Boston College Athletics
Men's Soccer: 2008 Outlook
August 29, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2008
Coming off one of its most successful seasons in school history, the Eagles are poised to get the 2008 soccer campaign underway.
Last fall, the team won 15 games. It captured the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title, beating seven-of-eight league opponents. It won the ACC Tournament title, beating all three of its opponents in regulation. It beat Wake Forest -- the 2007 NCAA Champion -- twice. For the first time in program history, it earned the nation's No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Individually, three players achieved All-America accolades. For the second straight year, the league's top offensive player came from Chestnut Hill. The coach captured the conference's highest coaching honor. And, six players earned All-Conference recognition.
But the wins, the league championship, the nation's top ranking and the individual honors have been put aside, the page has been turned. The focus is now set on the 2008 soccer squad.
"We're not talking about repeating," said head coach Ed Kelly, now in his 21st season BC. "Last season is done and dusted. What happened last year, happened last year. We're going to stay focused on being a good soccer team. If that's good enough, that's good enough. I'm confident that we're a pretty good team and we'll see where that takes us."
Fifteen letterwinners, including All-American Alejandro Bedoya, and nine starters who have a combined playing experience of 323 collegiate games return to the pitch. Defensively, the team returns four senior starters and goalkeeper Chris Brown.
"We're very strong in the back," the coach said. "So, that part is the backbone of the team. We have a good unit - from the goalkeeper to the back four. We don't have to recreate that part, which is our base for being good. If we're good defensively, then we can be good offensively. We'll always be in games based on our defense."
Kelly and his staff -- Kevin Anderson, Robbie Mustoe and Stefano Franciosa -- will have to cope with the loss of a small, but greatly skilled, departing class in central midfielder Reuben Ayarna and forward Sherron Manswell. Both players earned All-America status in 2007.
So, the coaches will turn to their leaders, their seniors. Of which there are eleven. Leading this fine group are captains Bedoya, Brown and Mike Konicoff. Bedoya and Brown were two of nine collegians who participated in the U.S. Olympic Team training camp in Florida in January. Bedoya was a semifinalist for Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, college soccer's highest individual honor, and earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors last fall. Brown, a 2006 winner of the program's McElroy award saluting excellence in play on the field and character off the field, earned All-ACC second-team recognition in 2007.
IN GOAL
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/0
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 1/0
Newcomers: 1
The situation in goal is solid. The duty is in the firm grasp of Chris Brown, a 6-foot, 5-inch All-Conference second-team honoree who returns for his senior season having started each of the last 30 games in net.
"He's a huge presence in the goal," the coach said. "He doesn't get ruffled easily. He's got a strong personality and he's commanding in the box. He's intimidating and he cuts down angles very well."
Last fall, Brown played all but 18 minutes, allowing just 16 goals in 21 games and guiding the team to a 15-5-1 overall record. He finished the season with a 0.76 goals against average and an .805 save percentage. In conference contests, the Pleasant Hill, Calif., native was just as good. He allowed just seven goals in eight league games (0.87 GAA) to lead the team to a 7-1-0 conference record and the program's first ACC regular-season title.
Brown continued to stymie the opponents' goal-scoring threats in postseason play. The goalkeeper allowed just two goals in ACC Tournament victories over Virginia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest, backstopping BC to a second ACC championship - the tournament title - in three weeks. Brown, whose three-game totals included a 0.67 goals against average and a .818 save percentage, earned All-Tournament honors for his efforts.
Junior Michael Lawless and freshman Max Zimmerman will provide added depth at the goalkeeper position. Lawless made his collegiate debut against Maine last fall. Zimmerman, a 6-foot, 160-pound product of St. Paul, Minn., earned All-Tri-Metro League honorable mention honors as a senior captain at St. Paul Academy.
IN THE BACKStarters Returning/Lost: 4/0 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/0 Newcomers: 2
"We have a solid group coming back, and we have some depth. We have a nice complement of attacking and defending and we have two very strong guys in the center."
Four senior starters -- Paul Gerstenberger, Stephen Hepburn, Jamie Melas and Idan Shefler -- coupled with veteran junior Chris Carey constitute the team's returnees at the fullback position. This group has combined to start 153 games. Last fall, the Eagles' backline helped register 0.75 goals against average, a mark good for second in the conference and No. 26 among all Division I teams in collegiate soccer.
