EXPERIENCE, DEPTH

TO CARRY SAINTS IN 2007

Aug. 31: The St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team will begin their 2007 season at the Lotto North Country Tournament this weekend, and after a tough preseason, are poised to compete for the team’s tenth consecutive NCAA postseason appearance.

“The team has been working hard together, have played tenaciously and competed well in our scrimmages against UVM, Colgate and Ryerson,” says Head Coach Bob Durocher, who enters his 18 th season with the Saints. “We don’t have a lot of individual stand-outs on the team, but that has allowed us to bond together as a team and develop the team’s identity, which is just as valuable.”

Durocher’s team is an experienced one, with 22 players returning, including seven seniors who carry an impressive 39-16-7 record from their previous three seasons. Offensively, he will look to see which combinations work best up front when deciding on his starting forwards, and he has a large group of veteran seniors from which to choose. Senior James Merrill sets the bar for the forwards with his precision and speed, and he, along with seniors Charlie Bogosian, captain Axel Galeano, David Osorno and Chris Harrison will all by vying for starting spots.

The Saints have juniors Ian Fairlie and Ryan Moore stabilizing the center midfield, while the left and right midfield positions are still a work in progress. With sophomore Yoon Sik Jung injured, Durocher has decided to try junior Paul LaMarca in left midfield and is optimistic about the change since LaMarca is working efficiently in the position, while first-year player James Stewart will be playing opposite LaMarca on the right side of midfield. “James is a good player for us and has been both strong and consistent during Preseason,” Durocher says. Also fighting for spots in the midfield are junior Kiel Dwyer and sophomore Reed Carr.

What excites Durocher the most about the upcoming season is the defense the Saints have built. “Our defense is stronger than our offense,” he says. “During the game at Colgate, captain Mike Bobbie played a very good defensive game and showed us that he is a potential All-America candidate.”

Senior Sean Charles and junior Jay Thornhill will both be key players in the Saints defensive scheme. “Sean has been a consistent player in the back since his first year, and Jay’s success with the track team has helped him tremendously on the field.” Sophomore Terrence O’Brien will be another important part of the squad’s defense, as the Saratoga Springs, NY native looks to again land on the All-Conference defensive team “Terrence has really picked up his game and is a tough guy to get around,” Durocher says.

Another asset to the Saints defense is junior goalkeeper and captain Emilio Coletta, who is coming off a great 2006 season, which included 62 saves, a .805 save percentage, and Regional All-America honors.

Depth is always an important aspect of the Saints men’s soccer team, and this year is no different. Durocher is encouraged by the incoming class of first year students, which includes Stewart, Ryan Hefner, Angel Enriquez, Nobuhiko Yamanashi, and Phillip Jones. “Ryan understands our system well and is looking strong, and Nobuhiko has done pretty well, too. We’ll be looking to play him in left back and left midfield possibly,” he says. “With more depth, we can continue to develop players off the bench, maintaining our level of competitiveness and raise it at the same time. That has always equaled success for us before.”

One of the aspects of the team Durocher hopes to improve on is their ability to play back-to-back games. “When we played two teams a weekend last season, our second game of the weekend wasn’t always as strong as our first,” he says. “That is something about our team that will change this year.”

As the Saints prepare for a busy opening weekend on Sandy MacAllaster Field against New Jersey City University and Bridgewater State College, Durocher is a bit more confident in his team’s abilities than he was at this point last season. “We have more systems in place than we did before the Lotto Tournament last year,” he says. “Our seniors have played in three NCAA tournaments and will bring their expertise to our younger players.”

The Saints have been a front-runner in the Liberty League for the past several years, and while Durocher believes his team will be there once again, he notes how competitive the league has gotten. “We have a tough league, and its wide open this year.”

BOBBIE, COLETTA, GALEANO

TO LEAD SAINTS;

HILLARY NAMED ASSISTANT COACH

Aug. 20: Head Coach Bob Durocher has announced the captains and named the assistant coach for the 2007 men’s soccer team. Mike Bobbie ’08, Axel Galeano ’08, and Emilio Coletta ’08 will captain the team this season, while Nick Hillary ’00, a member of the 1999 Saints National Championship team, will be returning to the program as the assistant coach.

“I think the team selected captains that can provide good leadership,” said Bob Durocher, who is entering his 18th season as head coach of the men’s team. “[Bobbie, Coletta, and Galeano] lead by example. They work hard, and with intelligence, and are all very competitive.”

All three captains are some of the top performers in both the ECAC as well as the Liberty League. Bobbie (left), a back from Higganum, CT, was named Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week and was an Honorable Mention for the All Liberty League Team during the 2006 season. He started in each of the 19 games and scored his first goal for the Saints during last year’s season opener. Bobbie was a big asset to the Saints defense, helping the team to eight shutouts last season.

Coletta (right), a Montreal, QUE native, earned NSCAA Regional All-America honors, and was named to the Liberty League All Academic Team, the All Liberty League First Team, and to the D3Kicks.com Northeast All-Regional Team for his goalkeeper performances throughout the 2006 season. He was also named ECAC Defensive Player of the Week and was twice named Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week. Coletta boasts a .805 save percentage and a 0.75 goals against average from last season. He allowed only 15 goals and recorded a total of eight shutouts as a sophomore for an 11-5-2 record.

Galeano, a midfielder from Woodhaven, N.Y. returns to the field as a second-year captain to complete his final year of eligibility. He also earned NSCAA Regional All-American honors, as well as earned a spot on the All Liberty League First Team. Galeano was named ECAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, as well as Liberty League Offensive Player of the Week. During the 2006 season, Galeano was second on the team in scoring with 12 points (4 goals, 4 assists), a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Durocher is looking forward to having Hillary work with the squad throughout the upcoming season. “Having Hillary back will be very helpful to me and the players,” Durocher says. “His outgoing personality, his knowledge of playing and winning big games, and what it takes to do so, will be shared with this year's team.”

A four-year starter for the Saints, Hillary helped lead the Saints to a 22-0-0 record, was a First-Team All-Conference selection three times, a First-Team Regional All-American selection twice, and named an NSCAA All-American. In 1999, he was named Regional Defensive Player of the Year.

Hillary (left) was the assistant coach for neighboring SUNY Potsdam after graduating from St. Lawrence, and continued his coaching career at Admiral Farragut Academy in Saint Petersburg, Florida. He also coached for the Largo United Soccer Club, the Pinellas Park United Soccer Club, the Tampa Bay Global United Soccer Club, and was the Director of Summer Coaching at Queen City Football Club in Buffalo, N.Y.

The men’s team went 12-6-2 and was the Liberty League Tournament champion in 2006, as well as competed in the NCAA Northeast Regionals. Durocher is optimistic about his team’s potential for the upcoming season.

“We graduated two quality performers, but we return the rest of the guys that have three years of NCAA experience,” he says. “I feel we have talented players, but for us to be successful, a number of guys will need to step up their level off play. I think the team has worked hard in the off-season and many of our guys have played at a very competitive level this summer.”

The Saints are preparing to host the Lotto North Country Tournament September 1st and 2nd, when they will open their season against New Jersey City University on MacAllaster Field at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. They will play Bridgewater State the following day at 2:00 p.m.

(Bobbie, Hillary photos by Tara Freeman, Coletta photo by Wally Johnson)