Sage Men's Soccer Ready to Open 2015 Season Tonight
ALBANY – The Sage men's soccer team opens the 2015 on the road at Cazenovia College on Tues., Sept. 1 at 5:00 p.m.
The Gators are led by head coach Kyle Clancy in his sixth season at Sage. Clancy (52-35-8) has coached an impressive 20 Skyline All-Conference selections, five ECAC Metro NY-NJ selections, five NSCAA/Continental Tire Division III All-East Region selections and one CoSIDA Academic All-American. The Dominican College (NY) alumnus has led the Gators to five Skyline Conference Tournament appearances and four ECAC Metro Tournament appearances. Sage captured the 2012 ECAC Division III Upstate Championship and the 2013 Skyline Conference Regular-Season Championship under Clancy.
After posting a 9-8-1 record and earning a spot in the Skyline Conference semifinals last season, the Gators have been picked to win the Skyline in the 2015 preseason coaches' poll. Sage builds off a team that had the most points-per-game (7.78) and assists (44) in program history.
"The players have done a good job quickly becoming a team this preseason, and they have showed their potential throughout the last two weeks," said Clancy. "I'm looking forward to seeing the team's continued growth as the season progresses. I know the guys are as excited as I am to see their hard work in practice translate to the games."
Sage is returning 20 Gators with nine new faces welcomed to the squad. Clancy is optimistic about this year's squad and their potential. "With a good mix of experienced veterans, developing underclassmen and an exciting class of recruits, this is by far the deepest team we've ever had."
Following the opener at Cazenovia, the Gators travel to the Union Soccer Classic to face nearby rivals, Union and RPI.
Sage's first home contest for the 2015 season is Fri., Sept. 11 against SUNY-Canton at Albany College of Pharmacy. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
Check out more on the Sage men's soccer squad below.
- Clancy has named seniors TJ Zehner (Beacon, NY/Beacon), Sean Lanza (Poughkeepsie, NY/Speckenkill) and junior Luis Teran (Farmingville, NY/Newfield) captains for the 2015 season. Zehner, a returning captain from the 2014 season, has strong leadership instincts and anchors the Gators in the goal. Lanza earned a captain position with tireless work rate, and is ability to lead his teammates by example. Teran brings strong determination to the Gator squad after missing most of last season due to injury.
- The Gators are returning last season's leading scorer in senior Peter Fabrykiewicz (Delancey, NY/Andes). The senior finished the 2014 season with 10 goals, four assists and 24 points. Among the Skyline Conference, Fabrykiewicz finished fifth in points and sixth in goals. The forward was named to the 2014 Skyline Conference First-Team and the ECAC Division III Metro Second-Team. Clancy named Fabrykiewicz the Men's Soccer Gator of the Year for being the most valuable player.
- Returning with Fabrykiewicz to the front line are senior Mu'Ammar Camara (New Haven, CT/Eli Whitney) and junior Elhadj Kourouma (New Haven, CT/Wilbur L. Cross). Camara finished with four goals, three assists and 11 points. The senior ranked fourth on the team in goals and fifth for points. Kourouma made 11 appearances as a sophomore and scored 2 goals, including the game-winning goal against MCLA in a 3-2 win.
- Captains Teran and Sean Lanza hold down the midfield. Teran worked extremely hard in the offseason to fully recover from injury. Clancy looks to the senior to use his fitness to help strengthen the midfield. Sean Lanza is a box-to-box player that will help to control the tempo for the Gators on the pitch. Last year, the senior totaled two goals and four assists, tied for the third most on the team.
- Adding talent to the midfield are sophomores Kevin Saar (Binghamton, NY/Windsor Central) and Heriberto Gomez (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane). In his freshman season last year, Saar had an impressive five goals, three assists and 13 points. The sophomore led every category among Sage freshmen. Gomez made a splash as a freshman as well last fall. The sophomore was named the Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week at the beginning of October after scoring his first career goal against Maritime.