Gerstenberger returns for his senior season having recorded 44 starts at left defense during his first three seasons. A solid two-way (attacking and defensive) player, he led all BC defenders - and registered career highs - in goals (four) and assists (five) last fall. Additionally, Gerstenberger gained All-Tournament Team accolades at the ACC Championship after he notched one goal and one assist in the team's 3-1 victory over Virginia Tech - a win that launched the Eagles into the championship game.
Hepburn and Melas each have made 34 starts over the last three seasons. Hepburn, a native of nearby Dover, Mass., made the transition from the midfield to fullback following his sophomore season and started all 21 games as a junior. And for the second time in as many seasons, he was honored with the program's Most Improved Player award.
Melas has totaled 17 starts in each of the last two seasons. A stay-at-home central defender, the Pacific Palisades, Calif., resident reported for preseason camp at full strength after suffering a knee injury at the ACC Tournament last November. Just days before sustaining the injury, he joined the Eagles' offense on a memorable corner kick and scored the game's lone goal - the first of his career - against Virginia in the ACC Tournament's quarterfinal round.
Shefler, also a center fullback, is a two-year veteran of U.S. college soccer who has two years of athletic eligibility remaining. He has started 27 of the 29 games in which he's played since arriving in Chestnut Hill, Mass., from Ramat Gan, Israel.
"Idan has come back in tip-top shape," Kelly said. "He and Jamie Melas pair up together and are very solid in the center."
Carey, a junior who has combined to start 12 games during his freshman and sophomore seasons, provides added experience and veteran depth on defense. The Scottsdale, Ariz., resident started in the BC backfield in five ACC games last fall as well as the team's NCAA Tournament match against Massachusetts.
Also among the returnees along the backline is junior Ernie McAlister. McAlister missed the entire 2007 season because of a knee injury. A resident of Braintree, Mass., he played in six games and registered four starts in his freshman - 2006 - season
The Eagles will also welcome two newcomers -- freshman Patrick Chin and sophomore Myles Gerraty -- who are expected to vie for playing time at the fullback position.
Chin, who hails from Arcadia, Calif., played seven years with the Los Angeles Futbol Club. The LAFC advanced to the title game in the 2008 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals Week. Gerraty, who is in his second academic year at BC and first on the Eagles' soccer team, is a Nutley, N.J., resident who played his high school soccer at St. Benedict's, where he won state and national titles after finishing 20-0 as senior captain in 2006.
IN THE MIDFIELD Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/1 Newcomers: 2The team returns four (of five) starters in the midfield. Two seniors -- All-America first-team selection and reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year Alejandro Bedoya and three-year starter Mike Konicoff -- give Eagles' soccer fans reason to smile.
Bedoya, a playmaker with outstanding speed and field vision, led the ACC (league games only), or finished second, in all seven offensive categories. The Weston, Fla., native finished first among league players in points (15; first), points per game (first; 1.88), goals (tied first; five) and game-winning goals (tied-first; three). He ranked second in goals per game (second; 0.62), assists (tied-second; five) and assists per game (tied-second; 0.62).
"He's a key part to the puzzle and other teams know that," Kelly said. "They treat him with the respect that he deserves. They mark him very tightly. He's a hard guy to cover because he's all over the field. He's got great speed. We need him to produce more goals than last year."
Konicoff has played in more games (50) than any returning player. He eclipsed career highs for goals (four), assists (five) and points (13) last fall. He is second (behind Bedoya) among the team's top returning scorers. The Montebello, N.Y., resident totaled three game-winning scores, most notably his decisive goal early in the second half of the league tournament's championship game against Wake Forest. Konicoff also registered an assist on Sherron Manswell's first-half score in the 2-1 title victory.
"Koni is in tip-top form as our left forward," Kelly said. "It's his senior season and he's going to be a big part of our success."
A gifted playmaker with great shot precision, Konicoff hit 24-of-30 shot attempts on goal.
Two sophomores -- Shawn Chin and Karl Reddick -- who each earned All-Conference Rookie Team recognition and were 20-game starters in the midfield last fall, provide the coaching staff with young, yet tested talent.
