Rockland Hockey Graduates; STAC Soccer Soars

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The men’s soccer team at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill is building a new era under Coach Graham Brown.

The foundation was constructed last year as the Spartans went 12-5-1, but the season didn’t end as everyone wanted, or perhaps even expected, with the team dropping its last three games in the regular season before bowing to Bridgeport in the East Coast Conference semifinals.

“I think everyone remembers last season, and we don’t want that to happen again. We want to go into the playoffs on a positive note,” offered veteran senior Kurt Schuler, a Monroe-Woodbury alum who transferred to STAC last year after playing two years at SUNY Plattsburgh. “The ending went quite the opposite of how we wanted it. This year we can do better; we’re stronger than last year, with a lot of older guys, but the conference is stronger, too.”

Schuler, a center back who helps to anchor a solid defense that includes senior Edgar Barragan of Yonkers and senior goalkeeper Andrew Tartara of Bardonia—who is nationally ranked with .852 save percentage—has been well-schooled by history, and Coach Brown, that every game is a tough game.

That even includes Saturday’s ECC game at 2:30 p.m. against Molloy at the Dean Skelos Sports Complex in Rockville Centre.

The Lions had lost 11 games and tied one before finally chalking up a 3-2 victory at Loch Haven (PA).

The record in this case, however, is truly deceiving as every Molloy loss was by one goal except for a 3-0 setback at NYIT on Sept. 24. Of the losses, three were in double overtime, and another came in regular OT.

“We take every game as a battle, especially a conference game,” said Schuler, who feels the Spartans have a score to settle.

“Last year Molloy wasn’t that strong, either, but we lost to them 1-0 at home,” said Schuler, who played on very good teams as a schoolboy but never won a sectional title. “We owe them (Molloy) this year at their place.”

Sophomore forward Joe Connolly, a Nanuet High graduate, and one of the Spartans’ scoring stalwarts, is also not taking Molloy lightly, and also feels the Spartans field a stronger team this year than last.

“Every game is a tough game, that’s what Coach always tells us,” said Connolly, who has five goals in 11 games. “We’re a good team right now, especially considering where we came from (1-15 and 3-12 the two previous seasons before last year’s turnaround). We were not considered a serious team as we are now; we just have more depth, and better people coming off the bench.”

Additionally, Connolly feels that team chemistry has played an important role in their 7-1-4 record (STAC bounced back from a weekend loss to C.W. Post to beat Lock Haven).

“We’re all friends, and we do everything together, work together,” Connolly, who played four years at Nanuet without winning a crown, observes. “Of course, that’s after skills; obviously you need skill and we have that, and we also have the chemistry.”

In a 3-1 win over Loch Haven earlier this week, the Spartans received goals from junior Dan Davren of Pearl River, another Nanuet grad; Connolly, and junior Sean Reily of Monroe. In net, Tartara had four saves.

Davren’s goal was his sixth of the season. Coupled with six assists, Davren leads the club in scoring with 18 points in 12 games. Also providing firepower are senior Remington Lee of Hopewell Junction (12 points), and Reily, a John Jay grad who has 11 points.

Firepower aside, a strong defense and Tartara aside, Connolly recognizes that no team should be overlooked, least of all Molloy.

“If we win, we can be back in the national ranking, back to No. 17,” said Connolly. “But we have to win the game, and there are no easy games this year. Coach says the same thing, that we must take every game as they come. It’s another hard win, and another must win. With our heart, our chemistry, we can take this season as far as we feel we can go.”

Northeastern drops the puck

Junior forward Justin Daniels got his season off to a rousing start when he was named one of three stars in Northeastern University’s 3-3 tie against UMass in the hockey opener for both schools.

Daniels, a junior forward from Suffern, won 13 of 19 face-offs, and notched his first-career two-goal game, including a power-play goal that gave Northeastern a 2-1 lead in the first period. The power-play goal was the second in his career

Daniels, whose twin brother Drew is a defenseman for the Huskies, was drafted in the third round by the San Jose Sharks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, and later played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL.

