Men's Soccer Ready for Inaugural Campaign!
Sage's men's soccer team ready to burst onto the Division III soccer scene when they open play on Friday.
Albany, NY----After two weeks of pre-season practices, a pair of scrimmages and months of pre-season planning and hard work, Sage's Head Men's Coach Kyle Clancy is ready to lead his team onto the field. Clancy worked extremely hard in his first year at the College and the fruits of his labors have paid off with the arrival of 26 young men to fill the program's first varsity men's soccer roster. With news of his recruiting efforts spreading around the league, the 2010 Sage Gators have been picked to finish eighth in the race for the Skyline Conference Championship in the league's 11-team field.
The 2010 Gators will open their season on September 3-4 at the Oswego State College Classic, facing the host Lakers in the season opener on September 3 at 3:30 p.m. Sage's home opener is slated for Tuesday, September 14 at 4:30 p.m. when the Gators host the Colonels of Curry College in a non-conference match to be held on the campus of Albany Academy for Boys.
Sage's 2010 schedule will find the Gators pitted against many of the nation's and region's top Division III programs. Amongst the teams Sage will face in the race for the 2010 Skyline Conference's Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship will be defending champions, St. Joseph's College, while 2009 ECAC Metro Runner-up Farmingdale State will also be a formidable challenger. NYU-Poly advanced to last year's conference semifinals, while Maritime earned a spot in the conference tournament as well in 2009. Also appearing the conference tournament last season were Bard and Old Westbury. Additional league tilts come from opponents such as Mount Saint Mary and Yeshiva University as well as the College of Mount Saint Vincent and Purchase College.
Home conference action for the Gators will take place at nearby Albany Academy for Boys. Sage will host six home matches this fall, including the program's first-ever home contest on Tuesday, September 14 when Curry College visits the Gators. Additional home games feature conference foes, St. Joseph's College on September 18 as well as Bard on September 25. October finds Sage hosting College of Mt. Saint Vincent, Farmingdale State and Maritime College in Skyline play. Additional non-conference opponents this fall include Wells College (NY), Westfield State College (MA), and SUNY-IT (NY).
For Coach Clancy, the 2010 lineup is a blank slate. With 26 new faces to select from, the 2010 roster does boast a pair of brothers in Nick and Matt Flaherty (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue). Nick Flaherty comes to Sage after a year at NYIT, where he played in nine games on the defense. Rookie defender Matt should push for time on defense as well.
Clancy has four goalies that will push one another for the role as the team's starter. Look for sophomore Caleb Johnson (New Lebanon, NY/New Lebanon), a transfer from SUNY New Paltz to have the early lead, while rookies Carmen Volpe (Cohoes, NY/Christian Brothers Academy), Tim Madden (Watertown, NY/Watertown) and Cory Gransbury (Round Top, NY/Cairo-Durham) all vying for the job as well.
Offensively, Sage will look to junior midfielder Chris Modelowski (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam), a transfer from Fulton Montgomery Community College to step forward as a leader, while rookies Dillon Nugent (Wingdale, NY/Dover), Scott Jarosz (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick), and Nick Panucci (Loudonville, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) may all figure into the offensive scheme this season.
The team's midfield unit will find depth with the numbers Clancy recruited last year. James Mignon (Garden City, NY/Garden City), Evan Southworth (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy), Chris Catania (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy), Wesley Finch (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy), Kippie Turco (Ludlow, VT/Black River), Adam Foster (Somers, CT/Somers), David Briggs (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill), Chris Peralta (Wyandanch, NY/Martin Luther King, Jr.), and Rush Farinella (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) give the Gators both depth, talent, and experience. Finch, Catania, and Southworth all were members of a state championship team together at Newburgh Free Academy.
Defensive players pushing for playing time include Fulton Montgomery Community College transfer, junior Elijah Braemer (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain), and rookies Kris Kallenbach (Bristol, CT/Bristol Central), Nick Mauro (Bristol, CT/Bristol Central), Alex D'Alfonso (Cicero, NY/North Syracuse), Chris Giustina (Enfield, CT/Enrico Fermi), Kevin Dommreis (Lagrangeville, NY/Millbrook), and Connor Thompson (Delmar, NY/Christian Brothers Academy).
All told, the 2010 chapter in the story of Sage's men's soccer program should be an exciting and thrilling one as the Gators push for both recognition and post-season play down the stretch.
