Men’s Soccer Season Preview – New Coaching Staff Designs Talented Roster
CANANDAIGUA -- With the Finger Lakes CC 2012 season just around the corner – as in less than 48 hours away, the buzz around this year's squad is being labeled as very positive. A year removed from a 4-14-1 2011 campaign, the talk of the town is that something new is going on over on Marvin Sands Drive – that talk is that the men's soccer program is looking extremely promising heading into this upcoming season.
With a crop of new coaches in place, starting with first-year talented head coach Brent Conley, and with the addition of a strong incoming freshmen class, the Lakers are looking in the direction of great optimism in 2012.
Conley, assisted by first-year newcomers David Garcia and Dan Spencer, along with 16th year assistant coach James Hewlett, is bringing a new attitude to the team this year. He enters Lakers terriotory with an ample amount of goals in mind – with the most important being – resculpting the culture of the team. So far, so good – as preseason practices are pointing towards the direction of a promising team.
Conley, along with his staff, set out in the offseason to recruit individuals that not only can excel at the game of soccer, but can exceed expectations when it comes to character. Building a team that is sustainable to winning, starts with building a roster stocked full of character.
In order to achieve building a utopian roster, this staff knew that it needed to step outside of its own boundaries and explore all of its options in terms of recruiting.
Before making the trek around the map to scout out the molds that will fit the new culture, this fresh foundation of Laker coaches were thrilled to hear about the returning prospects of Gayang Ayol (South Sudan, Africa) and Jake Roth (Rochester, NY) to the program.
Ayol, a sophomore midfielder and one of the Lakers team captains, is undoubtedly a phenomenal athlete. Listed as a 6'1" figure, the second-year Laker showed great strides in terms of his ability on the field last season. In 2011, it was evident that this athlete, with a little bit of time under his wing, could become a force on the field as time goes on. That time is believed to be now. Ayol enters the season as a highly talked about talent. He has the speed and play-making abilities to be one of the Lakers reliable scoring options and ball distributors.
The second player of that duo, Roth, is the other highly discussed returnee from last year's team. Like Ayol, he is also a highly touted midfielder. His growth level at the position is being charted on amber alert. Marked as a featured incomer, this sophomore is described as a silky smooth player – one who is solid in terms of possessing and distributing the ball and one who brings the attribute of speed with him to the pitch on a daily basis. Roth enters his final season donning the Laker logo with high expectations.
The collage of new additions expected to flourish on this team are all believed to have the tools necessary for leaving their imprints on the Finger Lakes men's soccer program in a positive way. These players include the likes of Sahbaz Sabanovic (East Rochester, NY), Samuel Saie (Staten Island, NY), Brandon Zaov (Rochester, NY), Michael Cooper (Staten Island, NY), Tyler Coyle (Ontario, NY), Clayton Lovelace (Bergen, NY), Ryan Haines (Rochester, NY), Emanuel Rivers-Hardware (London, England), and Shane Bly (Rochester, NY).
Sabanovic, Saie, and Zaov, are expected to be a fearsome trio at the forward position this coming season. All three players have a set of lightning fast feet. Each of these individuals has the capability to control the tempo of the game in the middle of the field. These new additions to the roster could become forceful figures at the forward position, especially as they continuously learn the nuances of the offense. Given these strikers startling success in high school, Conley along with his staff, see these guys as being widely regarded by opposing team's defenses. A game plan must be in place for opponents to contain these three.
This brings us to the next trio of weapons being stored in Finger Lakes arsenal for 2012 - midfielders Cooper, Coyle, and Lovelace. All three, right off the bat, come into their first year with the club labeled as gifted athletes. Each of these individuals is technically and athletically sound.
Cooper, a sleek runner, can spread the field at the drop of a dime. Coming out of high school, where he was a 2-time MVP of the men's soccer team at Curtis High, the middy was an unbelievably quick sprinter, one that demonstrated the longevity to consistently run the field throughout the duration of a game.
Coyle, a transfer from Monroe CC, provides another newly added centerpiece to the midfield position for the Lakers. As a centerpiece, he is described as glossy and bright. Coyle, a starter on his high school men's soccer team at Wayne Central, brings an intriguing set of attributes with him to the college scene. He has the brains to pick apart opposing defenses and the capacity to maneuver his way around the field. Factor these intangibles in to go along with his overflowing knowledge of the sport; the Lakers are excited to have this man on their side.
This leads us to Lovelace, who was a lovely recruit – pun intended. Similarly gifted to that of Cooper and Coyle, this midfielder is another great find by Conley and his staff. Fitting the mold of being technically sound, Lovelace is slated to fit in nicely with the remaining décor (being the team). He has the mobility and strength to work his way past opposing defenders and more importantly, he has the ability to put the ball in front of the feet of his teammates as well as into the net of his opponents.
Shoring up Finger Lakes defense this autumn will be that of newbie's Haines and Rivers-Hardware. Both players, Haines measuring in at 6'2" tall and Rivers-Hardware standing in at 6'1", bring a great deal of size to the defensive forefront in 2012. The brute force that these two studs bring to the defensive zone this year is of steel-like power. Both Haines and Rivers-Hardware have the builds to withstand any potent offenses that could potentially stand in their way. The Lakers can feel safe having their defense insured by these two solid athletes.
In goal, Bly, named as the Lakers other team captain, is already being positively publicized as a promising goaltender – even before the season starts. Described as a long, versatile tender, Bly, a transfer from Keuka College, can stretch the crease from cross bar to cross bar in a rather quick fashion. In addition to his length, Bly also carries with him to the pitch a great set of eyes. His hand-eye coordination is categorized as very good. The above positives make this Laker a valuable option in net this season.
Each and every one of the players mentioned in this article in addition to the entire roster, wouldn't be a Laker if they didn't possess the abilities of a prodigy. Prodigies they are. However, most importantly, not a single one of these guys would be part of this team if they didn't possess the one letter word – character. Expect to see a newly defined culture on the men's soccer sidelines this year that fits that of an honorable and respected program.
The Lakers will open their season this Saturday (8/25) at home, where they will take on Howard CC at 1:00 p.m.