Senior captain Paul Bourke is a native of Cork, Ireland, while senior forward Eyvind Aasen was born and raised in Norway. Senior back Martin Cantillo's family emigrated from Costa Rica to Florida when he was younger. Sophomore Kirt Dorsett is from Trinidad, while sophomore Ramon Smith originally come from Jamaica. Freshman Junior Desrosiers was born and raised in Guadeloupe, but moved to Cambridge, Mass. five years ago.
LIMITED BENEFITS
Junior Bobby Thompson has played a limited roll for the Eagles so far in the 2001 season. He has been suffering from a lingering leg injury that has kept him out of the starting lineup and playing shortened periods off the bench in each of the past two games. The midfielder made the most of his shortened time in the game against Syracuse, though, netting a goal and an assist. Last season, he was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament.
THIRTY-FIFTH SEASON
The 2001 season marks the 35th annual campaign for the Boston College men's soccer team. The Eagles have an all-time record of 269-261-66. Under head coach Ed Kelly, the team has amassed a 110-104-24 record in 13 seasons.
CAPTAINS NAMED
Head coach Ed Kelly has named three captains for the 2001 season: senior back Paul Bourke, senior midfielder Chris Cleary and junior forward Casey Schmidt. Bourke is the program's first three-time captain after regaining a year of eligibility from a 1998 season marred with injuries. He was a captain in 1999, 2000 and this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
Boston College home field - the Newton Campus Soccer Field - has been one of the most kind additions to the Boston College facilities list. The Eagles boast a 12-6-3 mark on the field since its dedication on Sept. 12, 1999, including a 7-2-1 mark in 2000 and a 2-0-0 record so far in 2001.
The Eagles have amassed a 6-0-1 record in their last seven games at the Newton Campus Soccer Field. Over that stretch, BC has outscored their opponents by a 14-3 margin. The team has also posted five shutouts, including four 1-0 wins and a 2-0 win.
UP NEXT
After playing its two games in the Penn State Nike Classic, the Eagles will play their fourth game away from home in a row when they travel to Blacksburg, Va. to take on new BIG EAST member Virginia Tech. The teams will square off on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.
