By TONY BELLISSIMO
After guiding Molloy’s men’s soccer team to a 10-4-4 record in his debut season as head coach, he’s not only hoping to keep the Lions’ momentum going but also provide stability for the women’s program as its new head coach.
“Coaching both teams is a great opportunity, and I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Longo, who was the men’s head coach at C.W. Post before coming to Molloy. “I’m fortunate to have a tremendous staff of assistant coaches. I couldn’t do it without them.”
Billy Gatti, Daniel Leon, Marcelo Arango, Michael Dombo and Cara Trufant comprise Longo’s staff, which has a lot of talent to work with in both cases.
Balance was the key to success for the men’s team a year ago. The Lions outscored opponents 34-11 en route to winning more games than they did in the previous two seasons combined (nine.) An influx of newcomers to go along with senior midfielder Michael Topel, senior defenders Nick Bell and Josu Cabruia, senior goalkeeper Ettore Morelli, sophomore midfielder Jose Batista and sophomore forward Emmanuel Gamez (seven goals) has Longo expecting big things. “We lost only two starters and brought in four potential starters,” Longo said. “We’re going to have a stronger starting lineup and a stronger bench.”
Molloy’s home opener isn’t until Sept. 10 against Caldwell. The Lady Lions (6-10-1 in 2007) take the field five days earlier when St. Anselm comes calling. Longo is counting on senior leadership to propel the women’s team. “We’re going to be scrappy,” Longo explained.
Seniors Joanna Taylor (seven), Gillian Fortune and Kristie Caruso combined for 15 goals last season, and senior goalkeeper Christina Aquilon totaled 77 saves. “We’re going to lean on the seniors to turn things around, but we also have a bright future,” Longo said. Sophomore midfielder Dianna Geneva had four goals in her first season, and forward Tove Naslund is a freshman to watch.
Hofstra women set to defend title
Expectations remain high for Hofstra’s women’s soccer team following a remarkable school-record 18-4 season that included a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship and its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years. Head coach Simon Riddiough lost a pair of All-Americans (defender Sue Weber and prolific forward Brooke DeRosa) to graduation but likes what the Pride bring to the table. “We’re cautiously confident we can pick up where we left off,” Riddiough said. “Each year is a new challenge, and we have a tough schedule ahead of us.”
Eight starters return, including senior defenders Kariena Richards and Jess Crankshaw (nine assists), senior midfielder Edel Malone (eight goals) and senior goalkeeper Krystal Robens. The latter played all but eight minutes between the pipes in 2007 and set a CAA single season record with 12 shutouts. “Krystal made some fantastic saves at key points in big games,” said Riddiough, whose team opens its home schedule on Sept. 7 versus Princeton.
Richard Nuttall embarks on his 20th year as head coach of Hofstra’s men’s soccer team and believes it can improve off a disappointing 7-9-2 finish despite a rough schedule. Scoring depth behind sophomore sensation Johannes Grahn (10 goals) is a concern, though Nuttall feels junior Rob Youhill (seven assists), sophomores John Alberda and Demont Mitchell and freshman Brett Carrington are capable of stepping up. “I think we learned a lot last year,” Nuttall said.
The Pride, which won three straight CAA crowns from 2004-06, open a challenging five-game road swing at Virginia Tech on Sept. 5. “We could be seeing four of the top 10 teams in the country,” Nuttall said. Additional opponents during the 16-day span are Virginia, Temple, Tulsa and SMU. A battle with defending conference champion Old Dominion on Oct. 18 highlights the home schedule.
Adelphi poised to improve
Last year was frustrating for Adelphi’s men’s soccer program. Despite out-shooting opponents by a margin of 234-195, the Panthers celebrated only four victories against 11 losses and also settled for three ties.
Head coach Carlo Acquista is confident things will be better in his second year at the helm. “We filled some gaps we had and we’re very optimistic,” he said.
Senior forward Patrick Figueiredo (13 goals) and senior defender Mark Hoffman return to lead the way. Senior Vincent Treglia, who recorded all four of the team’s wins in 2007, and sophomore Thorne Holder are vying for the starting goalkeeper job.
Seven of the Panthers’ 17 games will be played on their new state-of-the-art turf field. Oregon State comes to town on Sept. 14 and Princeton visits on Oct. 8.
A stingy defense paved the way for the Lady Panthers to win twice as many games as they lost in 2007. Duplicating a 12-6 finish won’t be easy, though head coach Rich Ilsley thinks it’ll be well within reach if the team stays healthy. “We’re dealing with more than our share of injuries already,” Ilsley said. “We want to at least reach last year’s level and try to be better.”
The offense is led by junior forward Caitlin Morrison, who has 17 career goals, including nine (four game-winners) last fall. Sophomore midfielder Brianne McDonnell (six goals) and senior Erin Klimkowski (five) will need to contribute once again. Freshman Dorothy Connolly takes over as the starting goalkeeper.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
