BENNINGTON, Vt. – The SVC men’s soccer team has been picked by New England Collegiate Conference coaches to finish third in the conference for the 2012 season. The Mountaineers received one first-place vote, while defending conference champions Lesley University were picked to finish first with five. Coach Tim Penrod’s 2011 squad won the NECC Regular Season Championship and lost to Lesley in the conference tournament final. “The expectation immediately is to put ourselves in the position to be back in the postseason,” said Penrod, “and the team set the high standard very quickly that we expect to not only be in the playoffs but be back in the final and find out way into the NCAA tournament.”
Coach Penrod, the 2011 NECC Coach of the Year, returns nine players from a year ago, having graduated five including the conference’s second-leading scorer in Nick Haggerty. Returners include junior striker Pierre Massena (West Milford, N.J.) and senior midfielder Chris Hansen (Raymertown, N.Y.), both first team all-conference selections in 2011. Massena finished the season fifth in the conference in goals with 10. “Pierre has shown that he can step up and can attack from anywhere on the field,” commented Penrod, “and Chris is probably one of the most versatile players I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. We saw in our preseason scrimmage that he’s more than capable of controlling things [in the midfield], playing simply and putting his teammates in good positions.” The Mountaineers also return sophomore forward Erik Argueta (Pico Rivera, Calif.). “You can’t say enough about what a special player he is… to do all the little things he does to make this team better that don’t show up on the stat sheet.” Argueta was the 2011 NECC Rookie of the Year who played in all 19 games registering six goals and five assists. “Their experience is really going to be invaluable.”
Nine new faces join Penrod’s team, six being true freshmen, one a transfer from a four-year institution and two coming from two-year junior colleges. “We’ve reloaded with young talent and we’ve got to teach our freshmen to not perform like freshman but rather like juniors and seniors.” The Mountaineers should again be strong in goal, as newcomer Christopher Dunham (Valley Falls, N.Y.) will be battling returning sophomore Brenden Shea (North Providence, R.I.) for the starting position. In 2011, Shea saw action in three games, starting one for the Mountaineers. The defensive unit will take on a new look after the graduation of starting center back Greg Gilmore and the relocation of Hansen from the back to the midfield. Instead, fans can expect to see James Tschinkel (Freehold, N.Y) and Brian Mason (Belvedere, N.J.) who will all bring quality play and depth to the men’s roster. They join returning sophomore defenseman Eric Parmelee (Seymour, Conn.) who notched one assist in 2011 while playing in 16 games, starting 15. "We have a core of returning players that, although they are still young (sophomores), they understand what it takes to get to the highest level in our conference,” stated Penrod. “They know that they have to perform each time they take the field, and they can't take plays off. That experience alone is invaluable, especially as we train such a large freshman class."
Tyler Hickey (Troy, N.Y.) joins the team at the midfield position, accompanying and vying for time with returning sophomore Thomas Youngblood (Leonardtown, Md.). Youngblood started all 19 of SVC’s games last year, assisting on two goals in the process. "I am incredibly excited that this year's recruiting class includes kids from the West Coast once again,” said Penrod. “We have developed a very nice pipeline with schools in southern California.” Jorge Cuevas (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Ruben Olivares (Pico Rivera, Calif.) will both see time at the midfield position. “The most important thing for me as a coach is that we continue to bring in good kids first. As things have played out, we've been fortunate that we are getting not only good kids, but good soccer players as well. Jorge and Ruben are both very versatile players that have very high soccer intelligence and are also very committed to always performing at the highest level possible." Freshman Seamus Landers (Stoneham, Mass.) is the lone rookie forward for the Mountaineers.
In 2011, the Mountaineers were 12-6-1 overall, going 6-0-1 in conference. They were third in the NECC in scoring with 42 goals, just two behind tied-leaders Lesley and Elms College which both netted 44. It was the third-straight season the men’s soccer team made the conference playoffs, and it made its first Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament appearance in program history.
SVC is slated to play 17 matches in 2012, opening the season at Bard College on August 31 at 7:00 p.m. Its home-opener is September 2 when Salve Regina University comes in for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, and it starts conference play during Homecoming on September 22 in a 2011 NECC Championship rematch against Lesley, scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Full
Schedule
2012 NECC Men's Soccer Coaches Poll (NECC Release)
1. Lesley - (5)
2. Daniel Webster - (1)
3. Southern Vermont - (1)
4. Newbury - (2)
5. Elms
6. Mitchell
7. Regis
8. Becker
9. Wheelock
**First-place votes noted in parentheses