2009 SEASON IN REVIEW
Oct. 29, 2009
The 2009 season was a rebuilding one for the Emmanuel Men's Soccer Program. Head Coach Colin Goin took over the reigns after a seven-year stint under the direction of Julio Avila. The Saints got off to a great start with a 4-0 shut-out of Newbury College in the opening game of the season. The shut-out then led to a tough eight-game slide, which found the Saints at 1-8 heading into October.
Emmanuel kicked off the second month of the season in fine fashion, posting a 9-1 win over Colleges of the Fenway rival Wheelock College on October 4th. The win featured program-records in three different categories. Nine team goals tied a previous record set in 2004 for goals scored in a single game. Senior co-captain Dan D'Amato (Huntington, Mass.) led the Saints in the win, netting 4 goals and setting program-records for goals in a game and points scored in a game (8). He was subsequently named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll on October 5th.
The Saints posted a huge GNAC win on October 10th, defeating Johnson & Wales University for the first time in program history. Emmanuel shut-out the Wildcats, 3-0, with goals from D'Amato and freshmen Kevin Shirley (Madison, Conn.) and Andres Rocha (West Orange, Conn.).
The Saints' shining moment in 2009 came when Emmanuel took second-ranked Lasell College into double-overtime, before knotting up the Lasers in a 2-2 tie. Shirley and Rocha accounted for the Saints' goals in the effort.
Emmanuel's season came to a close with back-to-back disappointing 1-0 losses coming via Rivier College and top-ranked Saint Joseph's College. The Saints wrapped up the season with an overall record of 3-13-1 and a 1-7-1 mark in GNAC play.
Shirley led Emmanuel's offense, tallying 6 goals and 2 assists on the year. He was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week on October 12th. D'Amato finished his career with a 6-goal, 1-assist season. D'Amato, a four-year starter and two-time team captain, notched 9 goals and dished out 7 assists for 25 total points in his career.
The Saints will also lose starting forward Corey McLean (Lincolnville, Me.) to graduation in May. McLean was a two-year starter for Emmanuel and netted 3 goals and handed out 4 assists in 2009. He was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll on September 7th. Co-captain Byron Glaus (Rumford, Me.) is among the graduating seniors. Glaus started in all 16 of his games played and accounted for 8 points this year.
Rocha and Jeremy Scanlon (Woburn, Mass.) joined Shirley in a strong freshmen class of immediate impact players. Both Rocha and Scanlon were starters this season, scoring 6 points apiece in their first collegiate seasons.
Three keepers shared time in goal during the 2009 campaign. Sophomore Patrick Froass (Oneida, N.Y.) started in 7 of his 9 games played, recording two of the Saints' three wins this season. Sophomore transfer Wilhelm Du Bois (Key Biscayne, Fla.) made seven starts for the Saints and collected a team-high 59 saves on the year. Junior Carlos Perez (Boca Raton, Fla.) saw three starts this season and made 17 total stops.
Along with D'Amato, McLean and Glaus, the Saints will lose Taylor Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) and Shawn Alderson (Higganum, Conn.) to graduation in May. Coach Goin will return a solid core of 21 veterans for the 2010 season.