SUNY Brockport fall sports previews

Football
The Golden Eagles saw their four consecutive year playoff streak come to an end, but the season was far from a washout and the team is looking to return to the postseason.

Last year’s 6-4 record was a bit deceiving with three of the four losses by a touchdown or less. Brockport did lose their all-time passing leader in quarterback Bob Darnley to graduation, but Spencerport native and junior A.J. Covella will take over as the starting signal-caller. He played in seven games last season completing 16 of 27 passes with four touchdowns.

The offensive line returns all but one starter from one year ago along with tight end Mike Bond and receivers Mike Mahoney and Matt McCormick who combined for 11 touchdown catches last season.

Dan Lopez will be expected to carry most of the load at running back after his 510-yard season. Brian Wise will also see time at tailback and will be utilized to catch the ball out of the backfield -- he had 18 catches last year -- and is on the return team.

The coaching staff will look to re-work a defensive unit that allowed more than 20 points per game last season after four straight years of surrendering fewer than 15.

Only five of the front seven return this season led by leading tackler John Walther, Chris Beh and Terry Gilmore (Hilton) at linebacker. Defensive tackles Ryan Ballinger and Matt Gates also return after combining for five sacks last season. In the defensive backfield, Mike Maciejewski is back along with senior Troy Anderson, who played in only four games last season due to injury.

The schedule won’t make the Golden Eagles goal of returning to the NCAA playoffs any easier with only four home games. Three of those happen in the first four weeks of the season with rival Cortland the opener on September 3. An October 8 game under the lights at St. John Fisher promises to be another entertaining game as well based on the last two meetings. If Brockport needs a win in the final week, traveling to a rebuilding Buffalo State program might be the key to unlock a postseason bid.

Head coach Rocco Salomone starts his season as the school’s winningest head football coach.

Women’s Soccer
All-time leading scorer Leanne Gedraitis has graduated, but the Golden Eagles will return a core group of players to try to improve on last season’s 9-7-2 record.

Ashley Ewin led the team in scoring as a freshman last season with nine goals, 11 assists and three game-winning goals. She will be joined on the front line by junior Laura Sawyer, who was second-team All-SUNYAC with 10 points last year.

The defense lost senior All-Conference and Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award winner Katie DeFelice (Byron-Bergen), but senior Kasey Andrieu (Churchville-Chili) will lead the back line with help from Lyndsey Burnisky.

The team will look to improve on their 11 allowed second-half goals from last season with the sophomore tandem of Stephanie Kowell and Liz Durfee in net. The pair combined for six shutouts last season.

Eighteen-year head coach Joan Schokow will surpass the 175-win mark with the fifth victory this season. “We are going to be young, and our team will have a different look to it than in past years, in terms of personnel, but I’m still very excited for the season.”

Men’s Soccer
Just like the women, the green and gold waved goodbye to the all-time leading scorer in school history in Anthony Jaworski and two of their top four point-getters from last season, but return the nucleus of a team that was 14-4-3. After losing to Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC playoffs, the Golden Eagles lost to the Cardinals again in the ECAC playoffs in a shootout.

Seniors Greg Dini and Mike Abgarian will be expected to carry much of the offensive load this season for a team that outscored its opponents 54-23 one year ago.

Defense will be stressed again this season after the Golden Eagles set a school mark with 11 shutouts last year. The team allowed just 19 goals in 21 games, the fewest in a season since 1978 when the team played in 15 games. Senior Kevin Hauck anchors the back line, but will be helped by 6’7” MCC transfer Chris Bedford and returning Matt Campbell in goal.

The midfield is also expected to be a strength with three senior returnees: Abgarian, Colin LaReaux and Rory Charcholla (Byron-Bergen).

Another newcomer to watch for this season is East Rochester graduate Aaron Acello, who finished his high school career as the second-leading scorer in Section Five history. Mike’s brother Steve Abgarian and MCC transfer Ray Istas are also expected to contribute as first year members.

Head coach Gary LaPietra will be starting his tenth season at the helm. “We lost a lot, but I think we’ll be much improved with the players we’ve recruited. This is one of the most talented teams that I’ve had. We’re much deeper which will help with the back-to-back games we have on weekends. We just need to improve our performance in conference games.”

The team opens the season with the Golisano Children’s Hospital Labor Day weekend featuring Buffalo State, Washington (MD) College and Medaille. All proceeds will go to the hospital.

Women’s Volleyball
One year removed from starting three freshmen, Brockport will depend on a year of college experience to continue the winning ways from the end of last year that included a ten-match winning streak before the playoffs.

Three first-team All-SUNYAC players Kaitlin Driscoll, Katie Feldman and Kaylen Fassette return. Driscoll led the team in kills, with Feldman second in kills and digs. Fessette was named SUNYAC co-Rookie-of-the-Year after leading the team in assists. She already ranks sixth in school history in helpers after just one season. Shae Gilmore was a second-team All-SUNYAC selection also in her freshman season.

Field Hockey
Eight seniors led the team to one of their best campaigns in school history before an overtime loss in the state championships, so the Golden Eagles will have a revamped roster this season after their 10-10 season.

Gretchen Brehm is the leading returning scorer with five goals and three assists—good for third on the team last year. Senior Erin Coyne is the stopgap at midfield and sophomore Colleen Fritz manning the back line. Michelle Zelich will be in goal after playing in eight games and allowing just 11 goals during her freshman season.

Cross Country
The two squads seem to be polar opposites as the 2005 campaign gets underway. The women return all of their top runners from last season while the men lost all but two of their top five to graduation.

Candace Sonberg was consistently the top runner for the Golden Eagle women in 2004. She is joined by Teri Wilson, who improved to post top times in the 1500 meters and 5k events last spring. Lindsay Goldberg, who had a great freshman campaign, returns after a year off due to injury. Newcomers include transfer Anne Thompson from Alfred State, who teamed with Sonberg as the top two runners in the nation at the Division III junior college level two seasons ago. Stephanie Grinmanis transfers in from Albany and the top freshman recruit is Lauren Rice from Clarence.

The men will be anchored by Ryan Kolb, who took second in the 1500-meter event at the spring SUNYAC Championships and the New York State Championships and took the gold medal this summer in the 5K Open Division event in this summer’s Empire State Games.

Andy Berringer also returns for the men after his freshman season highlighted by a sixth place finish in the Brockport Alumni Invitational. The men also return a majority of the 22 runners on last season’s roster. Newcomers include Tim Meehan from Monroe Community College and Mike Keating from Mohawk CC.

“Our top goal is to send a team to Nationals,” said fourth year head coach Mark Krueger. “We believe both teams are very talented and have a shot at qualifying. In any case, several individuals are also expected to make the trip to Ohio Wesleyan University in November (for the NCAA Championships). We would also like to place in the top two in SUNYACs and the top three at the state championships.”

Women’s Tennis
After a sixth place finish in SUNYAC last season, Brockport will lean on its returning veterans to anchor the squad in 2005. The top two singles players, Ashley Balling and Kayla Mizgala, return and are likely to team up again as the top doubles team. Both made the SUNYAC quarterfinal round last season.

Former Hilton teammates Angie Bermudez and Holly Acito made up the second doubles unit and will also compete for singles positions along with another former Cadet Jamie McDonald and Mandy Schepis.

All six returning players had a lot of playing time last season and all of them have worked hard this summer on their game,” said head coach Ed Gonzalez. “Our team captains this year will be Mandy Schepis and Kayla Mizgala. Our goal this year is to finish in the top three of our conference and make it to the state tournament. We have a very difficult schedule which I hope will help prepare us for our conference tournament at the end of the fall season.”