Men's Soccer ready for 2010 regular season
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The offseason has been a long one for the Brock Badgers men's soccer program, but the wait is over and the and team looks to make drastic improvements over last season's 2-10-2 record.
Head coach Bill Millar is entering his 26th season and is confident that the 2010 squad has improved a great deal.
"Our team has gotten better at every position," said Millar. "We've always had strong defenders, but the extra year has allowed our veterans to improve and this year's rookie class is a strong one, both offensively and defensively."
In goal, the Badgers bring back third-year keeper Ryan Toale (Brampton, Ont.) and add two freshmen in Jake Sweetzer (Mississauga, Ont.) and Stefan Avramovic (Stoney Creek, Ont.)
"All three of our keepers are very strong," said Millar. "I'm confident with each of them in goal. They're all very talented and should push each other in practice to get even better as the season moves forward."
The Badgers line-up will feature four returning defenders, plus three new faces. Returning to the Badgers defense are Aaron Walsh (Burlington, Ont.), Bobby Turnbull (Brantford, Ont.), Matt Green (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Dan Valentini (Stoney Creek, Ont.). Joining the veterans are Kenji Nicks, William Janetos and Anthony Frucci, all St. Catharines natives.
"We are always very good with our defenders," added Millar. "This year's mix of veterans and rookies could be one of the strongest groups we've had in a while."
The Badgers midfield will have a strong veteran presence with only one newcomer of the eight players. Adrian Cammeli (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Myles Denomme (Brampton, Ont.), Tomislav Leko (Mississauga, Ont.), Daniel Baldassaro (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Nas Hadia (Mississauga, Ont.) and Andrij Nimtsiv (Courtice, Ont.) all return from the 2009 team, while Marco Mascetelli (Welland, Ont.) returns to the Badgers after last playing in 2008. Ivan Mak (Markham, Ont.) is the lone first year midfielder.
"All of our midfielders are smart players and strong on the fundamentals," said head coach Bill Millar. "I'm going to look to them to make good decisions with the ball and help create scoring chances."
There will be several new faces up front for the Badgers this season. Joining veterans George Chondronikolas (Mississauga, Ont.) and Nick Ianiri (Stoney Creek, Ont.) are freshman Kosta Krajisnik (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Pedro Baros (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) as well as redshirt freshman Eric Van Wissen (Georgetown, Ont.).
"Our forwards are very creative and strong on the ball," said Millar. "They need to work with the midfielders to make plays and if we work hard this team is capable of scoring a lot of goals."
The Badgers finished their pre-season schedule 3-0 after convincing wins over Niagara College, Centennial College and Sheridan College. The team was strong in all facets of the game outscoring opponents 17-1 in the three games.
The team opens conference play September 4, 2010 as they host OUA newcomers UOIT Ridgebacks for a 1:00p.m. kick-off.
