2006 season preview

August 28, 2006

NORTON, MA- In his own words, Wheaton College men's soccer head coach Matt Cushing thinks anyone on the outside looking in realizes that the 2006 Lyons look pretty similar to the 2005 team, which recorded the program's third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

"They see we lost a three-time All-America center back and three reserve players," said Cushing, who is joined on his staff by sixth-year assistant Matt Murphy and second-year coach Jason Percy '03. "That means we return 10 of 11 starters and probably our top five players off the bench. I would hope their impression of Wheaton is that we're still one of the most competitive teams in New England."

The Lyons finished up last fall 13-5-2, including 5-0-1 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), the third undefeated league showing in program history. NEWMAC regular season and tournament titles, the fifth each for the Lyons in eight years of conference play, led to Wheaton's fifth NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons, and its sixth in nine years.

"For our program to be one of the best in New England and among the top 10 in the country, we have to qualify for the national tournament," said Wheaton's 13th-year head coach. "Our goal is to get back to the Final Four and contend for a national title, but in order to do that we have to first win a NEWMAC championship. We believe we're in position to do that this year."

Of the 35 goals and 101 points Wheaton players recorded a season ago, Lyons who accounted for 34 markers and 95 points return to the squad this fall. Take into account the Blue and White's five-game, 11-day European swing in August and its match with 2004 and 2005 NCAA Division I Tournament participant Dartmouth College, and Cushing thinks his squad is well ahead of the preseason curve.

"In Europe, we played against a level of competition that we won't see all fall," stated Cushing. "It was so good, our guys had to catch up to compete. The coaching staff has to simulate that environment in training, and we have to keep that momentum going. We're really excited about where we are right now."

Sophomore forward Dan Lane (Dedham, MA/Worcester Academy), the 2005 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas All-New England selection, will be key to Wheaton's offensive attack. Lane set the program's freshman records with 13 goals and 29 points a year ago, playing a hand in 16 of the Blue and White's 35 tallies. Joining Lane up top will be senior Chris Sentance (Concord, MA/Williston Northampton School), the lone upperclassman attacker, as well as sophomores Mathurin Coulibaly (Ivory Coast, Africa/Saint George's School), Justin Hart (Ashland, MA/Ashland), Akeem Layne (Brooklyn, NY/Packer Collegiate Institute) and Jeff Shea (Canton, MA/Canton), and freshman Adam Sussman (Swampscott, MA/Swampscott).

When discounting Lane, the other five returning forwards combined for 11 goals and 31 points last season, nearly identical to Lane's individual totals. "It would be great if the output was better and collectively spread around," added Cushing. "We need other guys to step up and take a little pressure off Dan."

Cushing offered high praise of senior Cameron Habib (Norfolk, MA/Bridgton Academy), an integral part of Wheaton's midfield and one of three captains. "You need someone to carry the piano, and you need a guy like Lane to play it," said Cushing. "Cam's our most important player; he's doing the dirty work."

Building upon the efforts of the 5-6 Habib will be 6-4 senior Ariel Tatum (Cayman Islands, BWI/Holderness School), a player Cushing expects to lead the midfield's offensive surge. Junior Trevor Cote (Portsmouth, RI/Providence Country Day School), a 2005 all-conference selection, joins classmates Connor Erickson (Canton, MA/Canton), Colin Igoe (Weston, MA/Weston) and Ian Walker (Marblehead, MA/IMG Academy) in the mix for starting and reserve jobs. Sophomore Justin Landsberger (London, England/American School) will see time in the midfield as a backup, while freshmen Leo Glazer (New York, NY/New York City Lab School), Brian Harris-McTigue (Brooklyn, NY/The Beacon School) and Tyler Ostholthoff (Hopkinton, NH/Hopkinton) lend skill and versatility to the position.

Half a field away from Wheaton's youthful group of forwards, the Lyons boast eight upperclassmen among their 10 defensive players, and two senior goalkeepers. Cushing expects his starting unit to include juniors Jim Ferriero (Medway, MA/Medway) and Reed Hollett (Bedford, Nova Scotia/Halifax Grammar School) at center back positions and senior tri-captain Dennis Durao (West Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic) and junior Dan Chong (Miami, FL/Coral Reef) on the outside. Senior Andrew Smith (West Hartford, CT/Hall) will be the first center back off the bench, and classmates Kyle Beaulieu-Jones (Vernon, CT/Rockville) and Eben Stickney (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) solidify a deep corps of reserves. Junior Nick Mann (Durham, NC/Carolina Friends School) is on the cusp of becoming a starter, while sophomore Ben Resnicow (Newton, MA/Newton North) and freshman Tim Olson (Cedarburg, WI/University School of Milwaukee) will see time while getting their feet wet.

Despite missing Wheaton's NEWMAC Tournament championship game and NCAA Tournament first round affair last season with an injury, senior tri-captain Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) returns as the undisputed starter in goal this fall. Classmate David Croft (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth), who blanked opponents for the first 107:52 during Pachniuk's absence, including 84-plus minutes in the league final, will serve as Wheaton's backup keeper. Pachniuk, who has started all 18 of Wheaton's NEWMAC regular season games since 2003, earned all-conference laurels last fall after going 10-4-2 with six shutouts and a 0.74 goals against average. He enters his senior season needing six wins and three shutouts to match the program's career goalkeeping records.

Wheaton men's soccer has additional highlights to anticipate this fall, with field improvements nearly complete and a milestone on the horizon. Keefe Field has received new sod, and a sizable donation to the women's lacrosse program, which also calls Keefe home, has funded team bench canopies and the construction of a wooden fence stretching behind the team benches, a blue chain-link fence surrounding the playing area and 20-foot-tall nets behind each goal cage. "It should be an awesome atmosphere for soccer," said Wheaton's coach.

As for Cushing, he not only had the sixth-highest career winning percentage in Division III history entering last fall, but he's a dozen wins shy of becoming the fifth coach in Wheaton history with 200. With a career record of 188-47-18, Cushing's teams have averaged nearly 16 wins per season since his arrival.

The Blue and White opens the regular season with two home contests, playing host to SUNY New Paltz on September 1 before entertaining Fontbonne College of Missouri on September 3. Wheaton begins defense of its NEWMAC crowns on September 16 with a match at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The Lyons are 40-5-1 against conference foes during the regular season and league tournament since October 2000.

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