Lehigh University Athletics
Back to work: Lehigh men's soccer opens camp
8/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM,
After losing four seniors to graduation, Koski said there will be competition across the board for the starting jobs this year. The Mountain Hawks bring in a strong class of 12 freshmen who will be pushing the upperclassmen for playing time from the start.
Here’s a look at how the Brown and White stack up heading into the 2008 campaign.
Forwards
The Mountain Hawks bring back as talented a scoring group as any in the Patriot League. After leading the conference with 1.59 goals per game in 2007, most of the top scorers return for 2008.
Junior Kyle Evans and senior Jim Taranto developed into one of the most potent scoring tandems in the league last year, accounting for 16 goals and eight assists combined. More than half the team’s points went through Evans and
Patrick Cucci finished the 2007 season third on the team in points with three goals and one assist. The senior will use his combination of size (6-foot-3) and strength to help the Mountain Hawks in a supporting role. Junior Alex Weisberger should also provide depth at forward for the Brown and White.
Pushing them for playing time will be freshmen forwards/midfielders Steven Avena, Joe Puelo and Ross Burki. Avena comes into Lehigh after a senior season where he was named Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year, Puelo – a product of
Midfield
Senior captain Adam Gazda will have a chance to be the leader at center midfield in 2008. After missing all of last season with an injury, Gazda is looking to return to the form that netted him four goals and three assists and earned him a first team All-Patriot League selection as a sophomore.
Junior Jesse Schram looks to join Gazda in the center this year after earning second team All-Patriot League honors in his sophomore season. In his two years at Lehigh, he has racked up five goals and five assists from the midfield.
The wings are wide open for the Mountain Hawks heading into the preseason. Returning players figuring to be in the mix include Zachary Gould and Larry Silvi, who combined for 17 games of experience in 2007.
Because of the open competition on the outside, several freshmen also have a chance to vie for playing time or even starting jobs. Neal Melchionni was named the Philadelphia Inquirer and Press of
Look for Avena, Burki and Puelo to also compete for playing time in the midfield if they are not already seeing minutes up front. Other freshmen midfielders looking to make a name for themselves include Mark Dangleis and Christopher Rabey.
Defense
Three players are essentially fighting for two spots at center back in Koski’s 4-4-2 alignment. Adam Welch brings experience to the back line, having started in 36 games in two seasons for the Mountain Hawks. James Graf started 16 games as a freshman midfielder in 2007, recording three assists. This season, he looks to move to the defensive end.
Fighting with Graf and Welch for those two spots is junior Matthew McNeil. McNeil started 14 games last season, and if he doesn’t grab a center position look for him to potentially make a difference on the outside.
Like in the midfield, the outside part of the defense is far from set. Whichever player is left out of the center back mix could shift to the outside, or the two positions could go to someone from the strong freshman class. Matt Kosik, Daniel Odenwelder, Kevin Strunk, Ayo Olasupo and Jordie Ciuffetelli will all compete for playing time in their freshman seasons.
Goalies
Sophomore Jonathan Nydell hopes to take over in net this season after serving as the backup in 2007. Nydell started five games as the Mountain Hawks keeper as a freshman, recording nine saves and averaging just one goal allowed per game.
But he will not get the position without a fight from junior Christopher Varga. Varga missed all of 2007 because of an injury, but he will have a chance to win the job in what Koski called a truly open competition.