Northeastern, which followed its tie with a 6-3 loss to Maine, hosts New Hampshire tonight at 7, and then visits Merrimack in North Andover, MA, on Oct. 21 for a game at 7:30 p.m.           

Tonight’s game could prove to be another showcase for the Daniels twins, who have enjoyed success against the ’Cats. They are tied with Steve Quailer for the most points against UNH, and all three skaters have scored four points in their careers against New Hampshire.

McNamara finds the net

Freshman midfielder Ryan McNamara of West Nyack scored his first collegiate goal as the University of New Hampshire blanked Binghamton, 3-0, in a men’s soccer game at Durham, NH.

McNamara scored in the 36th minute of the America East contest to make it 2-0, after collecting a rebounded shot by Brad Hilton of Merrimack, NH.

The Wildcats, who followed up the win by battling Hartford to a 1-1 stalemate in double overtime, will be featured tonight on FOX Soccer when they visit the University of Maryland Baltimore County at 7 p.m. Host UMBC sports an overall mark of 6-3-3 that includes an unblemished 3-0-0 mark in conference competition.

The Wildcats return home on Tuesday night at 7 when Holy Cross comes to call.

Ryan’s older brother Tom, a junior, and also a graduate of Bon Bosco Prep, is a forward on the Brown University soccer team that lifted its record to 6-4-1 with a 3-2 win in overtime against Princeton. The Bears visit Harvard Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Play ball!

Budding collegiate players can showcase their talents on Saturday (rain date: Sunday) when Dominican College hosts its fourth annual prospect camp at Tappan Zee High School in Orangeburg (15 Dutch Hill Road; the baseball field is located behind the high school).

Besides Dominican coaches Rick Giannetti and Chad Duesler, other area college coaches are expected to participate in the evaluation process.

Attendees are instructed to bring an updated physical from a doctor, and should wear appropriate baseball attire. A wood bat is also preferred.

Check-in time is from 8:30-8:45 a.m., with the camp starting precisely at 9. The college, which is located across the street from Tappan Zee, will also be holding its fall Open House beginning at 1 p.m., giving prospective student/athletes a double play possibility. The fee is $75.

For information contact Coach Duesler at 845-848-7705.

STAC runs a strong second

Despite the absence of injured Sarah Callagy and Chelsea Klinger—two veterans, and potential place-finishers—the Lady Chargers were runners-up to powerful C.W. Post at the 8th Highlander Invitational at Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ.

St. Thomas Aquinas College, led by 10th-place finisher Keeley Bateman of Pearl River, who clocked 19:23 in the 5k run, totaled 104 points to C. W. Post’s winning 74.

Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Spartans were freshman Cathy Sandkul of North Babylon, who was timed in 19:51 to finish in 14th place; freshman Kate Garvey of Pearl River, 21st in 20:29; freshman Ashley Weintraub of Hurleyville, 44th in 21:30; and veteran senior Lisa Brevogel of Congers and Clarkstown North, who came across in 46th position with a time of 21:38.

In the men’s 8k run, STAC took fifth with 137 points as Felician earned the top spot with 50.

Freshman Joe Chegwidden of Hamburg, N.J., the ECC rookie of the week, led the Spartans with a time of 27:29, good for 25th place, while freshman Alex Andre of North Rockland was 26th in 27:43, and Mike Galonski, a sophomore from Newton, NJ, was 27th in 27:47.

Completing the men’s scoring were sophomore Matt Buell of Staten Island, 32nd in 28:09, and junior Garvenchy Nicolas of Brooklyn, 56th in 29:32.

STAC expects to have a full contingent on the men’s and women’s teams ready to roll on Oct. 23 when the East Coast Conference Championships are contested at C.W. Post in Brookville. The first race is set for 10 a.m.