Chin, who along with Bedoya are two of four Floridians on the roster, registered eight points on three goals and two assists in his freshman season. Chin, also a calculated decision-maker, hit 74 percent (14-for-19) of his shot attempts on goal. The 6-foot, 165-pound Reddick totaled one goal and three assists last year. Reddick earned Soccer America All-Freshmen second-team laurels and College Soccer News All-Freshmen third-team recognition.
Looking to fill positions and compete for playing time are three returning lettermen -- seniors Greg O'Neil and Ryan Sherman and sophomore Mario Uribe. O'Neil and Sherman each saw significant action last fall.
O'Neil, a local product from South Weymouth and Boston College High School, played in 14 games in a defender and a midfielder's role, adjusting from his previous position as an attacking midfielder and forward during his first two seasons in the BC system. He adjusted well and saw playing time in key situations down the stretch. O'Neil notched the primary assist on Konicoff's decisive score in BC's 2-1 victory over Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament's title tilt.
Sherman played in 19 games in 2007 and recorded five starts, missing two games because of injury. Sherman totaled five points -- two goals and one assist -- on 19 shots as a junior. A St. Benedict's Prep graduate, he has seen action in 46 games over the last three seasons. Only Konicoff has played in more games.
Uribe, a Miami (Fla.) Killian High School graduate and Dade County 6A-5A all-star who is now in his second BC season, played in three games during his freshman campaign.
"Mario has a wonderful opportunity to become a starter," Kelly said. "He's had a great preseason. He's worked very hard and he has a lot to offer this team."
Also among the returnees in the midfield is senior Joey Clarke. Clarke is a four-year member of the program who has played in 17 career games.
Two first-year enrollees -- Nate Bourdeau and Conor Fitzpatrick -- will look to make immediate contributions. Bourdeau, a versatile midfielder, earned All-Region and All-State Section 3 Large School first-team honors as a senior at C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y. He was selected as the Syracuse Post-Standard Central New York Player of the Year at the conclusion of his senior season. Fitzpatrick, who hails from Coventry, Conn., and attended East Catholic High School, earned NSCAA Youth All-America honors in 2007 and gained All-State honors as a junior (Class S) and senior (Class M). Fitzpatrick was a two-time All-Northwest Catholic Conference selection who also captured NSCAA All-Region I honors in 2007.
Both newcomers were among the College Soccer News' Top 100 Freshmen To Keep An Eye On and were members of the under-18 youth national team.
UP FRONTStarters Returning/Lost: 0/1 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 2/1 Newcomers: 2 Among the chief concerns for the team this fall is how the offense adjusts to loss of Sherron Manswell. A 6-foot, 1-inch striker, Manswell totaled a team-high 29 points and 11 goals during remarkable senior season that saw the Trinidad native earn NSCAA All-America third-team and All-Conference second-team honors. Manswell also gained Most Valuable Player honors at the ACC Tournament after he registered a tournament-best seven points - three goals and one assist - in guiding the team to three victories and the 2007 tournament title.
Three returnees -- junior Mor Avi Hanan, sophomore Jeremiah Gallington and senior Dan Lane -- as well as two highly-regarded newcomers -- sophomore Dave Dale and freshman Edvin Worley -- will compete to fill the void.
Avi Hanan saw action in just three games during an injury-shortened sophomore season. Avi Hanan suffered a knee injury early in the season and missed eight games after undergoing surgery.
Gallington saw action in 17 games as a freshman, including six ACC regular-season matches and two conference tournament games, while Lane, a 6-foot, 2-inch forward, played in five games during his junior season after transferring from Wheaton College.
"Jeremiah is competing for a starting spot," Kelly said. "He can play out wide right and he can play center forward. He's made a lot of progress."
Sophomore Dave Dale is a Eagan, Minn., resident who joins the team after one academic year at BC. Dale was the Pioneer Press 2006 Player of the Year who earned All-State and All-America honors as a senior forward. Dale led the All-Lake Conference in scoring during both his junior and senior seasons.
Worley, a Jenson Beach, Fla., native gained All-State, All-Area and All-Conference accolades as a senior after he registered 16 goals and five assists in 12 games for Jensen Beach High School. Worley earned NSCAA Youth All-America honors in 2007 and was a member of the under-18 youth national team.
