While spending much of last season in the shadow of its female counterparts, who came seconds away from winning the Division III national championship, the men's soccer team managed to have a successful season its own right. Despite not qualifying for the national tournament, the Jumbos won the 2001 ECAC New England Championship and made their seventh straight postseason appearances.
The team returns mostly intact from last year's campaign, minus only two starters - forward David Drucker and goalie Steve McDermid - who graduated last spring. Despite these key losses it appears likely that under the leadership of senior tri-captains Brad Stitchberry and Mike Prindiville and junior Matt MacGregor, the Jumbos can continue where they left off in 2000. Featuring a 4-4-2 set, the team should be one of the more interesting teams to watch.
"Any logical goal for a team that won the ECAC tournament would be to go farther," MacGregor said. "That is what we are going to shoot for. We want to put ourselves in contention for the NCAA's. We want to get a high seed in NESCAC tournament. I'm looking forward to the season."
Forwards
Much of the Jumbos' strength lies upfront in the form of MacGregor, the leading scorer on last year's team with 23 points and junior Patrick Brophy, the sixth leading scorer. For much of last season MacGregor played midfield, but this season's move to the forward line is more conducive to his natural scoring ability. With the loss Drucker, who ranked second in scoring for the Jumbos in 2000, it would appear that MacGregor will have to increase his already prolific scoring totals from last year.
"We lost Dave Drucker, who was one of our key players and scorers," MacGregor said. "On paper it would seem like there is a lot of pressure on me to be the big scorer. But I see goals coming from an assortment of people. We don't really have a go-to person. We are looking for a few people to score goals and make assists here and there. I definitely want to help out but I don't think it's going to be a one man show."
Joining MacGregor and Brophy in the mix upfront is sophomore Alex Berg.
Midfield
The midfield will feature a combination of youth and experience, a mix which has the potential to be potent. With MacGregor now upfront, the midfield will be controlled by junior Garrett Dale and sophomore Brian Mikel in the center spots. Dale and Mikel finished third and fourth in scoring for the Jumbos last year with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
"[Dale] can really be the one to set up the team and Mike is a really talented player and really aggressive," MacGregor said. Sophomore John Vorrasi could find himself as the backup to this duo.
While the inside seems set, both the left and right midfield slots are up in the air. Senior tri-captain Brad Stitchberry is expected to play left midfield, assuming that he has recovered from a knee injury, which he suffered during a summer tournament in Europe. An extended absence by Stitchberry could prove impossible to overcome for the Jumbos, as the senior provides all around outstanding play and leadership. The tri-captain also has the most career games played among current Jumbo players.
For the time being, two freshmen, Jesse Lessinger and Noah Rosenberg, and junior Nate Fash are competing for the other outside spot.
"[Fash] had a really good preseason and is playing on the right outside midfield," MacGregor said. "He has been playing really well. Hopefully Brad will be back - he played the best in Europe. [His injury] is something that he can definitely come back from."
Defense
Just as the team appears set in the front and in the midfield, the Jumbos defense appears to be nearly settled as well. Sophomore Jesse Dinner and senior co-captain Mike Prindiville anchor the defense from the center and sophomore Mike Blea along with junior Rupak Datta are expected to start on the right and left sides, respectively. Sophomore Andy Wood is being counted on to provide competition for the four starters."I expect [Wood] to pressure the backs," MacGregor said. "To keep them on their toes. Those are probably the five you will see."
Goalkeeper
The stability which seems to be a staple for the team appears completely lost at the keeper position. The Jumbos will sorely miss goalkeeper Steve McDermid, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the ECAC Tournament last year. McDermid started 17 games for the team last year and had an excellent save percentage of .865 to go along with a goals against average of .99.With no seasoned goalies on the roster, a trio of youngsters have been competing for the starting spot. The group includes freshmen Scott Conroy and Mark Frost along with sophomore Joseph Coletti, who competed for the junior varsity squad last year.
"It has kind of looked in practice that Scott will be the starter," MacGregor said. "He has been practicing with the first team, but both other goalies are putting pressure on him and we could see any of those three in goal."
Coach
Ralph Ferrigno enters his 12th season as the Jumbos' head coach. With a 100-58-13 career record for a 62.3 winning percentage, Ferrigno is the most successful men's soccer coach in Tufts' history. He was the NCAA New England Coach of the Year, New England Intercollegiate Soccer League Coach of the Year, and Massachusetts College Coach of the Year in 1994 when the Jumbos won the NCAA New England Championship.
