2007 season preview

August 28, 2007

NORTON, MA- When perusing through the 2007 Wheaton College men's soccer roster, one can't help but notice the arrival of 14th-year head coach Matt Cushing's largest recruiting class. Fourteen incoming freshmen nearly comprise half of the Lyons' squad, as the 29-member team enters the fall with lofty expectations.

Directing Wheaton to back-to-back New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season and tournament championships and four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, Cushing, who reached the 200-win plateau during last year's conference title game win over Babson College, acknowledges this recruiting class is special and its most talented.

"We achieved our goals of winning the conference and going to the national tournament last year," said Cushing, "but we were disappointed in our finish. After losing a senior class of 10, we looked closely at our roster, addressed our pluses and minuses, and with a class of 14 we're going to hit the ground running. We have the chemistry and personnel in place to allow us to contend for a NEWMAC title and hopefully another tournament bid."

The Blue and White completed a 12-5-4 season in 2006 by suffering an NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Western New England College. Prior to that contest, the Lyons went unbeaten in 12 of their last 13 games, including an eight-game undefeated streak. Going 5-1 during the conference's regular season and 1-0-1 in the league tournament, Wheaton captured its sixth regular season and tournament crowns in the NEWMAC's nine-year history.

In order to add to those figures, the Lyons will have to do so with a slew of players devoid of college experience. "We could start anywhere from five to eight freshmen," said Cushing. "We're very excited with this class, but we have to be cautiously optimistic because they are freshmen. They come in with strong pedigrees so they've got a good base, but the quicker the learning curve the better we'll be. They have to be good in October and competitive in September."

In addition to the new player makeup, the Lyons' coaching staff also experienced a facelift. Cushing is joined by first-year assistants Matt Ristuccia '05 and Brian Johnson. A four-year player with Wheaton, including helping spearhead a Final Four run in 2003, Ristuccia returns to his alma mater following two years as an assistant coach at the Ivy League's Dartmouth College. A club teammate of Ristuccia growing up, Johnson played four years at NCAA power Rutgers University.

With seven seniors and a combined eight juniors and sophomores, Cushing and his staff recognize how competitive the preseason has been. "Just about every position on the field is wide open right now," added Cushing. "I have decisions made, but things are changing daily. We've got to play for today, but we have to think of the future as well. Whenever we can give time to some of our younger guys they're going to benefit. The level doesn't drop much from a guy coming off the bench."

Excited to get things underway on Saturday, September 1 at a season-opening tournament at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, the Lyons will look to their senior leadership to help jumpstart the year. The leadership may not come from a lot of numbers, but Cushing indicated the strength in numbers that the team possesses is huge. He also pointed to seniors Trevor Cote (Portsmouth, RI/Providence Country Day School) and Jim Ferriero (Medway, MA/Medway) as rivaling the best captains the program has had.

A four-year defensive mainstay, Ferriero will anchor the Lyon defense from his center back position. Junior Ben Resnicow (Newton, MA/Newton North) also provides a veteran presence at center back. Senior Reed Hollett (Bedford, Nova Scotia/Halifax Grammar School) is slated to see time there or at outside back, joining returning senior Nick Mann (Durham, NC/Carolina Friends School) and sophomore Leo Glazer (New York, NY/New York City Lab School).

Cote, who is a two-time NEWMAC All-Conference midfielder, returns to the starting lineup for the third straight season. Returners competing for spots in the midfield alongside Cote are seniors Dan Chong (Miami, FL/Coral Reef), Connor Erickson (Canton, MA/Canton) and Ian Walker (Marblehead, MA/IMG Academy) and junior Justin Landsberger (London, England/American School).

Rounding out the returning corps and expected to play up front are juniors Mathurin Coulibaly (Ivory Coast, Africa/Saint George's School) and Akeem Layne (Brooklyn, NY/Packer Collegiate Institute) and sophomores Tyler Ostholthoff (Hopkinton, NH/Hopkinton) and Adam Sussman (Swampscott, MA/Swampscott).

Without the past two years' leading scorer and last fall's top six scorers, the Lyons will need to address their offensive needs. "Any time you lose the focal point of your offense one of two things can happen," stated Cushing. "Someone steps up individually and takes over that void in scoring, or the team gets it done collectively. This isn't the first time this has happened to us, and we have been challenged to step up and do it collectively. Our most successful teams have been when we have three or four guys carrying the load."

Newcomers looking to help contribute on the offensive side of the field are sophomore Matt Snider (Topsham, ME/Mount Ararat) and freshmen Tristan Back (London, England/King Alfred School), David Ferriero (Medway, MA/Medway) and Josh Solomon (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro Regional). Snider may also have a defensive role on the team.

First-year athletes expected to impact the midfield are Eric Driscoll (Lexington, MA/Lexington), Yuri Moreira (Marlboro, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) and Kyle Sye (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro Regional).

At the back positions are freshmen Dean Hollands (Scituate, RI/Wheeler School), Jason Lewis (Chelsea, MA/Worcester Academy), Jake Wagner (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional), David Winrow (South Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) and Steven Zerbini (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield).

Wheaton's new starting goalkeeper will have a tall task of replacing the program's all-time wins and shutouts leader. The battle to fill the vacancy is between Division I freshman transfer Cole Davidson (Needham, MA/Salisbury School) and first-year athletes Chris Smart (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) and Stefan Viragh (Columbus, OH/Wellington).

Wheaton's 19-game schedule features three opponents ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll, starting with a rematch against 20th-ranked WNEC on September 13. The Lyons face number eight Williams College three days later and 25th-ranked Wesleyan University on October 2. Wheaton's conference slate begins on Saturday, September 15 against Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 9/19/07.
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11-Oct Sat Babson H 1:00pm
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