Men's Soccer opens Friday on the road looking to rebound from tough season a year ago
North Adams, MA- The MCLA Men's Soccer program will open up their 2019 season on Friday night when they head to St. Joseph (CT). The Trailblazers are coming off a difficult 2018 campaign and are hopeful to get back into the mix within the MASCAC. MCLA was selected to finish eighth in the MASCAC preseason poll, a reflection of the difficult season a year ago.
Led by head coach Adam Hildabrand, MCLA revamped its roster with a large recruiting class in hopes of getting back into contention. The long time leader brought in twenty new players to compete for time and impact the program. MCLA does return a host of veterans as well.
MCLA had difficulty finding the net last season scoring just eight goals in their 16 games. They do return their top two scorers from last season in seniors Garrett Derosia and Ryan Wanek. Derosia led the team with four goals while Wanek made an impact later in the season as he transitioned from defense to offense for the Trailblazers. A host of new players will look to make up for the lack of scoring.
The three newcomers poised to make the deepest impact appear to be Rafael Castro, Tanner Giggliotti, and Peter Sherman. MCLA will need to become more potent on offense in order to get where they desire to be.
Hildabrand's roster also includes goalkeepers Sean Bradshaw and first year player Sam Edge. Bradshaw started 11 games a season ago as MCLA's primary keeper but he will be pushed by Edge for time in 2019. While the situation in goal may be unsettled, MCLA returns Colin Rousseau in the midfield along with newcomer David Jamina on the back line to offer some assistance. Both will be counted on to be key contributors as the season gets underway.
MCLA opens on the road before hosting their annual tournament next weekend. The Trailblazers will challenge Coast Guard and Western Connecticut as part of that event kicking off on September 6th. League play begins on Friday, September 20th when MCLA hosts Bridgewater State University.