- Also returning to the midfield junior Alex Lanza (Poughkeepsie, NY/Speckenkill), sophomore Derlis Zayas (White Plains, NY/White Plains) and senior Fayssal Abdou (New Haven, CT/Wilbur Cross). Alex Lanza totaled two goals, four assists and eight points. The junior ranked third on the team in assists. Zayas and Abdou each made 16 appearances for the Gators last year. They combined for three goals and two assists. Rounding out the returning midfielders is junior Lai Le (Walnut, CA/Walnut) who scored against Sarah Lawrence.
- Holding down the Gator defense are junior Kyle LeClerc (Beacon, NY/Beacon) and senior Andrew Bartoah (New Haven, CT/James Hillhouse). LeClerc, the 2014 Skyline Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Men's East Region Third-Team, the ECAC Division III Metro First-Team and the Skyline Conference First Team. LeClerc, had the most goals of any defender with four. Bartoah, Sage's 2014 Most Improved Player, is one of the top outside defenders in the conference. A back that enjoys getting forward, the senior started 17 games with two assists.
- The strong Gator defense returns junior Christian Pinti (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink) and sophomore Paul Reynoso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley). Pinti, a 2014 Skyline Conference Second-Team Selection, made 17 starts in the back line. Reynoso impressively appeared in all 18 games for Sage last year. The sophomore totaled one goal, three assists and five points. Rounding out the returning defensemen are sophomore Joe Diano (Hopewell Junction, NY) and senior Casey Yurista (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill).
- Zehner returns as the brick wall in goal for the Gators. Over the course of three years, the senior has been named to the Skyline All-Conference Team twice and the ECAC Division III Metro Team. He has been named Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week twice, Skyline Conference Player of the Week and the 2012 Sage Most Valuable Player. Last year, Zehner, 24-13-4, recorded 73 saves and three shutouts. The goalie already owns the Sage records for most single-game saves (15), single-season wins (12), single-season shutouts (seven), career saves (171), career wins (23) and career shutouts (13.3). The senior is expected to build off of his already successful career and have a strong senior season.
- Adding depth at keeper is senior Chris Dunham (Valley Falls, NY/Grace Christian) and sophomore Caelan Kohut (Ancram, NY/Hudson). Dunham has made four saves in four appearances while Kohut made one save in three games. The pair has yet to give up a goal while at Sage.
- New to the Sage front line is freshman River Seybolt (Selden, NY/Longwood). Seybolt comes to the Gators with plenty of experience and ability. The forward is a true goal-scorer who will use his intelligence, effort and skills to have the defense on their heels.
- In the midfield, Clancy brings freshman Liam Hayes (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia). Hayes, a local standout, is a very technical player with a great work rate. Also new to the midfield is freshman Sarpong Adjei (Bronx, NY/Dewitt Clinton) Adjei brings playoff experience having played in the New York State Final Four with South Bronx United.
- Potentially seeing time at both midfield and defense is freshman James Lagunas (Passaic, NJ/Passaic County Tech. Inst.). A technical player, Lagunas gets forward well and brings a strong work ethic to the pitch. Also a versatile player, junior Anthony Williamson (Beacon, NY/Beacon) brings speed and strength to the Gators.
- Joining the already stacked defense are freshmen Ryan Fairweather (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley), James Fitzpatrick (Stony Brook, NY/Ward Melville) and Evans Frimpong (Bronx, NY/Frederick Douglass). Fairweather and Fitzpatrick were multi-sport athletes in high school with leadership positions as captains. Frimpong also brings playoff experience having played with Adjei in the New York State Final Four with South Bronx United.
- New to the goalkeeping staff is sophomore Lucas Phayre-Gonzalez (Albany, NY/Albany). While in high school, Phayre-Gonzalez won a Big Ten Championship along with appearing in the New York Section II finals.
- Rounding out the 2015 Gator coaching staff will be returning leaders Chris Miller, Jose Quintero, Garrett Cobb and Aaron Eschler.
