Boston College Athletics
Men's Soccer 2007 Season Preview
August 29, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2007
GOALKEEPERS
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 2/1
Junior Chris Brown made his collegiate debut in late September last fall and started each of the team's final nine games of the season, posting a 4-3-2 record and a 1.24 goals against average.
"In goal, we have a returning starter in Chris Brown," head coach Ed Kelly said. "He is captain of the team. He had a very strong season last season, particularly for a goalkeeper that had limited action leading up to last year."
Brown's freshman and sophomore campaigns were cut short because of knee injuries.
Joining Brown and looking for playing time in the BC net are senior Shane Boggis and sophomore Michael Lawless. Boggis has played in 12 games in his three seasons, posting a 5-4-0 record and a 1.33 goals against average. Last fall, the Milford, N.H., resident started five of the team's first seven games and collected a 3-1-0 record. Lawless has yet to make his first appearance in the BC net.
FULLBACKS
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 6/2
Versatile senior Sherron Manswell is scheduled to make the switch from the midfield to defense in 2007. Kelly expects Manswell, who earned All-ACC second-team honors after scoring a team-high 10 goals as a sophomore forward prior to playing in the midfield as a junior, to handle yet another position change well. Manswell has played - and started - all 33 games over the past two seasons.
"He is a very strong player who is particularly good in the air," Kelly said. "Sherron is better when he is working with the field in front of him rather than with his back to the goal."
Juniors Paul Gerstenberger and Jamie Melas as well as sophomore Idan Shefler will also be key figures as the Eagles cope with the loss of four-year starters Sam Brill and Jamen Amato. Gerstenberger returns for his junior season having recorded 25 starts at left defense during his first two seasons, while Melas started all 17 games and Shefler played in 12 games last fall.
Sophomore Chris Carey, who played in 12 games as a freshman, and senior Matt Mones will provide Kelly with added depth in the backfield. Mones saw action in 11 games, including four ACC contests in 2006.
Freshman Karl Reddick, a three-time All-Delaware County honoree at Strath Haven High School, is also expected to compete for a starting position.
Sophomore Ernie McAlister suffered a knee injury in spring practice and will redshirt this season.
MIDFIELDERS
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/1
Co-captain Reuben Ayarna, a native of Ghana, capped an impressive sophomore campaign with one goal and a team-high seven assists en route to All-ACC second-team honors.
"Reuben is one of the best midfielders in the country," the coach said. "He needs to be the guy. We need someone who can lead by example and he is a very dedicated soccer player. He is very disciplined both on and off the field. His skill level is above most people and he is a great competitor."
Returning lettermen also include juniors Stephen Hepburn, Mike Konicoff, Greg O'Neil and Ryan Sherman. Hepburn totaled five points - two goals and one assist - last fall. Konicoff has played in 29 games and has registered 27 starts in his first two seasons at BC. O'Neil, a Boston College High School graduate, has played in 27 games and recorded 11 starts in his first two seasons, while Sherman has seen ample action at midfield as a freshman and sophomore. The Ocean, N.J., resident has played in 27 games and has totaled five points - one goal and three assists.
Kelly also welcomes the addition of junior Alejandro Bedoya, who transferred from Fairleigh Dickinson to Boston College for the spring (2007) semester. Bedoya twice earned All-Northeast Conference first-team honors while at FDU. He recorded 15 points - five goals and five assists - in his sophomore season. The past winter, Bedoya participated in the U.S. Under-20 National Team training camp in Bradenton, Fla.
The 2007 season will mark the return of senior Satoshi Mitsuda, one of the team's top reserves in each of the two seasons he has participated. Mitsuda played in 18 games as a freshman and 12 as a sophomore. He then suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the 2006 campaign.
Junior Joey Clarke rounds out the list of returning midfielders. Clarke has played in 14 games during his first two seasons at BC.
The Eagles also welcome two freshmen midfielders - Aidan Buick and Mario Uribe - who will look to make immediate contributions. Buick, a Cohasset native, starred for Northfield-Mount Hermon last fall, while Uribe earned Dade County Class 6A-5A all-star honors as a junior and senior midfielder at Miami Killian High School.
FORWARDS
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 2/1
With would-be senior Charlie Davies having signed a professional contract with Club Hammarby in Sweden, the Eagles have two returning lettermen: Mor Avi Hanan and Alberto Sanchis. Avi Hanan played in all 17 matches last fall and led all ACC players (league games only) in shots per game (4.50). He registered 13 points - five goals and three assists - in 2006.
Sanchis played in four games last fall.
Joining the two returning players are four newcomers: Aiden Blake, Shawn Chin, Jeremiah Gallington and Dan Lane.
Blake, a native of Letterkenny, Ireland, has played each of the previous three seasons at Heriot Watt University in Scotland, where he helped lead the team to three consecutive National Scottish University titles, finishing each season as the team's top goal scorer.
Chin, a product of Felix Varela Senior High School in Miami, earned Dade County 6A Player of the Year honors as a senior forward in 2006.
Gallington, a Mattapan, Mass., native, earned All-Independent School League first-team honors as a junior at the Brooks School before an injury-shortened senior season.
Lane, who is from Dedham, Mass., is a transfer from Wheaton College, where he earned NSCAA All-New England second-team honors as a sophomore forward last fall.