Mortarboard musings

• The Westchester Community College soccer team hosts Borough of Manhattan on Saturday at noon, while the women’s volleyball team travels to Suffolk.
• Sophomore Frank Morgera of West Nyack, an alum of Clarkstown South, is a member of the cross country team at Maritime College. The Pioneers will be in action on Sunday for the York Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx.
• Sarah Dugandzic of Suffern and Krystal Campbell of New Windsor placed 21st and 22nd, respectively, as the Dominican College women’s cross country team finished fifth at the Jack Saint Clair Memorial Championships at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia. Dugandzic, a senior, clocked 25:41 while Campbell, a sophomore, was timed in 25:46 for the Lady Chargers, who on Sunday will take part in the St. John’s University Fall Festival at Cunningham Park in Queens.
• The St. Thomas Aquinas women’s soccer team looks for its second win of the season when the Lady Spartans travel to Molloy College (7-5) in Rockville Centre on Saturday for a game at noon. STAC (1-8-1) is coming off a 5-0 loss at C.W. Post, 5-0. The victorious Pioneers (6-4) feature seven international players.
• Although sidelined for Maritime’s 47-19 victory over Becker, sophomore defensive back Chris Klass of Nanuet has been starting on the Privateers football team. Klass has seven solo tackles, and assisted on three others, and is averaging 24.6 yards on kickoff returns. Junior defensive back Jeremy Garcia of Suffern is also in the starting lineup. With Klass nursing a knee infection, Greg Caneparo, a freshman back out of Nanuet, was the primary kickoff and punt returner against Becker. Maritime (4-1, 2-0 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference) hosts Anna Maria College of Paxton, MA, on Saturday in a homecoming game at 2 p.m. at Reinhart Field. Klass is listed as “doubtful,” but is expected back for a key conference game at home on Oct. 22 against Mount Ida College. Klass’s cousin Matt Bonomolo of Pearl River is a veteran center on the Mount Ida team.
• Freshman forward Roberto Dashi of Nyack, a graduate of Clarkstown South, has played in six games for the Mercy College men’s soccer team. The Mavericks (5-4-1) visit C.W. Post on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., but are home on Tuesday at 3 p.m. to meet Lock Haven.
• North Rockland alum Ashley Panepinto is a senior midfielder on the unbeaten Purchase College women’s soccer team. The Panthers (4-0) visit SUNY Maritime tonight (Oct. 14) at 6 p.m., and then host The Sage College on Thursday at 7 p.m.
• Volleyball standout Christina Ruballos of Rockland Community College was named the Mid-Hudson Conference athlete of the week. Ruballos, a graduate of North Rockland HS, collected 47 digs 13 kills and six aces in wins over Bronx and Suffolk. She has 256 digs and 56 kills on the season.
• The Nyack College men’s soccer team, which drew with Caldwell 3-3 in a CACC contest to elevate its record to 6-4-2, hosts Holy Family on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Warriors are 3-3-2 in conference play. International players Felix Horn, a sophomore midfielder, and Marco Likos, a junior midfielder, are leading the team in scoring. Horn, from Halle, Germany, has 15 points; Likos, from Leipzig, Germany, has scored 10 points. The Nyack women’s team (4-9, 4-4 CACC) hosts its Holy Family counterpart at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
• The nationally ranked Providence College women’s cross country team—which rested several of its top runners at the New England Championships, including veteran standout Shelby Greany of Suffern—are primed to uphold its No. 2 ranking today at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational in Madison. The Friars placed 12th in a 39-team field at the New England Championships in Boston. Among those placing for the Friars was freshman Caile Kohlbrenner of Sparkill. The Tappan Zee graduate clocked 20:07 on the 5k course, finishing 142nd overall.
• The Manhattan College men’s and women’s basketball seasons officially get underway tonight in Riverdale when Draddy Gymnasium hosts Manhattan Madness. There will be a special appearance by Mr. Met, as well as the Nets dancers and mascot. Doors open at 9 p.m. and admission is free.