Current Saints Defeat Alumni in Annual Event
The 2011 Saints Men's Soccer Alumni Game was certainly an event to remember! A substantial crowd gathered around Sandy MacAllaster Field. A handful of Saints Alumni that were not able to play due to injury were able to view the match from the tremendous comfort and shade provided by the SS Sun Seeker, an RV commandeered and captained by alumnus Eric Bunyan '04. The Alumni Game, as always, demonstrated the profound importance of connecting the trinity of soon-to-be Saints, current Saints, and Saints Alumni through the game we love. The "beautiful game" once again brought us all together for an unforgettable experience of uniting the past, present, and future of the Saints Men's Soccer Program.
Click here to see a few pictures from the 2011 Alumni Game!
The current saints defended the castle in their traditional white uniforms representing the home team. The Alumni Red Team was the first to kick off against the young bucks. The Red Team plan was to keep a strong foundation in the back in order to hold off any scoring from the speedy and well-conditioned saints. Although the current saints enjoyed a clear advantage in possession and scoring opportunities, the alums held the young men at bay for the majority of the first 30 minute quarter. However, the young saints opened up the scoring when a miscommunication in the back resulted in Sam DeMello '13 finding himself with the ball at his foot just outside the 18 yard box with little pressure. DeMello deftly chipped the ball over the keeper for the current Saints to obtain a 1-0 lead.
During the second 30 minute quarter, the current saints changed the line up by replacing the starting midfield, two outside backs, and two forwards with members of the class of 2014. The Alumni Brown Team battled the current Saints during this period and dominated possession of the ball. The Brown Team was stacked with many skillful and experienced players from the late ‘90's era as well as more recent grades from '08 and '09. No goals were tallied during these 30 minutes and the Alumni contingent was feeling more confident about the possibility of victory.
The third period of play brought the Alumni Red squad back to the pitch. The Alumni confidence was very short lived as current Saint Sean Scott '12 exploded down the flank and delivered a beautiful cross that was met by Shaka Pilgrim '13 who smoothly finished the goal scoring opportunity. Later, approximately half way through the period, Sam DeMello '13 converted his second goal of the afternoon. The goal was born after Ryley Webb '14 carried the ball to the end-line then perfectly cut it back across the box where DeMello slotted it home with a magnificent one time shot!
In the final period of competition the current Saints scored two more goals. No more than three minutes had passed when current Saint Brian "Gil" Gilloran '13 struck a wonderful ball from the left side which hit the far right post before striking the back of the net. Gilloran's goal was set up by a Sam DeMello '13 pass originating in the middle of the park. Almost exactly two minutes later DeMello received a pass from Adrian Bucksam '14 and dribbled through four Alumni players as if they were training cones before tranquilly chipping the Alumni keeper for his third score of the game (DeMello was saluted enthusiastically by both the current Saints and Alumni alike for his brilliant individual effort).
However, with just over half of the final period remaining, the Alumni Brown Team (with a few Red Team additions...), began to fight back like hungry pit bulls. Current assistant coach and member of the Red Alumni Team, Charlie Bour '05, initiated a short corner kick play with Carlos Smith '02. Smith returned the ball to Bour who then served a cross to alumnus Rasool Alizadeh '02 that converted an acrobatic header at the back post. Five minutes later, Allan Maragh '02 smoothly carried the ball through the midfield and threaded a pass to Ryan Carruth '01. The California resident (Carruth), utilized his incredible balance (acquired via years of surfing) to fake and pivot before blasting a low shot under current Saints goal keeper Nate Goss-Woliner '13 and into the back of the net. It was remarkable to see the Alumni squad moving fluidly and attacking at pace down the stretch. It appeared that they had received their second wind. The current Saints protested that the Alumni had added extra players to the playing field; however, the referees could identify no such offense taking place. Regardless, the speed of play among both teams was exciting and action packed prior to the pair of Alumni goals.
The Rosters of each team are as follows:
Red Alumni Team Field Players:
Dustin Crooker [GK] '03, Garrett Quackenbush '95, Neil Patel '99, Matt Kokoszka '03, Eric Bunyan '04, Garrett Huntley '05, Charlie Bour '05, Evan Schutt '05, John Loftus '05, Axel Galeano '07, Marco Falcon-Viale '09, Reed Carr '10, Emmanuel Mbong '10, James Stewart ‘11
Brown Alumni Team:
Franco Bari '98, Nick Hillary '00, Mani Beckford '01, Ryan Carrot '02, Matt Bogosian '02, Rasool Alizadeh ‘02, Carlos Smith '02, Allan Maragh '02, Chris Harrison '08, David Osorno '08, Sean Charles '08, Kiel Dwyer '09, Ian Fairlie ‘09
White Team (Current Saints):
Nathaniel Goss-Woliner [GK] (SO), Will Congdon (SO), Mike Manfredi (JF), Sam DeMello (SO), Brian Gilloran (SO), Shaka Pilgrim (SO), Alex Laird (SO), Sean Scott (JR), Tyler McCune (JR), JJ Tipton (SO), Andrew Chan (FY), Andrew Bednarsky (FY), Juan Chang (FY), Ryley Webb (FY), Adrian Bucksam (FY), Craig Davis (FY), James May (FY), Yanick Brown (FY), and Pete Walsh (FY).