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2006 Season Preview

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2006 Men's Soccer Season Preview
     08/23/06...Head Coach Eric Kinsey (7th year) was prepared to see a lot of familiar faces when the team reported for the 2006 preseason camp. Seventeen returning players will combine with nine new players to comprise this year’s roster. After an encouraging spring season, The Mountain Cats have high hopes for the 2006 campaign. This year’s schedule features 18 opponenTs, including nine home dates and seven opponents from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the new home of the Mountain Cats. Two of the home dates come over the Labor Day weekend when Pitt-Johnstown opens the year with the Pitt-Johnstown Kick Off Classic.
RETURNING SENIORS
     Coach Kinsey should get great senior leadership from four players returning for their final year of eligibility. Midfielders James Penn (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and John Kotchey (Gibsonia, Pa.) and defenders Dan Bauer (North Huntingdon, Pa.) and Steve Fertig (Natrona Heights, Pa.) will look to end their collegiate careers on a positive note with a solid senior season.
2005 TEAM CAPTAINS
     Penn and sophomore Ben Sera (Irwin, Pa.) will captain this year's team. Their vision of the direction they want the team to go matches that of the coaching staff. Penn and Sera will set the example for the team on and off the field. “James and Ben were chosen as captains because they are on the same page as Assistant Coach Alan Hope (3rd year) and me with the direction that we want to take the program,” Coach Kinsey said. “They also give us great skill and leadership on the field. This should raise everyone else’s game.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
    Along with the seniors defenders Phil Belcastro (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Alex Gatti (Indiana, Pa.) and Marc Myszak (West Chester, Pa.) will solidify the back line, while Penn, Kotchey, Sera and Vince Spillane (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will handle the midfield duties. Forwards Chris Hawkins (Scottdale, Pa.) and Jay Swope (Indiana, Pa.) return after solid 2005 campaigns. Redshirt freshman Jude Boamah (Carteret, NJ) should also make an impact this year.
     The Mountain Cats also have several quality recruits to provide depth. Bob Suskie (Carlisle, Pa.) and Craig Neff (Elizabethtown, Pa.) will be battling for the starting job in goal. Defenders Reece Selzer (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Joe Cronan (Indiana, Pa.) should push for time in the line-up, while transfer forward Arik Misler (Johnstown, Pa.) will look to put his name in the scoring column.
     “We have a great nucleus of players back from last year, but I think we filled some holes with the new players,” Coach Kinsey said. “This should be the deepest team we’ve had in seven years. That should make for great competition for playing time during the season. With the experience we have in our upperclassmen and the addition of some key recruits, I am confident that this will be the season that we turn the corner in our program as we enter into the WVIAC.”

Last Reviewed: August 28, 2006

2006 Season Preview

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