Riverdale, N.Y. -- Manhattan College's men's soccer team will kick off the season Tuesday evening when it heads to Teaneck, N.J. to take on the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, the defending Northeast Conference tournament champs and a participant in last season's NCAA tournament. Game time is 7 p.m.
The FDU Knights are led by preseason first-team All-America selection Samson Malijani, a forward who finished the 2008 season second in the nation with 0.90 goals per game and tied for first with 2.05 points per game. He was tied for the lead in the Northeast Conference with 18 goals and 41 points and his five assists were tied for seventh in the league.
Manhattan Jasper's Season Outlook
Heading into his fifth season at the helm of the Manhattan College men's soccer team, head coach Michael Swanwick has never been as optimistic about the team's chances to move into the top echelon ofthe MAAC.
"My optimism is based on the fact that we ended last season as well as we did, the performances we displayed during the spring season and probably the best recruiting class we've had during my time here, including several players who come out of clubs who are part of the very prestigious U.S. Soccer Development Academy program," Swanwick said.
He also points to the fact that coming back for this season are 10 players who started at one time or another during the 2008 season.
Topping the list of returners is senior center midfielder Nicholas Patrikis, who was named to be one of the team's tri-captains for the 2009 season. Patrikis during the 2008 season finished third on the team in points with nine and led team in assists with 7, the assist total ranking him seventh in the MAAC in MAAC. He was also second on the team in shots taken with 41, which ranked him 11th in conference.
Joining Patrikis as tri-captains will be fellow seniors Stephen Van Rossem and Fernando Segares. Van Rossem is a versatile player who has played upfront and in the back during his first three years with the Jaspers and Coach Swanwick is looking for him to display that versatility again in 2009. Segares --whose brother is a standout with the MLS's Chicago Fire and plays for the Costa Rican national team -- sat out last season with a knee injury but turned in a good performance during this past spring season, providing a glimpse of what he will be able to do for Manhattan in the defensive midfield spot.
"I am thrilled to have Nick, Stephen and Fernando provide us with the leadership necessary to take this team to the next level," Swanwick said.
Swanwick is hoping that last year's best display on offense since he has been at Manhattan will carry over into 2009. Last season, the Jaspers finished fourth in the MAAC in shots with 237, while scoring 26 goals, significantly more than the 14 they scored in each of the previous two years. In addition to Van Rossem, Swanwick is looking for junior Thomas Bandov and sophomore Deia Nassar to provide the needed firepower. Bandov netted five goals in 2008, to rank second on the team in that category. Nassar had three goals last season, including two in the Jaspers' season-ending win against Canisius.
Swanwick is optimistic that juniors Matt Gormley and able to add goal scoring ability to the Jasper lineup. Ostrov returns to Manhattan after a one-year stay at the University of Maine, where he tallied two goals last season, including a game winner versus Binghamton University. Neves was a four-year high school starter at Rhode Island state finalist LaSalle Academy, where he picked up All State and All-Division honors. "Eric is a versatile player who can cause danger on the flanks and can also be dangerous out of the striker position position," Coach Swanwick said. "He has played under one of the top high school coaches in the country, Mario Pereira, so we know he comes in very well-prepared for the college game."
With Patrikis and Segares expected to anchor the center of the midfield, Swanwick will turn to a wealth of talent to man the flanks, including sophomore Anthony Florez, seniors Nick White and Fabricio Pesantez, juniors Paul Rolston, Sean Russell and James Gannon and incoming freshman Vincent McEnroe. Florez, Gannon and White can also move to the center of the midfield.
"We certainly have a great amount of depth and experience in the midfield, and that depth will be supplemented by incoming freshmen Vince McEnroe and Eric Jorgensen," Swanwick pointed out.
McEnroe, a New Jersey high school standout, was a key starter on the PDA Larsson club soccer team, which was the 2008 national finalist in the U16 U.S. Soccer Development Program. Jorgensen, a multi-year Eastern New York Olympic Development Program selection who also has been a member of the USYSA Region 1 ODP squad, played for both Red Bull New York and FC Westchester in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program.
Swanwick is also looking forward to having a very, very strong backline in 2009. Leading the way there will be junior Josh Renner and sophomore Christopher Holihan, both of whom were named to the MAAC All-Rookie team during their freshman seasons.
Expecting to help them out on the backline will be incoming transfer Lenny Young, as well as incoming freshmen Tyler Williams and Tyler Kahn. Young transferred to Manhattan from Valpariso University and played for the Jaspers during the spring season. A four-year letterwinner at Don Bosco H.S., he helped his 2007 high school team to the league championship and an undefeated season until the state semifinals and played club ball for FC Westchester,helping that team 2008 U-18 U.S. Soccer Development league finals. Williams, who hails from Orchard Park, N.Y., was a 2008 All-State selection in high school and during his high school career was
named to the 2008 and 2007 All Western N.Y. team and the 2008, 2007 and 2006 All League squads. He also played in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program for the Empire United club.
Kahn, fom Rockville Centre, N.Y., was a four-year high school starter who was team captain for three years. He has also been part of the very successful Blau Weiss Gottschee soccer program for the past four years and during the past two of those years has played in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program. "Tyler can play in any of the positions in the back and can also play in the middle of the park. He is a hard-nosed player with a great deal of skill and we look for very good things from him right away," Swanwick said.
The Jaspers defenders will front a goalkeeping position that will be manned by a keeper who will come from amongst juniors Randall Brobson, Joseph Lorenz and incoming freshman Christopher Todd.
Brobson started 10 of the 11 games in which he played last season and had a goals against average of 2.22, posting 47 saves and a save percentage average of .701, while Lorenz started one game during the fall, but got all the playing time during the spring with Brobson out with an injury. Todd, from Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. and Paramus Catholic H.S., was first team All League, first team All County and First Team All- State (North Non-Public A). He was also a two-year member
of the New Jersey Olympic Development Program and a Region l Pool player and for the past two years has played for the FC Westchester U.S. Soccer Development Academy program.
"Chris comes to us with great credentials, having played at the top level in the ODP program and in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program. He is very, very quick and a great shot stopper. We expect that he will compete for a starting spot in goal right off the bat." according to Swanwick.
